Reaching the Next Level

In N.B.A. Basketball by Brock Bourgase

The Raptors failed another key test Sunday (the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors have established that the Dallas Mavericks are not yet a true test). Boston won a putrid game, the 90-77 score unsuccessful in describing the ineffectiveness of Toronto’s play.

Boston is good, but not great. Three superstars anchor a solid rotation and the team has demonstrated the ability to play well without any one of the featured players. The Celtics played under control and relied on solid fundamentals.

Paul Pierce backed defenders down, using his elbow and shot-fakes to clear space for his jumper. Kevin Garnett scored inside and with a 10-12” jumpshot. Complementary players Eddie House and Tony Allen only took outside shots after the ball was kicked out of a double-team. Rajon Rondo used speed to exploit the snowed-in help defence. Nobody forced anything; the best players took the most shots.

In contrast, the Raptors did whatever they pleased, irrespective what would help the team win. Their offence was a Gong Show, players shooting everywhere. The team seemed to believe that the paint was guarded with an electrified fence. On-court leadership was sorely lacking; it’s appropriate for Chris Bosh to address the team in the locker room but he must first model the way.

Boston doubled the high ballscreen but Raptor dribblers couldn’t decisively move the ball to the screener. The Celtics’ second post would rotate to help so if the roll was covered, a second inside player was open (followed by a strong-side shooter when the perimeter defender helped). Toronto took too long to move the ball through that priority list, often moving the ball to the shooter too early.

In the second half, Jason Kapono/Carlos Delfino and Chris Bosh worked a nice downscreen/post seal set. However, it was abandoned too quickly. Also Bosh seemed to rely excessively on his 18” jumper. Kendrick Perkins can only do so much and should be attacked. If not by Bosh, then by Rasho Nesterovic, who received too few touches. What was most shocking was how slow Toronto’s coaching staff adjusted, if at all. Boston kept it simple and the Raptors did nothing to force them to chance.

Toronto could have dialed up the defence, perhaps even pressuring judiciously. Trapping Rondo might have kept him off-balance and affected his ability to distribute the ball. They could have run more, maybe throwing the ball at the rim for Jamario Moon. Since the Celtics were not allowing José Calderon to penetrate, the Raptors could have freed the point guard for a side screen with the Circle Play or something similar. Sam Mitchell has previously praised the team’s ability to make the “Hockey Assist”, the extra pass that leads to an open shot but the Raptors settled for bad outside shots on Sunday.

It was an unprofessional game all-around. The Raptors didn’t score a hundred points and the fans were denied pizza; the Big Ticket could have picked up the tab and bought pie out of respect for those who had to sit through that game.