As usual, the Air Canada Centre became a scene of disappointment as the Raptors wasted a double-digit fourth quarter lead and lost to the Jazz in triple overtime. Concerns remained the same: allowing an offensive rebound at a critical time (Utah’s game-tying possession in regulation), post-timeout execution (several times late in the game) and allowing dribble penetration too easily (forcing an unnecessary rotation and providing Paul Millsap with open looks • Millsap doesn’t always shoot corner threes, but when he does, he makes over half of them). At the end of the fourth quarter, Toronto appeared disorganized after Utah missed …
The Basketball Gods
Tex Winter says that a team must pay tribute to the basketball gods in order to succeed, his metaphor to inspire players to practice solid fundamentals and teamwork. According to the 1958 National Coach of the Year, the team that executes at both ends of floor the best will be rewarded. Fortunately, I was coaching a team that was able to benefit from this today, directly and indirectly. Directly because poise and control resulted in quality scoring chances and defensive pressure produced turnovers and indirectly because fate assessed the opponent with a bizarre technical foul when a player removed their …