February 9, 2004

IMPROVED RAPTORS STILL SEVERAL PLAYERS AWAY FROM CONTENTION

      If last season was a fall into the gutter for the Toronto Raptors then this season can be termed a climb back to the road of respectability.  Last season’s Raptor team was easy fodder for any team that owned uniforms and a few balls—there were street ball teams lining up to take their shot at the former playoff sensation.  A mere two years from its sensational playoff run that took the team, and the city, to within a heartbeat of the Eastern Conference Finals the Raptors last year fell to the bottom of the NBA ladder.  The repercussions reached its organizational hierarchy—coach Lenny Wilkens was released and GM Glen Grunwald, in the final year of his contract, was told that he had one year to drastically upgrade the operation or he would need to find another home.

       The major dilemma facing Grunwald as he attempted to improve his team was the lack of salary cap space with which to work.  Overpriced contracts handed out, by him, to Antonio Davis, Alvin Williams and Jerome Williams, as well as the millions wasted on a carpet bagging broken down hall-of-famer, Hakeem Olajuwon, handicapped the Raptor GM.  There weren’t any major signings or deals possible in the summer and it was essentially the same team that packed it in so many times last year that broke camp this year.  The only major change was the hiring of no-nonsense defensive guru Kevin O’Neill as coach.  

      O’Neill quickly established a work ethic the players had not seen in the country club atmosphere under Wilkens.  The team worked extremely hard in the early part of this season and, unlike last season, was in the majority of games right down to the final seconds.  The Raptors did not, however, have enough talent and skill to pull games out in the end.  They had upgraded from being a laughing-stock the previous season, but they could only hope to reach mediocrity with the present group.  Adding to the team’s quandary was the continued sulking of Davis who had reluctantly re-signed with the Raptors two years before.  Davis never hid the fact that he wanted out of Toronto and Grunwald tried to find a new home for him in the summer, but there were few teams willing to take such a hefty contract for a player so obviously past his prime.  Luckily similar problems were being felt in Chicago, as the Bulls were tired of paying mega-millions to a player, Jalen Rose, whose skills seemed to be diminishing with each passing year.  A trade of disgruntled mega-million dollar contracts benefited the Raptors as they increased their skill level with the acquisition of Rose and Donyell Marshall.  The Bulls continue to flounder, and it is certainly amusing to hear that Davis, who long coveted a move to his home town, is unhappy with the constant losing and wouldn’t mind being traded—again.

       With the trade the Raptors strengthened their offense, but weakened their defense.  The team is among the worst rebounding teams in the league and has to expend so much energy at the defensive end that its scorers have very little left to finish plays at the opposite end.  The team may be slightly improved since the trade, but as it is presently constituted, it is no better than a .500 club.  While mediocrity can certainly gain entrance into the playoffs in the minor leagues known as the Eastern Conference, it should not be any team’s goal.   And if the Raptors want to challenge for the league crown they are going to have to make several additions.

       The two obvious needs—a true point guard and a quality big man—would elevate the team into the top half of the conference.  But to be truly considered an elite team the Raptors also need to add-- a quality shooter off the bench and a dedicated low post presence to ensure the ball gets to the hoop.  The Raptors are essentially a jump shooting team that shies away from interior play.  Too often they settle for a perimeter offensive game and since there aren’t any pure shooters on the club it results in stagnating offensive play and many long scoreless droughts.  Vince Carter is the only player capable of breaking down a defense and he is well-known to prefer staying outside—a notion that is somewhat understandable since, for whatever reason, he seems to be one of those superstar players not favoured by the officials. 

       The four needs break down like this—a point guard that is capable of penetrating defenses and kicking out, capable of providing solid perimeter defense, and capable of dropping mid range jump shots when the defense sags to protect the basket.  The team really doesn’t need, nor can it afford, a superstar at this position—though free agent to be Steve Nash would be the ideal player to fit into the scheme.  Of course Nash would be ideal for most clubs and though the Canadian has expressed a desire to play in his home country it is doubtful that the Raptors would be able to afford him.  More likely is a player like Orlando’s Tyronn Lue.  Signed as a free agent in the off-season by The Magic Lue has not fit in with Tracy McGrady and could be had for a cheap price.  He could give the Raptors that quality point guard off the bench who could be used at the end of close games. 

       The second need is a quality big man to assist on the defensive end.  He doesn’t need to be a shot blocker per se, since that is Chris Bosh’s forte.  He simply needs to provide a presence, to bang anyone that dares enter the paint, and to defend the basket at all costs.  The Raptors are looking for a clone of Charles Oakley from four years ago—and it is the reason why the club was looking at signing the present day Oakley just a few weeks ago.  The team doesn’t need a starter; it simply needs someone capable of playing twenty plus minutes and providing solid play for his six fouls. 

       The third need—a shooter off the bench.  This is a position that Morris Peterson has been trying to fill all year, but his game is somewhere in between a slasher and a shooter and he doesn’t fill the needs of the team anymore.  It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if Peterson were moved before the trade deadline to fill one of these four needs.  With Carter and Rose capable of getting into the paint and attracting defenders it is imperative that the team possess a shooter capable of getting open and making open shots.  The team should be looking for a Dell Curry clone.  Curry was invaluable to the team during its playoff run as he made life much easier for his teammates by sinking open jumpers. 

      The fourth player—a post presence on offense, would allow the team a starting point on its offensive sets other than simply getting the ball into Carter’s hands.  It would relieve an inordinate amount of pressure on the shoulder’s of the wobbly superstar and would ensure that the team, whenever it fell into one of its jump shooting funks, could slow down, post the ball, and drive it to the hoop.  A Corliss Williamson-type would be a perfect fit for this team.

      It is unrealistic to expect Grunwald to fill all these holes in the days leading up to the trade deadline.  And it would be unrealistic to expect the Raptors to climb all the way up from the gutter to the top of the NBA ladder in one season.  This is O’Neill’s first season as a head coach and he has shown some inexperience in his use of the bench and his stubbornness to use a zone defense against bigger teams.  But he has shown that he is a quality coach who recognizes mismatches and can quickly solve them on defense and exploit them on offense.   And with Bosh emerging as a talent in the mold of a Kevin Garnett, Marshall providing solid play up front, and Carter and Rose beginning to complement each other’s abilities the team is showing signs of being on the rise.  With the millions paid to Olajuwon, not to mention the money owed to Wilkens in the final year of his contract, coming off the books this off-season the Raptors will finally have some wiggle room to add the necessary pieces to the puzzle. 

       This year should simply be called a return to normalcy.  The team that was supposed to be growing into a title contender three years ago was actually a team that hits its peak for one season and needed to be rebuilt.  It is likely that Grunwald, if he can perhaps add one of the missing pieces before the deadline, will get the opportunity to fill the other holes as well.  If all goes well then the Raptors can become an NBA force again next year.