Ten Games In And Something's Not Right With The Raptors
By Walter Dubowec The Toronto Raptors are at the ten game mark of the 2007-08 season and admittedly their record is better than last year’s horrible 2-8 start.
However, the Raptors are fortunate to be 5-5 at this juncture. I was at both games at the ACC this weekend against Indiana (a win) and Golden State (a loss) and there is clearly something that's not right with this team. And by definition, if its not right - its wrong!
The Raptors are not firing on all cylinders. I never felt they were in a position to really take over either game. In fact, they are nowhere near the form that carried them to a 47 win season in 06-07.
The team superstar has admitted to struggling and the general manager has got to be scratching his head trying to figure out why this team has stumbled early.
Outside of the solid point guard play of both Ford and Calderon and the surprise contributions from Jamario Moon, the Raptors have been wildly inconsistent this year. Two big wins, one blow-out loss and seven other games that were not exactly full of positive signs.
Chemistry appears to be off
Frankly, I'm not surprised. I've been saying since June that GM Bryan Colangelo needs to make a trade and acquire another body or two to properly balance the roster. As I feared, the talent level has improved from last year, but the chemistry has declined.
The Raptors are well scouted and they aren’t surprising teams like they did before. Other than two blow-outs over the Nets and the Bulls, the team has not looked particularly impressive over the course of the other eight games, including the victories.
Last season, there was a flow to the offence that always seemed to propel the team to victory. Now the offence is sputtering and the floor spacing is awful. Sam Mitchell’s offensive schemes are too predictable.
Andrea Bargnani has clearly lost his confidence and Chris Bosh is playing like a D League All-Star. In the two weekend games, CB4 had the ball stripped TEN TIMES. How can an offence function at full efficiency when the focal point of your low post game can’t hang on to the ball?
Last season, when our starters struggled the second unit ALWAYS stepped up. Not this season.
What's the answer? I don't have a freakin' clue to be honest. That's Bryan's job and I hope he's relentlessly working the phones. Bryan hates to lose and he won't be patient for much longer.
Overall, the core talent is there. But we need a spark and I think that spark is more likely to arrive via trade than through internal improvement. The Raptors’ roster needs a little tweak and an upgrade.
Otherwise, this team will hover around .500 all year and that won't cut it. Raptors fans and management are expecting a lot more than a 41-41 season.
Here are the latest Jamario Moon highlights. While he struggled with his shot, going 3 for 10 against the Warriors, Moon was great on the glass and had three blocks. He had a couple of great dunks, too.
What does a 5-5 start mean?
Now in case you are wondering what a 5-5 start might mean to the Raptors from an historical perspective - the answer is 'its hard to tell'. Twice with a 5-5 start, the Raptors made the playoffs once and missed the playoffs in 2003.
Here are Raptors starts past eight seasons:
Rec Year Result
2-8 2006 (playoffs)
1-9 2005 (no playoffs)
4-6 2004 (no playoffs)
5-5 2003 (no playoffs)
4-6 2002 (no playoffs)
6-4 2001 (playoffs)
5-5 2000 (playoffs)
7-3 1999 (playoffs)
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