November 4, 2003

MINNY DEBACLE A CLOSER INDICATION OF RAPTORS SKILL LEVEL

      It is horribly disconcerting to a team when historic lows are reached on consecutive nights.  Friday night at home to a terrible Washington squad the Raptors scored a franchise low 27 points in the first half.  The abysmal effort was overlooked when the team turned on its very tiny burners and managed to pull the game out in the last minute. But the next night in Minnesota an abysmal first half was followed up with an equally abysmal second half and the game ended with the Raptors having scored a game franchise low 56 points.  The frightening part is that there isn’t anything on the horizon that points to a change in their fortune—this team will struggle to score points all season long.

       Throughout the tenure of former coach Lenny Wilkens the complaint was that the Raptors would often settle for the jump shot rather than drive to the basket.  This year’s team is exactly the opposite, so far.  This team doesn’t have enough shooters to even attempt to be a jump shooting team.  Teams are going to dare the Raptors to beat them from the outside.  Like Minny teams are going to clog up the middle and keep the Raptors away from the basket.  The Wolves started a huge frontcourt with seven-foot all-world player Kevin Garnett as the small forward.   With center Michael Oliwakandi, and power forwards Mark Madsen and Gary Trent taking turns stuffing Raptor drives it necessitated a shift in strategy for the visiting team.  But with a hobbling point guard, Alvin Williams, and scuffling shooting forwards, Lamond Murray and Mo Pete, the Raptors were unable to shoot well enough to draw Minny’s big men away from the basket.  Fruitless jump shots begat fruitless drives—the end result is an all-time franchise low in points scored.

       It would be easy to simply cast aside the result as a bad game and believe that things can only get better.  But the talent on this squad does not breed confidence.  There just isn’t enough offense anywhere on this team.  If the Raptors hope to win more than they lose this season it will have to be with defense—there will be a ton of games where both teams finish in the seventies.  Will tight defense, slow motion offense, low scoring and mediocre results interest Raptor fans?  We shall see.

       The reasons for these problems are simple—the Raptors failed to fill the needed holes in the off-season.  The team needed an inside presence, both on offense and defense and failed to fill it.  The Raptors desperately needed some help at the point guard position, and though Milt Palacio looks to be a solid back up the team needed a third guard, something they have purportedly been searching three years for, to take some of the heat off Alvin.  Instead the team went bottom feeding for Jerome Moiso and Mengke Bateer, two players who had yet to prove they belonged in the NBA.  As for the third point guard they signed Rick Brunson who has never been more than roster filler, and who, as expected, is roster filler on this team.  Alvin needs help, but there isn’t any to be had. 

       So who is going to score on this team?  The starters are three-fifths defensive presence with JYD, Michael Curry and Antonio Davis up front.  Without any punch from Alvin it means Vince is going to have to score thirty plus each game for the team to have a chance to win.  Coming off the bench is Murray, returning from a lost season and likely to take at least a quarter of the season to regain his touch, MoPete who is a troubled and confused young man, and Chris Bosh, an untested, unproven teenager.  There isn’t much depth, and there certainly isn’t much scoring. 

       So now after a heart stopping opening night victory over New Jersey, a come from behind last minute win at home over the Wizards, and the offensive debacle in Minnesota the team now faces the league’s highest scoring outfit the Dallas Mavericks.  Can the Raptors defense hold the long, and often, shooting Mavs to less than 90 points?  Toronto should be able to score a little—they will have more opportunities.  The Mavs did not fill their one gaping hole, a solid inside presence, and this should allow the Raptors an easier path to the basket than they had in Gopher land.   But the team will have to shoot better to have any chance at all.

       If the Raptors continue to heave up lead balloons their improved defense will not be able to steal many wins and the team will find itself on the short end of many final scores.  With tough games ahead against Portland, the Lakers, and Sacramento the Raptors could be looking at a long losing streak.  If so then somewhere in the Seattle area a knowing smile will appear across the face of an old ridiculed coach.