I was sitting at home and checking out the Madness that is the NCAA tournament (more on that later) when I get a call from my broadcast partner on the FAN 590, Eric Smith, to tell me that fans are upset because we are too positive about the team.
First off, you can read what Eric has said about the subject and I share those thoughts about the team this year. Based on expectations, it has been a disappointing year for the Raptors and unless you came out early and said that this team was not going to win 45-48 games in September, please don't gives us your "I told you so with your perfect hindsight" bogusness.
But then again, such is talk radio and fans having their forum to rant (uninformed at times) but the ability to vent regardless of the facts. But do me a favour folks, listen carefully to what is being said and just because there isn't wild screaming does not mean that objective judgments are not being made.
That being said, Eric and I have both been objective about the team's struggles this season and maybe because we aren't jumping up and down and demanding a pound of flesh, people think that we're letting the team off easy. Nope, it has been a tough year but moving forward, nothing can be done until Bryan Colangelo has a conversation with Chris Bosh about his future in Toronto. Regardless of whether Bosh is staying or not, upgrades are needed but that does not mean you throw out the useful parts that are on this squad and blow it up as many are suggesting.
Much of the conversation toward the end of last night's post-game show centered on Jay Triano's future as head coach. NBA coaching jobs are difficult to acquire and GMs don't throw them around carelessly. They had better be sure when making the move to hire a coach. It says here that it is unfair to make a final judgment on Triano until that evaluation can be made in the proper environment. It comes under the old adage that, "Not only must justice be done, the appearance of justice must also be done".
Let's say you're coaching a team and you have a kid come and try out for your squd and you don't think he can play. If its an open try-out, you are bound to give him a chance to play his way onto the roster or show that there is no place for him on the squad if skill is the determining factor. You can't look at the kid and send him home without giving him a fair chance. Some coaches say that the easiest two players to pick on a 12-man team are the best player (obviously) and the 12th man who has limited skill but a great attitude and one who will be a good practice player, great teammate and handle not getting floor time during the game with the right outlook.
At some point, I will chronicle the story of how I met Danny Ainge, Celtic GM and former starter on their title teams, Ainge -- looking like Woody Harrelson in White Men Can't Jump -- would show up to play pick-up ball at a local Toronto gym during his playing days with the Blue Jays. In short, he couldn't get a run in but once he hit the floor, he started to school people like he was an NBA player. Oh wait, he was an NBA player at that time trying to learn to hit a curve ball and because he couldn't, the Celtics got a pretty good guard off the baseball diamond. The lesson, beware of a rush to judgment.
With regard to Triano, he has come into a tough situation and all factors must be considered before a decision is made. Interesting that Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown has discussed how difficult it is to be successful as a coach without the body of time that you do most of your work, i.e. a training camp. It has been said here before that until there is a training camp with a revamped team possessing a new attitude, it can't be done fairly.
Can you match the following coaches with their interim record:
Coach Interim Record(s) First full season
1. Gregg Poppovich a) 14-36 ... 21-40 a) 62-20
2. Mike D'antoni b) 17-47 b) 56-26
3. Jim O'Brien c) 24-24 c) 49-33
Answers below.
It's always been said that losing brings out the worst in people and reveals character as much as it builds character and toughens one's determination. No question there is work to be done in the off-season in Toronto but the decision will be one where all the factors are taken into account and not the reactionary knee-jerk kind that some fans seem to be demanding.
----------------------
It seems like T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack had some sort of issue last night in the Pacers 94-92 loss to Dallas.
----------------------
What makes the NCAA tournament so great is that there is more effort than skill and that is what makes it so exciting at times. The kids make mistakes. The coaching is great too but an NBA coach will tell you that there are more decisions to be made in an NBA game than a college game. NBA coaches would be drilled if they were at VCU and could not get a better shot than a contested 17-foot fall-away under duress to win the game.
Answers 1-b, 2-a, 3-b
