Nets 96, Raptors 91
Nets 96, Raptors 91
Looks like I was right, sadly: the Nets’ experience helped them win game one while the Raptors’ bench was a non-factor.
Sometimes, it sucks to be right.
Clearly the Raptors need to make some adjustments. The good thing is, for the most part, the adjustments aren’t major, just a re-focus on doing the things they do well - things they didn’t do in game one.
But before I get into that, a brief recap…
First of all, the in-game experience was amazing. This is the first playoff game I’ve been to and it was, as the kids say, off the hook. If they still say that, I don’t know. But anyway, it was nuts.
Things got started off the right way with the whole crowd singing O Canada - something I’ve never seen/heard before at a basketball game. Next came the spine-tingling introductions, which included a movie-trailer like montage of scenes from the season set to some rising, awe-inspiring music. When the players were finally introduced, it was so loud, you couldn’t even hear Herbie saying the names! It was just a constant roar. It was unbelievable - it gave me goosebumps.
The first quarter was fast-paced and exciting and TJ Ford kept the Raptors in it, much as Jason Kidd kept the Nets in it. Ford did it with scoring while Kidd did it with rebounding and assists (9 in the first quarter!).
Chris Bosh’s early foul trouble didn’t help the Raptors, and Vince Carter’s off shooting didn’t help the Nets. But the disappearance of the Raptors bench did them in the second quarter, letting the Nets race out to a 10 point lead while the Raptors forced shots and turned the ball over.
In the third the Raps’ started out strong, cutting into the lead and seemingly catching a break when Carter went to the bench with four fouls. But the Nets played better without him, and increased the lead to 15 at one point. The Nets’ zone defense stymied the Raps’ offense, which spent several possessions standing around as if waiting for some divine intervention to figure out what to do.
Down by 13 heading into the fourth it didn’t look good, but Vince Carter returned, and oddly enough, that seemed to inspire the Raptors. It was almost as if they had someone to key in and focus on and that gave the team the intensity it needed to mount a furious rally. They got the lead down to one twice, with chances to take the lead (Calderon threw a pass to the Raptors bench) or tie (Bosh missed a free throw) but they couldn’t capitalize. A lame fallaway from Bosh and the inability to snag the rebound on the Nets’ final possession sealed the deal.
Basically it wasn’t a good game for the Raptors. The crowd was great, the fourth quarter comeback was great, but they’ll need to play better to win this series.
But here’s the positive thing: As bad as they played… they still only lost by five. Bosh was limited by foul trouble. And they held Vince Carter in check.
Not only that, but outside of the meaningless final two games, the Raptors only lost two in a row twice since December. They’ve shown great ability to bounce back after tough losses. Two great examples: After they got drubbed in the second half in New York, the Raps returned home and quickly lost Andrea Bargnani to his appendectomy. They came out that night and stomped the Magic in a statement game.
A few days later the Raps didn’t get off the plane in Boston, and the Celtics steamrolled them in a game which featured Jorge Garbajosa’s hideous injury. The Raps came out next game and dominated the fourth quarter against the defending champion Heat, and won running away.
Tough losses to teams they should beat seem to inspire them. This gives me great confidence that they can come out and win game two tomorrow night.
However, there are adjustments that need to be made:
Rebounding: The Raps weren’t killed on the boards, but they need to do a better job keeping Kidd off the glass. His getting rebounds ignites their break and that’s where Kidd’s most deadly. Even if they get outrebounded again, as long as its not Kidd that gets them, that should help slow the game down to a better pace.
Offense: Obviously, they need to figure out this zone defense thing. It shouldn’t be that hard, given that they have such good long range shooters - good shooting teams should always beat a zone. Part of the problem is TJ Ford. (Hey everybody wondering why TJ didn’t play in the fourth: listen up!) When Ford receives the ball at the top of the key, he immediately puts it on the floor and starts dribbling. It’s his attack mindset, which is beautiful against man-to-man, because most people can’t stop him.
But it’s absolutely the worst thing you can do against a zone.
As fast as TJ is, passing the ball is always faster, and the ball needs to move fast to beat the zone. That ball should never stop with one player, unless that player is the open man and is shooting the ball. As soon as TJ gets it, he needs to pass it (or shoot it) before the zone can rotate around. His dribble pentetration, unless the zone is slow rotating, just puts him right in the middle of the defenders - right where they want him.
Calderon does this occasionally too but is better at recognizing when not to - he’s much better at swinging the ball around the outside, or moving himself to where the zone won’t be and getting an open shot. Folks, this is why Calderon was out there: He is a better player against the zone than TJ. It’s that simple. That’s why they came back against Minnesota when Minny went zone and Calderon was in there. That’s why they came back the other night. Calderon is the better zone player.
TJ must learn what to do against the zone if the Raps are going to succeed in this series. Pass the ball, TJ, don’t dribble it. And everyone else, I say the same thing - make quick decisions with the basketball. Either shoot it or pass it. Don’t think about what you’re going to do, just do it before the defense has time to recover.
Defense: I thought the half-court defense wasn’t too bad, on everyone except Richard Jefferson. They did a good job closing on Vince’s penetration, and not doubling too early on Kidd’s post ups. Collins, Boone and Moore did not get to take advantage of Kidd’s and Carter’s driving and drawing defenders to them.
But far too often, Anthony Parker got held up on screens, forcing a switch (which the Raps never do) and/or leading to an open look for Jefferson. They have to do a better job at pushing through the screens and getting on the guards.
Worse, the transition defense was all but non-existent. That’s a pretty simple thing to solve so I expect the Raptors to hustle back down court better and stay in front of their man. The Raptors have the deeper bench, there’s no reason they shouldn’t have the fresher legs than the Nets.
Basically, they need to make the hustle plays they didn’t make on Saturday.
Bench: The Raptors need more production from the bench than what they got in game one. Humphries was fine, as was Calderon. But Bargnani was awful, and Dixon was a non-factor, going 2-5 and giving up way too much on defense.
I’m not entirely sure what Mitchell’s beef with MoPete is, but I believe that MoPete needs to be out there more. Joey Graham might be a little bigger physically, but MoPete’s experience and poise more than make up for it. Graham was clueless offensively Saturday (Mitchell all but blamed the aforementioned Calderon turnover on Graham running the wrong play). Dixon’s way too small to be effective and is still slumping. Honestly, what do Graham and Dixon bring to the table that outweights what MoPete brings to the table? Anything?
Of course, the need to go to the bench too much will be negated by Bosh’s ability to stay on the floor. I’ve said it before, I believe Bosh and Bargnani make each other better, and I love having the two of them out there together. Bosh going out early is a big problem, with no post player, Bargnani’s far less effective.
Like I said above, these are not difficult adjustments to make - many of them are just the things the Raps have been doing all year and for whatever reason they didn’t do them Saturday. They should be able to bounce back without much difficulty. The question is, will Vince Carter show up for the game? If he’s invisible again, I really like the Raps’ chances. If he plays like he did for the first three weeks of April, and the Raptors haven’t made any adjustments… well, that’s gonna be trouble.
Three final thoughts before lunch:
1. The fourth quarter was deafening. At one point, the Nets called for time, and the "Let's go Raptors" chant continued through the entire time-out.... never seen that before, either! Seriously, those idiots at realgm don't know what they're talking about - the crowd was great. Yeah, it was a little quiet during the third, but come on, the Raps were playing like crap - the Nets took us out of the game, just like you're supposed to do on the road. So give credit to them, but in the fourth, I can't imagine how it could get any louder.
2. For the love of God, will everyone please get over the red shirts/red uniforms thing? It’s the lamest non-controversy in Toronto sports history. It’s a non-troversey, if you will. Who cares what colour the Nets were wearing? It’s our colour too, and the colour of our flag, and besides, it has less to do with who’s wearing what on the court and more to do with doing something to help the fans unite as a group. It shouldn’t matter what colour it is, the point is doing something together to support the team. And frankly, it’s not even really one of the Nets’ colours (it’s not in their other uniforms or logo or any other team-branded materials) it’s just a shameless third jersey money grab.
So get over it, wear your red and support your team!
3. Kudos to the Sun for putting Raptors coverage on the front page four days in a row (even if one of those front pages was the tasteless Vince cartoon). You guys are doing your best to keep the city interested, informed and pumped up about the Raps, and the die-hards like myself appreciate it. Thank you!
Looks like I was right, sadly: the Nets’ experience helped them win game one while the Raptors’ bench was a non-factor.
Sometimes, it sucks to be right.
Clearly the Raptors need to make some adjustments. The good thing is, for the most part, the adjustments aren’t major, just a re-focus on doing the things they do well - things they didn’t do in game one.
But before I get into that, a brief recap…
First of all, the in-game experience was amazing. This is the first playoff game I’ve been to and it was, as the kids say, off the hook. If they still say that, I don’t know. But anyway, it was nuts.
Things got started off the right way with the whole crowd singing O Canada - something I’ve never seen/heard before at a basketball game. Next came the spine-tingling introductions, which included a movie-trailer like montage of scenes from the season set to some rising, awe-inspiring music. When the players were finally introduced, it was so loud, you couldn’t even hear Herbie saying the names! It was just a constant roar. It was unbelievable - it gave me goosebumps.
The first quarter was fast-paced and exciting and TJ Ford kept the Raptors in it, much as Jason Kidd kept the Nets in it. Ford did it with scoring while Kidd did it with rebounding and assists (9 in the first quarter!).
Chris Bosh’s early foul trouble didn’t help the Raptors, and Vince Carter’s off shooting didn’t help the Nets. But the disappearance of the Raptors bench did them in the second quarter, letting the Nets race out to a 10 point lead while the Raptors forced shots and turned the ball over.
In the third the Raps’ started out strong, cutting into the lead and seemingly catching a break when Carter went to the bench with four fouls. But the Nets played better without him, and increased the lead to 15 at one point. The Nets’ zone defense stymied the Raps’ offense, which spent several possessions standing around as if waiting for some divine intervention to figure out what to do.
Down by 13 heading into the fourth it didn’t look good, but Vince Carter returned, and oddly enough, that seemed to inspire the Raptors. It was almost as if they had someone to key in and focus on and that gave the team the intensity it needed to mount a furious rally. They got the lead down to one twice, with chances to take the lead (Calderon threw a pass to the Raptors bench) or tie (Bosh missed a free throw) but they couldn’t capitalize. A lame fallaway from Bosh and the inability to snag the rebound on the Nets’ final possession sealed the deal.
Basically it wasn’t a good game for the Raptors. The crowd was great, the fourth quarter comeback was great, but they’ll need to play better to win this series.
But here’s the positive thing: As bad as they played… they still only lost by five. Bosh was limited by foul trouble. And they held Vince Carter in check.
Not only that, but outside of the meaningless final two games, the Raptors only lost two in a row twice since December. They’ve shown great ability to bounce back after tough losses. Two great examples: After they got drubbed in the second half in New York, the Raps returned home and quickly lost Andrea Bargnani to his appendectomy. They came out that night and stomped the Magic in a statement game.
A few days later the Raps didn’t get off the plane in Boston, and the Celtics steamrolled them in a game which featured Jorge Garbajosa’s hideous injury. The Raps came out next game and dominated the fourth quarter against the defending champion Heat, and won running away.
Tough losses to teams they should beat seem to inspire them. This gives me great confidence that they can come out and win game two tomorrow night.
However, there are adjustments that need to be made:
Rebounding: The Raps weren’t killed on the boards, but they need to do a better job keeping Kidd off the glass. His getting rebounds ignites their break and that’s where Kidd’s most deadly. Even if they get outrebounded again, as long as its not Kidd that gets them, that should help slow the game down to a better pace.
Offense: Obviously, they need to figure out this zone defense thing. It shouldn’t be that hard, given that they have such good long range shooters - good shooting teams should always beat a zone. Part of the problem is TJ Ford. (Hey everybody wondering why TJ didn’t play in the fourth: listen up!) When Ford receives the ball at the top of the key, he immediately puts it on the floor and starts dribbling. It’s his attack mindset, which is beautiful against man-to-man, because most people can’t stop him.
But it’s absolutely the worst thing you can do against a zone.
As fast as TJ is, passing the ball is always faster, and the ball needs to move fast to beat the zone. That ball should never stop with one player, unless that player is the open man and is shooting the ball. As soon as TJ gets it, he needs to pass it (or shoot it) before the zone can rotate around. His dribble pentetration, unless the zone is slow rotating, just puts him right in the middle of the defenders - right where they want him.
Calderon does this occasionally too but is better at recognizing when not to - he’s much better at swinging the ball around the outside, or moving himself to where the zone won’t be and getting an open shot. Folks, this is why Calderon was out there: He is a better player against the zone than TJ. It’s that simple. That’s why they came back against Minnesota when Minny went zone and Calderon was in there. That’s why they came back the other night. Calderon is the better zone player.
TJ must learn what to do against the zone if the Raps are going to succeed in this series. Pass the ball, TJ, don’t dribble it. And everyone else, I say the same thing - make quick decisions with the basketball. Either shoot it or pass it. Don’t think about what you’re going to do, just do it before the defense has time to recover.
Defense: I thought the half-court defense wasn’t too bad, on everyone except Richard Jefferson. They did a good job closing on Vince’s penetration, and not doubling too early on Kidd’s post ups. Collins, Boone and Moore did not get to take advantage of Kidd’s and Carter’s driving and drawing defenders to them.
But far too often, Anthony Parker got held up on screens, forcing a switch (which the Raps never do) and/or leading to an open look for Jefferson. They have to do a better job at pushing through the screens and getting on the guards.
Worse, the transition defense was all but non-existent. That’s a pretty simple thing to solve so I expect the Raptors to hustle back down court better and stay in front of their man. The Raptors have the deeper bench, there’s no reason they shouldn’t have the fresher legs than the Nets.
Basically, they need to make the hustle plays they didn’t make on Saturday.
Bench: The Raptors need more production from the bench than what they got in game one. Humphries was fine, as was Calderon. But Bargnani was awful, and Dixon was a non-factor, going 2-5 and giving up way too much on defense.
I’m not entirely sure what Mitchell’s beef with MoPete is, but I believe that MoPete needs to be out there more. Joey Graham might be a little bigger physically, but MoPete’s experience and poise more than make up for it. Graham was clueless offensively Saturday (Mitchell all but blamed the aforementioned Calderon turnover on Graham running the wrong play). Dixon’s way too small to be effective and is still slumping. Honestly, what do Graham and Dixon bring to the table that outweights what MoPete brings to the table? Anything?
Of course, the need to go to the bench too much will be negated by Bosh’s ability to stay on the floor. I’ve said it before, I believe Bosh and Bargnani make each other better, and I love having the two of them out there together. Bosh going out early is a big problem, with no post player, Bargnani’s far less effective.
Like I said above, these are not difficult adjustments to make - many of them are just the things the Raps have been doing all year and for whatever reason they didn’t do them Saturday. They should be able to bounce back without much difficulty. The question is, will Vince Carter show up for the game? If he’s invisible again, I really like the Raps’ chances. If he plays like he did for the first three weeks of April, and the Raptors haven’t made any adjustments… well, that’s gonna be trouble.
Three final thoughts before lunch:
1. The fourth quarter was deafening. At one point, the Nets called for time, and the "Let's go Raptors" chant continued through the entire time-out.... never seen that before, either! Seriously, those idiots at realgm don't know what they're talking about - the crowd was great. Yeah, it was a little quiet during the third, but come on, the Raps were playing like crap - the Nets took us out of the game, just like you're supposed to do on the road. So give credit to them, but in the fourth, I can't imagine how it could get any louder.
2. For the love of God, will everyone please get over the red shirts/red uniforms thing? It’s the lamest non-controversy in Toronto sports history. It’s a non-troversey, if you will. Who cares what colour the Nets were wearing? It’s our colour too, and the colour of our flag, and besides, it has less to do with who’s wearing what on the court and more to do with doing something to help the fans unite as a group. It shouldn’t matter what colour it is, the point is doing something together to support the team. And frankly, it’s not even really one of the Nets’ colours (it’s not in their other uniforms or logo or any other team-branded materials) it’s just a shameless third jersey money grab.
So get over it, wear your red and support your team!
3. Kudos to the Sun for putting Raptors coverage on the front page four days in a row (even if one of those front pages was the tasteless Vince cartoon). You guys are doing your best to keep the city interested, informed and pumped up about the Raps, and the die-hards like myself appreciate it. Thank you!