January 6, 2003

THE RAPTORS NEED A NEW COACH AND A NEW PHILOSOPHY

       There is an amusing moment during last year’s draft coverage when a proposed Cleveland trade is mentioned to Raptor GM Glen Grunwald.  The caveat to the trade is that the Cavs will trade a draft choice only if it is lottery protected and they make the playoffs.  “That won’t be next year,” smiled Grunwald.  How ironic is it that the Cavs GM could have said the same thing about the Raptors. 

       Having ignored the calls for Lenny’s dismissal during last season’s lengthy losing streak Grunwald must now face the music as his team falls into a deep chasm that it is unlikely to escape.  A change has to be made; a new philosophy has to be brought in, and the team can’ afford the status quo even for the remainder of this lost season.  It is likely that the Raptors will wait until the all-star break before they make a decision, but with three days off the change should be made this week or the Raptors will soon be called something soft like the Rapsies.

      Lenny was the perfect choice when he was hired.   The team needed the other extreme after the Butch Carter flame-out.  The Raptors needed a calm, veteran, assured hand to lead the team, and that year, under Lenny’s patient guidance, players like Alvin Williams began to flourish.  The team found its stride as it headed into the playoffs and only its playoff inexperience and an off-centre last second shot kept them from an appearance in the conference finals.  It was to be the height of the Lenny years.  The next season a Raptor team that was among the favourites to win the conference underachieved, lost its rhythm and confidence as they struggled just to make the playoffs.  During a horrendous 13 game losing streak it became apparent that the wheels had finally come off the Lenny bus.  His experience and savvy weren’t enough to extricate the team from the terrible skid, and only a poor performance from a Miami Heat team enabled Toronto to end the skid.  Lenny started to show the “deer in the headlights” look that has been so prevalent this season.  Only a soft closing schedule, Antonio Davis’ ability to motivate his team, and some incredible luck got the team into the playoffs and save Lenny’s job for one more season.  This season the team continues to flounder, and the problems that were so apparent in the middle of last season, the problems that were hidden under the emotion at the end of last season, are now so severe that the Raptors are losing to the cavaliers at home.  At this point the Raptors are the fodder for every NBA team.  Even a team like the Denver Nuggets would be licking their chops at the possibility of playing the Raptors.   

      At $5 million per year Lenny is well compensated, and it is the contract that likely prevents the Raptor organization from making a change.  They don’t want to pay a coach not to coach for the rest of this year and next year.   If the organization simply promoted one of their assistants for the interim they wouldn’t pay much more—they would have to give that assistant a bump in pay—but it would give them some time to go out and look for a proper replacement.  They don’t need someone this year; they can bring someone in for next year.  The money being spent on Lenny isn’t worth the continued fall of the organization in the eyes of management, the NBA, and most importantly, Raptor fans.  The team has lost 23 out of their last 27 games—a string that cannot be pinned on one reason, like injuries.  The team has not looked cohesive, it has not looked motivated, and it has not looked energetic.  The consistent fourth-quarter collapses have marked this team, and opponents know that if they apply pressure in the final 12 minutes the Raptors will fold.  Take away the lanes for any passes or drives inside and the Raptors will panic and force up wayward jump shots.  It is simple strategy that the Raptor coaching staff has been unable to combat.  It started last season and has carried over—in crunch time the Raptors will panic and will ultimately fold, no matter who is on the floor.   To watch a team consistently go four, five, eight minutes without a basket down the stretch is not the fault of the players, it’s the fault of the coaching staff.  The players are victims of stress, and are easily drawn into traps set by the opposing teams.  The coaching staff is supposed to be there to create solutions to the problems—don’t expect the players to think so much, there isn’t time.  If strategies are properly thought out and properly taught then it will become second nature to the players and they will not continue to make the same mistakes down the stretch. 

       Lenny has been drawn into the excuse game this season.  He uses the injuries as a reason why the team has struggled, and uses terms like “running out of gas” to describe the late game flops.  The players have lost confidence in their coach.  Long losing streaks are not supposed to happen to talented teams like the Raptors.  The coaches are supposed to create game plans that play on their strengths and exploit the opposing team’s weaknesses.  Even by accident a team wins an occasional game.  Not every opponent plays well, not every opponent hits the key shot, not every opponent can shut down the Raptor strengths, but losing 23 out of 27 shows that the team can’t win games anymore. 

       The team needs one of two things—an offensive-minded coach who has the ability to create plays that get the ball to the basket; who can run sets that include three players—the one who starts the play, the one who makes the play, and the one who finishes the play.  And none of the three have to be exceptional to have the play succeed.  That offensive coach would then bring in a defensive coach who would work systems, including zones and traps, and who could finally provide an answer to the woeful raptor defence on pick and roll plays.  The other option is the reverse—a defensive minded coach who brings in an offensive assistant.  Either way it is time for the Raptor players to have more to work with than simple screen and rolls and post-ups.  And motivation is a huge key.   Players often need a kick in the pants when they continue to make the same mistakes.  Advise and teach to a point, and then discipline.  MoPete should not have been playing such extraordinary minutes this season playing the way he has, there have been many games when he has been horrible and should have been sat in favour of Chris Jefferies.  But Lenny has no confidence in his bench players, seems to actually dislike rookies, and keeps his regulars on the floor even when they are terrible.  Sometimes it is better to think less about the game at hand and to think more about the long term development of players—send them a message that poor play will not be tolerated no matter who you are.  Now it’s too late.

       Lenny has been a terrific NBA coach for decades.  It isn’t a fluke that he is the all-time winningest coach; he has the attitude and the patience that sets him up for success.  He lets his players play through mistakes and he shows commendable patience as players develop.  But he has shown that he is not a coach that likes to play the younger players and this team needs to see if those players can play in this league.  This team also needs discipline, it needs creativity, and it needs structure.  Lenny can obviously not provide these things anymore.

       Glen Grunwald is a patient man, and patience is often rewarded.  But sometimes you can wait too long.  If the Raptors do wait until the all-star break it will show the team that losing isn’t as unacceptable as they would have believed.  This will set a bad precedent, and it will make it difficult for future coaches in future years to eradicate.  Glen should send a message to his team that poor coaching and a poor record will not be tolerated, but then Glen probably has as much confidence in the assistants as Lenny has with rookies.