Should Calderon be starting and finishing games?

Hey Guys, I was at the game last night... I know it's really early in the season, but don'tyou think Jose should be starting and finishing games for us? WillSam make the adjustment? Can we adjust Sam?</p>

 

I'm a little torn on this one. Nelson blew by Jose a few times and Calderon didn't do a good job of recovery on Orlando's pick and pop's late in fourth but TJ throwing away the ball on that crucial possessions was pretty heart breaking.</p>

I would keep going with the status quo unitl someone plays themselves out of the starters role. I thought TJ did a good job at getting teammates open looks early in the game, the boys just weren't finishing well.</p>

 

I don't think Calderon should be starting at this point but Sam Mitchell has got to start doing a better job managing his bench. In the boston game especially, TJ Ford stunk it up for most of the second half before he subbed late in the 2nd half. When he came back he was fine, but there was no excuse why we kept him on the floor for so long when he was playing like crap.</p>

We need to keep TJ Ford in check and playing within the system, that's not happening right now.</p>

 

Ok... maybe it's too early to be making these judgements, but I'm not happy with how this team is playing at this time. I guess it would have made a huge difference if Parker was able to drain a shot or two!!</p>

 

Or if the guys didn't take the first shot they see nearly everytime down the court. Where's the great ball movement this team was known for last season?</p>

 

Agreed Shookem... They're not playing Raptor Ball!!!!!!! They need to realize this and correct it.... One of the good things about the game is that Bosh was really starting to look better toward the end... Hopefully this means he's back!</p>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BigWilly)</div><div class='quotemain'></p>

Agreed Shookem... They're not playing Raptor Ball!!!!!!! They need to realize this and correct it.... One of the good things about the game is that Bosh was really starting to look better toward the end... Hopefully this means he's back!</p>

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I was glad to see Chris begin to get to the line more. We saw the affect it had on D-Ho, it's just too bad it could've happened one more time. He missed a few jumpers from about 15 feet that are usually money but I feel safe in saying the Bosh is back baby!</p>

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I really question the way Mitchell hands out minutes, at times. I find that Jason Kapono, TJ Ford, and Chris Bosh have the most leeway with this team. Bosh can be excused a little bit, because your best player needs to play through his struggles and we don't really got anyone to challenge him for minutes. But I don't see any excuse for giving Kapono and Ford the benefit of the doubt. We have 3 potential players that could step up and fill in for Kap and who would be an improvement on defense (our biggest weakness so far, IMO), but they haven't had the chance to show that they could be more effective.

And I feel like Mitchell completely neglects the advantages of having such strong depth at the PG position. Talent-wise, those two players are very evenly matched (the fact that its so difficult to choose between the two is testament to that) and he should be fostering a sense of competition to motivate them. Unless both of them are playing bad, I don't think there's any excuse for us to be getting lacklustre production from the 1. But, that's exactly what's happened at times this season. Ford will be struggling and Calderon won't even get the chance to provide a spark and change the pace (or if he does, its often too late).

As for the question of who should be starting, I think Ford should still remain where he is. He's more accustomed to playing heavy minutes, is used to playing with the starters, and we know he can be successful there (although he's played poorly the past couple games). Putting Calderon in would be a risky, last-resort type of move, because we don't really know how he's handle consistently playing heavy minutes against the top competition. However, I still firmly believe that to get the best out of TJ, you need to set more firm limitations on what you want out of him.</p>

 

Yeah its definitley too early to judge but I think Mitchell has to smarten up, last nights game was a good example...I thought Calderon did a great job in the 4th quarter as he quarterbacked our comeback against the Magic and then was subbed out with 3 minutes left where TJ just dribbled out the clock resulting in horrible shot selection and bad clock management which ended in another Raptors lose.</p>

As for Calderon being a full-time starter I think he handled it really well last season when Ford was out, correct me if im wrong but all he did was collect double doubles with Ford's absence.</p>

 

I'd have to disagree with that. He has his hands on the ball so often the rest of the team gets jittery by the time they receive a pass. I also don't think it's a matter of him eventually taking the game into his own hands, as much him forcing up shots without thinking. He's basically pulling a Mike Jamesby milking the shot clock and then using his teammates as a second option when he needs a bail out. That's what's leading to a lot of our low percentage shooting.</p>

Right now ford is shooting 50% but we know career he shoots around 42%, which means that either: 1) he's improved dramatically over the off season 2) he's just be hot as of late. Personally i was happy when he kept us in the boston game but putting back into context we were extremely lucky. With the shots he was selecting we should have been out of it long before the end ofOT.</p>

I really blame Mitchell for this more than TJ Ford, who's just playing the same way he did in the past. Mitchell's not making the adjustments he needs to and controlling his players enough so things are getting sloppy in a hurry.</p>

 

I know we shouldn't underestimate opponents, but tonight will be a great night for the boys to get their confidence back.... TJ will be starting, but I'd better see a lot less selfishness out of him, or we may as well have kept Mike James and Charlie V!!!!</p>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (a13x)</div><div class='quotemain'></p>

I'd have to disagree with that. He has his hands on the ball so often the rest of the team gets jittery by the time they receive a pass. I also don't think it's a matter of him eventually taking the game into his own hands, as much him forcing up shots without thinking. He's basically pulling a Mike Jamesby milking the shot clock and then using his teammates as a second option when he needs a bail out. That's what's leading to a lot of our low percentage shooting.</p>

Right now ford is shooting 50% but we know career he shoots around 42%, which means that either: 1) he's improved dramatically over the off season 2) he's just be hot as of late. Personally i was happy when he kept us in the boston game but putting back into context we were extremely lucky. With the shots he was selecting we should have been out of it long before the end ofOT.</p>

I really blame Mitchell for this more than TJ Ford, who's just playing the same way he did in the past. Mitchell's not making the adjustments he needs to and controlling his players enough so things are getting sloppy in a hurry.</p>

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I have to agree with this as well. TJ takes way too many shots and tries to create shots for himself even when he's getting double teamed. The problem with the rest of the team is that most of the time they're anticipating that he's going to take a shot for himself, and as a result they're not ready to receive a pass when he goes into the paint, and judging by the way how Ford plays, it's easy to see that's he's a shoot first and pass guard. It really is un-natural for Ford to pass first.</p>

I remember last year when Ford was sizing up Iverson and said that he was alot like Iverson, and if this is the case, it's not in Ford's nature to pass as natural as it is to shoot first and if he's missing to then pass. Guys correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you think it might be better if they move Ford to shooting guard and have Dixon moved to point behind Calderon. Thoughts?</p>

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (a13x)</div><div class='quotemain'></p>

I'd have to disagree with that. He has his hands on the ball so often the rest of the team gets jittery by the time they receive a pass. I also don't think it's a matter of him eventually taking the game into his own hands, as much him forcing up shots without thinking. He's basically pulling a Mike Jamesby milking the shot clock and then using his teammates as a second option when he needs a bail out. That's what's leading to a lot of our low percentage shooting.</p>

Right now ford is shooting 50% but we know career he shoots around 42%, which means that either: 1) he's improved dramatically over the off season 2) he's just be hot as of late. Personally i was happy when he kept us in the boston game but putting back into context we were extremely lucky. With the shots he was selecting we should have been out of it long before the end ofOT.</p>

I really blame Mitchell for this more than TJ Ford, who's just playing the same way he did in the past. Mitchell's not making the adjustments he needs to and controlling his players enough so things are getting sloppy in a hurry.</p>

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Yah, this is a concern, and then I started thinking. What makes Toronto a good team is that Ford and Calderon are very different. Maybe Sam's logic is that by having TJ play the point, the teams that we're playing are antipating that TJ is going to make shots, then when the teams get used to it, you throw in Calderone and it completely throws all the teams off because Calderone changes the team dynamics completely. Of course, I could be wrong because Calderone always seems to run the point better than TJ and I don't know why he didn't finish the game against Orlando. I was cursing at the top of my lungs when I saw about 3 minutes left and he subbed in Ford.</p>

You know guys, I don't think Mitchell likes confrontation and wants to keep everybody happy and so he allocates time for everybody. I just dislike when he does it and during the crucial periods. I think he gives TJ way too much credit. TJ = The Green Hornet.... Calderone = Kato... <- I hope you guys get this.</p>

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I like the Green Hornet/Kato comparision, that made me chukkle.</p>

As a team I believe the Raptors have the best turnover-to-assist ratio in the league. Both PG's are a big part of that. While I still think TJ should start the games, after the last few, I'm wondering if Sam shouldn't try playing TJ earlier in the fourth. This might get him back into the flow of the offense quicker and also allowing for a Jose subsitute with two minutes to go. Either that or TJ is playing well enough that he can close out the game. It might be a little much to ask TJ to step in and continue the pressure in the late crucial moments of the game, it might be better to get him going early in the quarter and allow him to readjust himself to what's happening on the floor.</p>

 

To put TJ in early, then just take him out every game because he cannot finish, might be a hurt to his ego and could cause problems. While I do think, Calderon is a better PG, overall him and TJ are pretty close. Tj can do a lot of things well when he gets going, like we saw against Boston.</p>

All of this boild down to what Sam is doing and how he deals with his PG's. I think Ford or Calderon can finish games, but Ford really needs to step up at the end and make big plays and stops when it counts.</p>