Can’t get the stink off
He’s been hanging round for days
This isn’t about outcomes; it never is. Sometimes Dwyane Wade goes off or you play to your potential and lose a tight contest to someone who is somewhat better. Whether any combination of players is successful has less to do with their record but much more about how they play the game.
The problems that plague the Raptors are chronic and pervasive. They succeed when they stay focused, such as Sunday’s game vs. the Rockets, the previous week’s game vs. the Bulls, or the early season one-point loss to Phoenix. They defend the paint, rebound, and get the ball inside at the other end. For whatever reason, they cannot sustain this ethic for multiple games (or simply multiple quarters on occasion).
Comes like a comet
Suckered you but not your friends
Get the ball down the court. Get the ball in the paint. Get the ball to the rim. Get to the line. Get to the pay window. Never stop moving. Never settle. Never quit.
One day he’ll get to you
And teach you how to be a holy cow
A Season in a Play (in a microcosm): Tonight, Carlos Arroyo switched to Hedo Turkoglu after a screen and role. Turkoglu posted the much smaller man up but the best position that he could get was twenty feet from the basket and the 6-2 guard forced the 6-10 forward to fade away out of bounds. It’s no wonder the shot went awry because every part of that sequence lacked good basketball judgment. It’s a strong concept to isolate mismatches after a screen and roll. Toronto understood that they had a solid advantage in terms of size and offensive skill but did not recognize that Miami held a strong advantage in the areas of toughness and determination.
You do it to yourself, you do
And that’s what really hurts
You do it to yourself, just you
You and no-one else
You do it to yourself
At some point, poor play becomes a choice. If you cannot dribble, you may bounce it off your foot trying to get to the hole; if you cannot think, you might choose to dribble into a double-team. If you cannot shoot, you will brick countless shots; if you cannot think, you might choose to shoot before shifting the defence with the pass and the dribble. If you cannot pass, you could pass without properly stepping into the motion; if you cannot think, you might choose to force a difficult pass into a guarded area. If you cannot rebound, you might let the ball bounce off your hands; if you cannot think you might choose to play the ball rather than box out the man. If you cannot play defence, you will commit many fouls; if you cannot think you might choose to give your man too much space.
The Raptors are choosing to make mistakes which have definite consequences. Like training in the weight room, choosing to make the right choices requires discipline. You are always in control of what you can do but you have to grab that control and fight with your mind, body, and soul to keep it.
Don’t get my sympathy
Hanging out the fifteenth floor
Benjamin Franklin said that “God helps those who help themselves.” Coaches coach players who help themselves. I think that the Toronto Raptors are a leadership dilemma because they don’t seem to dislike Jay Triano but he is not getting his points across. The inability to play defence and rebound is not an adolescent form of rebellion but something deeper. Is it a lack of knowledge (I hope not), a lack of ability (at least part of the reason), or a lack of motivation (definitely part of the equation)? I honestly do not know the exact ratio.
Changed the locks three times
He still comes reeling through the door
Can it be repaired? I don’t know: a team meeting might settle out but it is a dubious prospect. The players need to decide who they are and what will comprise their professional identity. Then they must live up to that standard every game, every practice, and every training session. As Vince Lombardi preached, “winning is not a something thing; it’s an all the time thing.” So start acting like a professional all the [you know which word I would use in a huddle here] time.
One day I’ll get to you
And teach you how to get to purest hell
To me, as a coach, the worst losses are the near misses. The games when a coach wonders “what if I had changed that?”, “what if I hadn’t done that?”, or “what if I had worn a different tie?” The game may have positive aspects because of specific individual or team successes but it is not only a failure on the scoreboard but mental torture. You demonstrated an ability to compete but lapses allowed the other team to seize the day. The purest hell is inconsistency.
Just be consistent.