Fiery Sam Mitchell Fired
By RaptorTalkDespite the shocking news that surprised most observers as far as the timing was concerned, I think most fans agree that Sam's time was up.
With an 8-9 record and remaining games in December that could result in a 5-10 stretch - something needed to be done.
While Sam was a great motivator and performed well in his Coach of the Year season, overall Sam was a middle of the pack coach.
With the team's struggles down the stretch last season and the less than stellar performance this year - it often seemed that Sam was too often coaching "not to lose". The fiery, competitive Sam Mitchell we saw in his COY season had disappeared.
He was one of the best in the league at working officials, yet his in-game strategy left much to be desired. His 'X's and O's" were not his strong suit as evidenced by the pathetic loss to New Jersey where Laurence Frank clearly outcoached Sam Mitchell down the stretch.
The NJ loss at home was inexcusable. The embarrassing ass kicking by Boston at the ACC was another nail, while the Denver blowout was icing on the cake. Yet Sam's fate was at least halfway sealed weeks earlier with the loss at Boston where Toronto blew a comfortable double digit lead. That was a game the Raps had in control until the coach suffered a massive 'strategy' cramp.
Defensively, Sam Mitchell made no move to stop Paul Pierce who punished Jason Kapono, until it was too late. On the offensive side, Sam decided to use his franchise player as a 'decoy' which caused Bosh to question Sam's game plan.
This was a sign that Sam was losing the confidence of his players.
Bruce Arthur reported "The front office decided it was time, took the temperature of certain key players, and canned Sam." No doubt, Chris Bosh was consulted and agreed with the move.
And Chris' comment today that he felt the players weren't responsible for Sam's firing made it even more apparent that the Raptors' superstar agreed that the squad needed a change at the top.
Jose Calderon seemed quite pleased with Jay Triano's appointment, while I'm sure Andrea Bargnani is equally happy. You recall that Sam Mitchell took the unusual step last November of refusing to talk to or even acknowledge Bargnani for a month or more. I must admit that move lost a lot of respect I previously had for Sam. That showed me that Sam did not really know how to respectfully and professionally handle his 'employees'.
Is Niagara Falls native Jay Triano the long term answer as head coach? Who knows? Right now, he's the interim coach until May 2009.
But that could change if the Raptors turn it around under the former Canadian National Team head coach. No one thought that Laurence Frank would last long in New Jersey when he was hired as a mid-season replacement for Byron Scott.
In the NBA - you never know.
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