<div align="center"> <font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Atlanta Hawks</font></font> (3-1) @ <font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Toronto Raptors</font></font> (2-2) Venue: Air Canada Centre Date: Friday November 10, 2006 Time: 7:00 PM EST Coverage: RaptorsTV</div> Fresh off a blowout win against Lebron and the Cavs, the Atlanta Hawks arrive in Toronto, for a matchup of two historically underachieving teams off to strong starts. Both teams boast a versatile roster with franchise players that have played great so far. The Raptors will try to bring defensive intensity and address their shooting woes as they attempt to move above .500 for the first time since Nov. 13, 2004. [DIV=50%] <div align="center"><font size=""3""><font face=""Arial"">Projected Starters</font></font> TJ Ford - Anthony Parker - Morris Peterson - Chris Bosh - Rasho Nesterovic <font size=""3""><font face=""Arial"">Reserves</font></font> Jose Calderon - Fred Jones - Joey Graham - PJ Tucker - Andrea Bargnani - Jorge Garbajosa - Kris Humphries <font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Coach</font></font> Sam Mitchell</div> [/DIV] <div align="center"><font size=""3""><font face=""Arial"">Projected Starters</font></font> Speedy Claxton - Joe Johnson - Josh Smith - Lorenzen Wright - Zaza Pachulia <font size=""3""><font face=""Arial"">Reserves</font></font> Tyronn Lue - Salim Stoudamire - Josh Childress - Esteban Batista - Shelden Williams <font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Coach</font></font> Mike Woodson <font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Keys to the Game</font></font></div> Bench Production On paper, Atlanta's lineup is very similar to ours and has the firepower and versatility to stay with us to the end. However, there's a significant drop off when they bring on their substitutes. So far this season, the Raptors have shown the ability to attack opposing teams' 2nd units with a deep bench. The question is, who will step up? For the first few games, Calderon and Fred Jones brought the energy and production off the bench. However, last game, when they most of the roster struggled offensively, players like Joey Graham and Kris Humphries answered the call. Shooting Percentage Toronto's fast paced offense and ability to force turnovers has masked the fact that they've shot poorly through the first 4 games. An average of 41% is bad enough, but discount Chris Bosh's 52 FG%, and it's clear that the Raptors have been missing too many open jumpers. If the Raps want to keep up with the Hawks, they are going to have to break out of this funk. <div align="center"><font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">X-Factor</font></font> </div> <div align="center">Anthony Parker</div> Even though he had a 35 pt. night, Anthony Parker played some great defense against Allen Iverson on Wednesday. He did a good job of staying in front A.I., contesting his shots, and making him work for every single basket. Against a Hawks team that tends to rely too heavily on Joe Johnson, Parker's man-to-man defense will invaluable. <div align="center"><font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Prediction</font></font> Raptors win 106-101. <font face=""Arial""><font size=""3"">Something to look at while you wait for the game</font></font> </div>
Anyone who thinks the players complaining about the new ball is just bs should watch the first 3 minutes of this game. Clearly guys are having a hard time dribbling the new ball and adjusting. Hawks up 15-5 .. Did i mention the officials have sucked too ?
81-85...Chris Bosh only with 12 points, but on the bright side with 15 boards 6 assists and 2 block shots.
Weak game by the Raps. There interior defense was non-existent and Josh Smith was allowed to play the role of Samuel Dalembert. They couldn't buy a defensive stop when they were trying to push for the lead. If Bosh continues to rebound like this, I could see him put up a Garnett-esque streak of double-doubles this season. The Joey Graham call pissed me off. That definitely came from his reputation.
Totally agree on the Joey Graham call thing, it was hardly a push-off at all. In some ways the guy is being penalized for being so strong, plenty of players protect themselves to some degree (like that) when they go up for the basket. Ok I understand it's only 5 games in and everything is a work in progress but: -Mitchell's rotations are totally erratic, the guy just throws random combinations of players together without even thinking. -Our defensive rotations suck and I'm not going to bame that on the players. We doubled freaking Josh Childress in the post and left Smith open for a 3. -Mitchell goes small ball even though we were getting brutalized on the boards. Hawks score about 50 points in the paint and Rasho gets 12 minutes? -Are we really supposed to be a running team? It's been 5 games and this is not the first time I've really thought that the other team was doing a better job on the fast break than we were. This is awfaul, can we fire Mitchell and just leave Triano or Jim Todd in until the end of the season? I don't doubt they know more about basketball than Mitchell does. I don't doubt for a second Mitchell isn't behind the bench next year but since we can't hire Iavaroni until then ... can we at least install someone decent to give us false hope?
i think mitchell made a huge coaching error when he inserted bargnani in with bosh in the third quarter when atlanta decided to go small ball; bargnani got burned on every possession defensively in that span. key possession of the game for me- u guys are talking about the joey g offensive foul but i go back to the play with garbosa getting a wide open three point shot and he decides to dish it out to fred jones which resulted in a three point play at the other end. the momentum had clearly swung the raptors direction but the hawks cushioned their lead with that key turnover. defense- horrendous; last year it was the players and this year mitchell is adamant its the new players again. shocking revelation in mitchell post game comments- he admitted he was contemplating changing the starting lineup is garbosa this years bonner? mitchell is sticking with garbosa in spite of his offensive woes; i personally think humpries deserves those minutes cause he gives u boards and athleticism.
Ya, the Garbajosa play was a killer. It's funny because I thought the same thing when I was watching the game (type of play that kills your team). Mitchell's coaching mistakes today pushed me over the edge. When Atlanta hit 2 three pointers near the end on identical plays and no timeout was called I completely lost it. I don't see how a player like Bargnani is going to thrive under Mitchell, considering he can't get any consistent burn and blowing one defensive assignment seems to equate to the bench. Other random notes: -We should hire Milt Palacio to be TJ Ford's lay-up coach. -I think this was a game we would have lost either way, the Hawks were playing really well and they withstood various runs that we made. It's the obvious mistakes that are killing me right now.
Mitchell also doesn't know how to use Bargnani on offense. Andrea's been utilized as simply a player that drifts around the 3 pt. line. And this isn't a new thing either. Sam places almost all of his players at the perimeter, really doesn't put them in a position where they can maximize their talents and basically leaves the rest up to the players. Sometimes this works out (Mo-Pete, Villanueva, Fred Jones), but more often that not it makes the offense more predictable and the player less effective (Jalen Rose, Joey Graham, Garbajosa, Bargnani, etc.). There's been quite a few times when Bargnani (and even Garbajosa -- there's a reason he was called gritty in Europe and it's not because of his 3 point shot) was on the court and could have presented a big mismatch on the offensive end (NJ, tonight). Colangelo wants AB to eventually become their 5/4, but there's no way that'll happen with Mitchell as coach.
I am not sure if all of Bargnani problems can be put on Mitchell. Its 5 games into the regular season... you can't expect Mitchell to have Bargnani playing flawless basketball. Im not sure if its coaching or not but what bugs me about Andrea is on screen & rolls he consitently rolls away from the basket in or to get an open jump shot, just once once i would like to see him role to the basket and get in the lane. 4 fouls in 9 minutes is not pretty he has to be more disciplined. Lastly, 5 games into it does anyone think Rasho is worth 8mil a year?
what was most disconcerting for me was that cedric bozeman was their starting point, i don't think OG even knows who that dude is. nevertheless, after a night of reflection- i think we have a serious roster issue. where is the skill outside of bosh? the difference between the hawks and the raps is that they had 2 skilled offensive players (joe johnson and josh smith) whereas we only had bosh. colangelo needs to make trade for a number #2 scorer or we will finish outside of the playoffs again. rashard lewis is the guy to be had if the raps are serious.
I definately agree that we need a true second scorer. Also Cedric Bozeman started?? Haha, I watched the beginning of the game and didn't even noticed a random weird guy on the court. Bosh continued his beasting of the boards, but to no avail, as the team got beat by 9 on the glass. The defense is horrendous, we're scoring, but making 0 stops.
<div class="quote_poster">og15 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> The defense is horrendous, we're scoring, but making 0 stops.</div> funny thing about mitchell's post game comments was that he seemed to be more perturbed by their lack of offensive output more than the uncontested jump shots they gave up.
this was the complete oposite of the philly game lol. prolly the most frustrating game iv had to watch. sam's rotations drove me crazy he seems to pull bargs soon as he makes a mistake on defense...regardless if he's doing well on offense or not he also seems to have the same love affiar with garbo that he had with bonner...when oh when is garbo going to find his shot? where is the fast break offense? last night we looked more like a jump shooting team with no jump shooters and poor defense.
<div class="quote_poster">Drunkballer Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I am not sure if all of Bargnani problems can be put on Mitchell. Its 5 games into the regular season... you can't expect Mitchell to have Bargnani playing flawless basketball. Im not sure if its coaching or not but what bugs me about Andrea is on screen & rolls he consitently rolls away from the basket in or to get an open jump shot, just once once i would like to see him role to the basket and get in the lane. 4 fouls in 9 minutes is not pretty he has to be more disciplined. Lastly, 5 games into it does anyone think Rasho is worth 8mil a year?</div> I'm not trying to shift all the blame away from Bargnani, but you have to remember that he is a raw rookie. I also don't like the way he moves without the ball and how little he boxes out on the boards. But, those are things that he will learn if the coach consistently puts him in the right game situations. I honestly believe that if Sam's our long term coach, Bargnani will end up like more of a Radmonovic than a Nowitzki. The same thing could've been said about Charlie V. Look at him, now that he's not in a kindergarten offensive system. Also, considering him and Humphries are the only people who can defend in the post, I'd say he's worth everything so far. It's a shame Mitchell doesn't realize how easily we give up the baseline/backdoor cuts, when we don't have Rasho down low. I love the Rashard idea, deception.
<div class="quote_poster">Premium Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> he seems to pull bargs soon as he makes a mistake on defense...regardless if he's doing well on offense or not </div> don't defend bargnani- he looks lost and completely helpless. i think his poor english is a big factor here; if i was colangelo i would have added an italian coach with good english to the coaching staff.
<div class="quote_poster">Premium Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> he seems to pull bargs soon as he makes a mistake on defense...regardless if he's doing well on offense or not </div> dont defend bargnani he looks completely lost and frankly pathetic. i think english is a big factor; if i was colangelo i have added an italian speaking coach to the coaching staff. <div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> I love the Rashard idea, deception.</div> i was thinking of potential scenarios and the only one that seemed feasible was bargnani and mo pete for rashard and their first rounder (apparently its a deep class and the sonics are lottery bound). if colangelo did it, he would have great big ballz cause essentially he would be admitting a mistake.
