By RaptorTalk


Bryan Colangelo is in San Francisco after scouting some NCAA college games. The Raptors GM told the FAN that he will “take the temperature of the team” prior to the Raptors/Warriors game.

Colangelo may discover an environment which is hotter than he ever imagined. Based on published reports by ESPN’s John Hollinger and Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star, the temperature in the Raptors locker room is extremely high and seemingly ready to boil over.

The issue? Apparently, the coach and many players are not seeing eye-to-eye.

Who in Raptorland is surprised by this?

I'm not. 


            
              ESPN's John Hollinger: Jay Triano does not hold his players accountable


You could see this coming as early as the preseason

It began when Jay Triano, with Colangelo’s blessing, allowed Hedo Turkoglu to casually work his way into shape. No sense of urgency from the coach set the tone for what has become a laissez-faire season.

In October and November, Triano expressed no worries and repeatedly offered up a laundry list of lame rationalizations as to why the Raptors were under-performing.  And he’s kept the excuses coming all season long. After the recent loss to Philly, Jay suggested that the team’s lacklustre performance may have been a result of an early start time, coupled with the need to then immediately catch a flight to LA that resulted in a 'lack of focus'.

Give me a break! I’ve never heard a coach with more implausible excuses than Triano. For once I wish Jay would strap on a pair and take responsibility when things go wrong.

In early December, the team was floundering and Triano was clueless as how to right the ship. So the players had an internal meeting and self-policed themselves as best they could.  Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright and Chris Bosh went so far as to call out the coaching staff for not making the slackers accountable.


How is 'Pack the Paint' working for you?

The players also questioned the wisdom of Triano and Iavaroni’s “pack the paint” defensive schemes with its complicated rotations and unnecessary aggressive hedges by the bigs. It was not until the players demanded a simplification of the defence, that any improvement was seen.

Not that the defence is anything to write home about. John Hollinger accurately summed up the Raptors defensive mess and Triano’s shortcomings this way:

“Stan Van Gundy put in a scheme that works and held his players accountable when they didn't follow it. In Toronto, there's no evidence that happens."

"Head coach Jay Triano was called out by his own players after a particularly egregious early-season effort in Atlanta and briefly seemed to get things under control. But his charges have regressed and there's no indication that he's willing or able to squeeze anything better out of them.”

Look, Hollinger is spot on. Jay Triano is a soft coach.

Players respect strong leadership. Jay is a great Xs and Os guy, but he's not a leader. He is ill-equipped to control the mega-egos of NBA millionaires. Jay does not have the confidence-inspiring motivational skills that all successful coaches must have.

So while Jay may be adept at designing good 'out of timeout' plays, he is sorely lacking in leadership and motivation. 

      

Triano’s hiring by Colangelo was both a surprise and a mistake

No doubt Bryan Colangelo has made mistakes. But I believe that Jay's hiring will prove to be Bryan's costliest mistake because it may eventually lead to Bosh's departure.

When Sam Mitchell was fired, who suggested that Jay Triano was the most qualified coach to replace him? Show of hands, please?

When last season ended and the Raptors actually played worse under interim coach Triano than they did under Sam, who felt that Jay Triano was the most qualified person to get the head coach's gig? Show of hands, please?

The answer to both questions is no-freeking-body!

Jay Triano can be the lead assistant on my team any day. He just isn't NBA head coach material. I don't understand why Bryan Colangelo couldn't see that.

Why Bryan would entrust such an important season in the hands of an over matched, pseudo-rookie head coach with Bosh's future hanging in the balance - is a mystery.

Looking back, this is likely what happened.

Jay was well-liked by the players and his potential hiring received at least tacit approval from Chris Bosh.  Triano had also done a nice job of nurturing Andrea Bargnani.  Jay is a hard worker and a student of the game – both positives. Most importantly, he was an inexpensive hire and he didn’t push back like Sam Mitchell did. The "D'Antoni experiment' worked for Bryan, so why not Triano?

Problem is that ‘not for one second’ did Jay Triano ever have the respect and undivided attention of the Toronto Raptor locker room.

So, when Jay came out and blamed the players for playing selfish basketball after the loss to the Kings, the players fired back and basically said to the media,  "Bull sh**! We're playing the way coach told us to play!" Jarrett Jack diplomatically summed it up this way, "Maybe coach can elaborate on it if that's what he saw. I didn't see it that way." We know what Jack really meant.

Strong, confident coaches know how to accept the blame. Instead, Triano chooses to point fingers.

        

The Raptors record should be much better

To his credit, Bryan Colangelo built a team with depth and talent. Instead of struggling to make the playoffs, the Raptors should be solidly in 5th place and challenging for the 4th seed – that is, if they had a qualified head coach.

Like I've said a thousand times before, don't tell me that the players on this edition of the Toronto Raptors are one of the WORST DEFENSIVE TEAMS in the history of the NBA.

Are they a collection of Bill Russells or even Bruce Bowens for that matter? Hell no. But they could and should be playing better defence if they had a coach who knew how to (1) teach defensive basketball (2) devise defensive schemes that match the skillset of the roster and (3) held players accountable when they screw up.

Instead, we have a coach, who, in huddles apologetically says to his team, "I hate to be picky, but ...." Damn it Jay, it's your job to be picky and to demand excellence. The Raptors are a well paid group of pro basketball players and not a YMCA pick-up team.

Where is the intensity? Where is the passion? Where is the Raptor team that plays hard for 48 minutes - fighting and scrapping?

That tough-minded basketball team doesn't exist because that's not something demanded by Jay Triano - the too nice Canadian coach.

During the Lakers game, Phil Jackson called a timeout so he could rip Lamar Odom a new a**hole after Lamar played uninspired, lazy basketball. Odom barely reached the bench and Phil was all over him. When have we seen anything like that from Triano?

Good coaches make a huge difference. Look at what Scott Skiles has managed to do with The Bucks. They lost their top scorer in Michael Redd and they arguably are less talented than the Raptors. Yet the Bucks are steadily improving, while the Raptors are imploding.

Odds are Bosh walks as a result

This giant miscalculation by Colangelo likely means that Bosh walks this summer. What's frustrating is that it didn't need to happen if Bryan had done the right thing and hired a real NBA coach in the off-season.

A top tier coach would have had this team playing hard and pushing the 50 win mark. And Bosh would be viewing this as a franchise with a bright future, instead of a floundering squad with no solid leadership.

The only saving grace for Colangelo may be that the Heat and the Bulls have head coaches who are no better than Jay. Otherwise, the Raptors would have no shot at making the playoffs.

That said, I’m not sure that a first round playoff blowout will be enough to convince Chris Bosh to don a Raptors uniform again next season.

And while Bryan saved a few bucks by hiring a head coach on the cheap, he'll cost MLSE a whole lot more than he saved if Bosh leaves Toronto as a result.

As a Raptor fan, I just hope Bryan can find a way to fix the mess - quickly.