March 14, 2002

SEASON SLIPPING AWAY FROM COMATOSE TEAM

      It’s going to take a team of incredibly talented doctors to bring these Raptors out of their collective coma in time for next season.

       It may be hard to believe but Raptor fans now look back fondly on the apathetic and indifferent play that marked the first half of this season.  The second half has seen the team fall into the deep cavernous pit normally inhabited by such perennial losers as the Bulls, the Grizzlies, and the Warriors.  I guess the Clippers had to find a replacement before they could leave, and now the Raptors are the cure for whatever ails their opponent.  If the Raptors are going to get off the gurney and compete next season they are going to need two things… A strong injection of discipline, and multiple heart transplants.

      With the possible exceptions of Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams the Raptor players seemed to play in a fog all season long.  It was as if they spent their time on the court wondering how their pictures looked in the team guide or whether they would be able to get enough tickets for their family and friends when they visited their hometowns.  As the losses mounted so too did the excuses…and the rhetoric.  Oh, the rhetoric.  “We need to step it up”.  “We’ll be okay”.  “We just need to find that sense of urgency”.  The rhetoric rivalled that of a political party--and maybe that’s why Mike Harris stepped down.  There’s only so much rhetoric to go around and the Raptors have taken it all.

       One thing’s for sure; the end of this season will mark the end of the long coaching career for Lenny Wilkens.  This has not been his finest hour.  Why doesn’t he go postal, they ask?    Throw a damn chair once in a while?  But that’s not Lenny.  He’s not one to go George Karl on his players.  He’s got too much class, and he’s been in the game far too long.  He lets his players dictate, and while that philosophy worked well for last year’s team in transition, this year’s team was different.  This team could not self-motivate.  The veterans counted on for leadership either could not or would not deliver.  Davis tried, but his soft-spoken demeanour and workmanlike attitude just wasn’t enough.  They needed their best player to grab the horns, but he was too busy running away from it.  And Chris Childs seemed more concerned with the whereabouts of his next meal than with the performance of the team.  Lenny was left alone, and he can’t work alone.  He needs help to motivate.  His strengths as a coach —patience, and a reserved manner-- became major flaws.  This team needed discipline, and the patience he showed for certain players, like Childs, was a huge mistake.  Like a father he gave his players plenty of rope, but it looks like Lenny’s going to be the one swinging in the wind.

      And what about Vince?  Vince seems to like being called the franchise, but he certainly doesn’t like the work involved in living up to it.  He played shuck and jive with the responsibility like he was a twelve year old caught with his hand in Chris Childs’ refrigerator.  With Oakley gone there was nobody left to challenge him, to toughen him up.  Everybody coddled him.  The team looked to him to pull them out of the holes they dug, but Vince was too busy saving his energy on defence and studying the rules of rhetoric.  Maybe this difficult season, and the criticism that came from all over the continent, will toughen him up.  Maybe a new coach will drive him to play with passion, will scold him when he coasts, and will create plays that can better utilize his skills.  He needs to be taught how to play with heart, and every game, for the Raptors to be a championship contender.  For his sake, for the sake of this franchise, and for the sake of this city’s loyal fans, the most influential person in his life has got to stop being his mother. 

      I think Vince should stand at center court after the final home game and apologize to the fans.  He should offer his salary from the disastrous second half to charity, and he should convince the rest of this heartless group to follow suit.  Otherwise Glen Grunwald will be out there alone, with a scalpel in his hand, looking up into the stands and pleading…

      “IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?”