Skip navigation

 Login or Register | Member Centre

Magic have Raptors on the ropes

LORI EWING

Canadian Press

Latest comment posted at 10:06 AM EST 28/04/08

Rashard Lewis scored 27 points to lead Orlando to a 106-94 win over Toronto, giving the Magic a 3-1 series lead ...Read the full article

This conversation is closed

  1. Roger S from Canada writes: When Sam replaced Jose in mid 4th Quarter because of a couple of bad defenses. I know the game is over, and the series is over. You know TJ Ford played well, but no matter how well he played, his game is not there to lead the team with a significant close win. A struggled Jose worth millions more than a bravo TJ Ford in 4th Quarter. Mark my words.

    I also want to point out a key non-performers, Andrea Bargnani. I said million times. The series is up to how he plays. This guy delivered nothing so far in playoffs.

    So most fans know when TJ Ford on fire, Raptors is in danger of losing the game. But Sam Mitchell appeared to be unaware of it. May be it doesn’t matter already: Fire Sam Mitchell now and trade TJ in off-season!!!!

    Michael&8217;s commentary should have a new headline: ------Coach's decisions work out, for whatever reason, only for one game----
  2. Bobby S from Toronto, Canada writes: Roger S, not sure you can blame T.J for this loss. The reason Calderon was taken out in the 4th quarter is because he was not defending Nelson. Nelson was on fire in the 4th and it wasn't until Ford came in until they put a hand on him, but even then he was draining his shot.

    I personally thought that the game changed when Moon got hurt. I hope most fans don't get down on this team, remember it was a 2 point game with 2 minutes to go. The Magic made shots down the stretch, the Raps didn't. Bosh was huge, but unfortunately the bench didn't come through.
  3. Roger S from Canada writes: I blamed Sam Mitchell to replace Jose in mid-4th quarter and cost this game. Calderon didn't defend well, but he still has ability and I think he will pull a victory if Sam sticks to him to close the game, even he was struggling. NBA game is about both defense and offense, you win the game by making more offensive plays over defensive mistakes.
  4. Roger S from Canada writes: You never closed and won the game by playing both Jose and TJ Ford at same time before, the odd is you are not going to win this one either. I believe Raptors can never win a close game with both guards on court. The strength for Jose is passing the ball, but you let TJ be the point, and both have no defense ability.

    I think Sam committed suicide and cost Raptors this game and the series. Fire him immediately.
  5. Roger S from Canada writes: My assessment is, if you have Jose close the game, you have 90% chance to pull a win; if you have TJ close the game, you have 20% odd to win the game; if you have both of them close the game together, you have ZERO chance to win. Sam choose the third option, suicide.
  6. ravi patel from Thornhill, writes: How about the reality that Orlando is simply a better team than ours? Maybe if you guys stopped listening to the pathetic Toronto Media (not to mention the low IQ raptor fans) and actually sought real analysis from the US commentators you would see that everybody thought the Magic would wrap this up in 5-6 games. There really is no shame, we are still a couple of years away. When we are ready to compete, Colangelo will get us a real coach and we will be fine.
  7. King 99 from Canada writes: Bye Bye Sam Mitchel. He should have been gone last year but Colangelo must have given him too much credit. There play is proving that they are defenitely getting out coached. Get rid of him. He doesn't have the smarts.
  8. Roger S from Canada writes: I am strongly against using the team "better" team to let Sam Mitchell and seasonal spoiler TJ Ford out of the hook. Orlando is 3th seed and Toronto is 6rd, they are better team but every fan here can see that this Raptors team can beat Orlando if they have a better coach and play more intensely.
  9. albert strauss from Toronto,Ontario, Canada writes: Who is Mila Kunis? For whom does she play ? Another collateral matter. How do I tell Roger S politely to throttle back? It think it was a first class enjoyable game fairly evenly matched . The better team won and mercifully Sam did not have too much to do with the result except the rotations. All he Raps except "B" put out strongly and he tried at the start. He may be a one trick pony with the trey or at least would like it that way.. Fellow coaches sit back and enjoy. The stupidities which are showing up now took place all season and cannot be corrected. The positive is that Delfino and Kapono are finally showing up and may have a good chance after we get rid of Sam, nice suit this time and all
  10. Kevin Murray from Canada writes: I've found myself questioning the coach quite a bit too. However, as Grange pointed out, if Kapono can't stop anyone his 5-9 doesn't help that much. Take away Kapono's numbers and Bosh's 16-28 and you have a team that shot about 33%. Sam may not be the answer, but many of the players seem unable to consistently play at this level.
  11. elwyn jennings from Canada writes: Smitch made some excellent adjustments on Howard after the first quarter which almost won the game by themselves. Those who say he can't coach don't know the game in my opinion.

    Calderon played one of his worst games as a Raptor. The entire team with the exception of Bosh seemed to disappear in the second half. Bargnani had a really tough time, but...his outing begs a question: why does he always get no benefit from the refs? I think that the officiating in this series has been exceptionally poor, and today, quite bluntly, I think the Raptors got screwed big time by incompetent officiating.
  12. Uncle Elmer from Canada writes: Bottom line: Orlando is a better team. When the heat was on, they stepped up and made big shot after big shot. The Raptors disappeared.
  13. MJ M from Canada writes: The Raptors were tied or up two when Jose came out of the game.In came TJ and I knew the game was over. No continuity nor stability. Why did Sam do that?Then to make matters worse he puts Jose back in to play with TJ when that has NEVER worked. Confusion reigned-no Raptor knew what they were doing or supposed to do. TJ played great earlier-no question but Jose played steadily and well down the stretch as he has in the playoffs. Sam again trying to please everyone or whatever.. San was outcoached. Nelson outplayed both point guards but at least the Raptors were in the game-tied or up 2 before Sam got desperate. I can't wait until this season is over now.Trade 1 guard- I don't care who and let the other one be responsible for the entire game.
  14. Philoso Raptor from Kingston, Canada writes: Tough, tough loss. You had to know that Orlando wasn't going to stay ice cold from three, but letting Turkoglu get away with throwing a forearm shiver on Parker to clear space on his late fourth quarter three was a bit unnecessary even by Stern standards.

    Raps really let game slip away in the first half; Magic were turning the ball over like and the Raps didn't capitalize.
  15. Rich Chan from Vancouver, Canada writes: Yah, I didn't get that situation tweak from Mitchell. For the last 3 games he hasn't put in both Calderon and Ford at the same time, and I guess Moon was not able to come in with the stomach strain etc. It's a tough situation. Sigh.. it's just 3-1 so the series isn't over. Let's try to go to Orlando and pull off a win. One step at a time boys.
  16. King 99 from Canada writes: albert strauss from Toronto,Ontario, Canada writes: Who is Mila Kunis? For whom does she play ?

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Albert, Mila was that hottie brunett on That 70's Show. She'd probably be able to turn things around for the Raps.LOL
  17. Rich Chan from Vancouver, Canada writes: She's pretty hot huh? Well, she looked pretty tired today though. Max Payne the movie? Good stuff. Yet another video game turned movie. Anyways, hold tight guys. The Raps aren't done yet. Let's pull out the upset in Orlando and win the game here, and voila, we're at game 7.
  18. andy c from Canada writes: for all you moaning that calderon and ford should not have been in the game together. delfino fouled out and moon was gone for the game. the raps had bosh, kapono, and parker on the floor at the time. the raptors are down and calderon could not handle nelson. TJ comes in for defensive purposes, sam's choices are calderon who has been shooting well and bargs who was not shooting as well (rasho? joey? baston? hump?) if sam puts bargs in there you would all be moaning why calderon was riding the pine in the late stages of the game. give it a rest guys.

    the raps made 2 of 15 from 3 and the only way parker was going to get a call is if he was shot with a rifle. game 5 is monday

    go raps
  19. ah sails from Canada writes: Bosh is good, talent and fire...but after him it's a lot of 6th & 7th men, nobody that would be starting on any other nba team..BC has a lot of work to do and maybe is better at picking at draft time...somebody should tell that guy that he's 7 ' tall..he plays like he's 5'5"
  20. One For All All For One from Toronto, Canada writes: Anyone see Colangelo on the pregame? "Our point guard situation will be resolved this summer". Seems like there will be a shake up - gotta wonder who is staying.
  21. jesperated jbl from toronto island, Canada writes: It all boils down to coaching. Raptors played well but they couldn't make shots during the end game. Why? Because they got tired. We had the same 5 players playing for all stretches at the last 5minutes of the game. Bosh wasn't moving at will. Parker looked tired. Kapono was out of sync. All of them couldn't run and box out because they're tired. And Sam didn't even call a time out to at least help them catch their breath. As a coach, you gotta manage your players' energy. Every playoff game is a 48minute total grind game. I'd say we need a smarter coach!
  22. winston bharat from Toronto, Canada writes: Ahhh Jose fanboys, the worst type of Raptor fan, who exist only to lob unjustified criticism at TJ Ford in the hope that BC keeps Jose here this summer. Were you complaining after game 3? Try to be a bit objective here and admit that Jose had a bad game and as everyone knows, his defence is horrid. Nelson was going off on them, as simple as that. I'm not a big fan of Smitch, but with Moon and Delfino out, who was he supposed to put in if not another mobile guard?

    Roger S, if the Raptors had a 90% chance of winning with Jose closing out a game then JC would be the highest paid player in the NBA. The Lakers don't have a 90% chance of winning and Kobe closes out every game for them.

    We simply do not have as good a team as Orlando, we certainly don't have the athleticism to match the Magic, and it's probably time that BC realizes that there are some great Euros sprinkled around the NBA, but you can't expect a virtual Euroleague team to do anything meaningful in the NBA.
  23. Roger S from Canada writes: I never heard BC said he would solve PG situation, he may still try to fool Jose and himself to sign/match and manipulate both poor PGs next season. However, if he does, with Jose Calderon "5 millions to 12 millions more popular than TJ Ford", you know BC, the "smart" guy, will do.
  24. Roger S from Canada writes: If you review the game again, you will get that Raptors lost control of everything once Jose was replaced in mid-4th quarter. Sam Mitchell is the worst coach among all playoffs teams this team, overall, one of the worst in the league.
  25. eddie fitzgerald from Canada writes: Two questions for Roger S:

    1. What level of basketball have you played?

    2. What level of basketball have you coached?

    Answer with facts only please. No explanations. Thanks

    Go Raptors!!
  26. andy c from Canada writes: rog: BC said in a pre game interview on the Score he would solve the PG situation this off season.
  27. Joseph Daniel from Oakville, Canada writes: OK I am not even going to get into Rog's commentary, Even though he is BLIND!. Bottom liine as Ravi mentioned, is this Bosh played his best playoff game ever, Raps still lose. Howard plays an average game, and Turkoglu is a non factor till the very end of the game, Magic win going away in the 4th. That tells you the Magic have more bullets to shoot with than the raps. If Bosh had one of his worst playoff games ever this game would have been a laugher for Orlando.
    Can everyone say good bye Smitch see you in CHarlotte next year and hello to Mike D'Antoni ?
  28. andy c from Canada writes: Joseph: i'm thinking larry brown ends up in charlotte, we get D'Antoni (who is currently getting outcoached by Pop) not quite sure where smitch would end up if the raptors released him
  29. Roger S from Canada writes: Mike D'Antoni ? No. The guy's on courting coaching is only marginal better than Sam Mitchell. D'Antoni will be fired, but I think the best place for him is to stay at home and review some tapes to see how Popovich coaches his team.

    I didn't get the chance to watch the interview, but if BC indeed mention it, I'd say the resolution is easy to be done then being said. Jose is restricted free agent, what BC needs to do is just decline to match. But you know he has no guts doing that. I guess what he is trying to do is to get Jose back first at all cost, then trying to trade one of them (=TJ). It is not going to be easy and the odd is, you may see both of them at training camp.

    Regard the game again, like I said before, Raptors win by every player performing. Traditional NBA star strategy (like how they play Bosh) won't work in Toronto. The first key to suceed is to establish a good game flow. Does anyone think TJ can get this job done, do you think Sam Mitchell can get this job done?
  30. MJ M from Canada writes: Maybe BC has been saying he will match any offers for Jose just to keep Jose happy through to the end of the season. He may do exactly what he thinks is necessary after the season is over. I do think though it may be too difficult to trade TJ,not because of his flashes of great potential but because of his medical condition.
  31. Doktor David from London, Canada writes: Personally, despite the performances of Lewis and Nelson, I think the key was the defensive play of Bogans on Kapono. He was on him like glue for the majority of the game. With Kapono being as hot as he is, the tendency of the Raptors to set a single high pick (Bosh on whoever is defending the PG at that time, as an example) and not utilize secondary picks to free up Kapono hurts them offensively. You could see that Orlando figured out the necessity of defending Kapono early on and stuck with it. The Raptors, in contrast, reacted too slowly to the Magic players that were filling the hoop and I feel that cost them the game.
  32. John Nicholson from Oshawa, writes: Forget all the garbage about Mitchell the game came down to the last 2-1/2 minutes 2 points apart. The Magic made their shots and the Raptors did not.
    Raptors except Bosh shot 33% for the game and 2/15 from 3pts. Bosh can't win games by himself, he needs help, did not get it tonight, no one else stepped up.
    Bosh can and has offsett Howard, but Raptors do not have an answer for Lewis and Turkoglu's physical abilities, work for Colangelo to do in the offseason.
  33. Rich Chan from Vancouver, Canada writes: Hey Guys, it's a pretty solemn time in Raptor land right now, but at least we have one more game to make ammends and get this back to Toronto. If we can win in Orlando, we can still push this to 7 games. Let's see how the raps respond when they're backs are totally against the wall. I hope they don't cower, and just make it a fighting chance here. Raps in 7!!!!!!!!!!!
  34. Edwin Green from NS, Canada writes: raptors are toast for this year think Bc has to get away from the idea to build the rap s like his old team these guys are good players but you need more big strong guys to handle guys like howard look at all the good teams ALL HAVE SUPERMEN
  35. Philoso Raptor from Kingston, Canada writes: Anyone in the forum here know if there's any history between Enigma Bargnani and Turkoglu in International ball? When Andrea has been on Turkoglu he seems to have taken the assignment personally; he's owned him defensively, keeping him on the outside and playing with something approaching passion. Now if he'd only learn his rotations...
  36. SY GIL from TO, Canada writes: let's just end it. we're tired of this group of players. not as bad as the leafs, nevertheless still loser, common thread - the mlse.
  37. CLEMENT CHAN from Mississauga, Canada writes: Time to talk about raptor's changeover next season, as much as I still wish raptors can win this series: Mitchell said after the game yesterday, "they made timely shots and we didn’t." The problem for the raps is that this issue has generally haunted the team the whole season. Not making timely shot has become the team's culture. The raps can generally win games with blow-out. For tight games (at the fourth quarter) players generally are too uptight. Seemingly this excessive psychological pressure on players is detrimental for the players to perform. You can blame this to individual coaches or players who like to badmouth players who make mistakes at crunch time, which generate this undue pressure. But make no mistake about it; this "team culture" is nurtured, either deliberately or sub-consciously, by Mitchell. I always have an analogy for Mitchell's coaching. I came from a community, parents generally very strict and serious about the kid's schoolwork. Kids generally have less freedom to do what they like but these kids excel in high school. But in University, they generally have to struggle to catch up in the first two years. Playoff is like University here and crunch time in playoff is particularly crunchy and therefore the raps (from hindsight) do not stand a chance. I am betting on Sam will be gone next season.
  38. R. M. from Regina, Canada writes: Looks like a very bad end to a so/so season...was really expecting more from the Raptors in the playoffs...Bosh is a good player but I don't think will ever be "great"...he is simply too lean/light to be a dominate force.
  39. Rich Chan from Vancouver, Canada writes: Cmon guys, It aint over till the buzzer sounds at the end of triple overtime game 7 in Orlando with the home crowd booing the Raps. Let's keep our head high. Don't get solemn, believe in your team. Raps in 7.
  40. emoncada Toronto from Canada writes: a true fan will not give up right away... our boys need our support and they expect us to believe them that they can do it! who else who will believe them outside raps organization except us and only us! let's just enjot the playoff and hope they will get w in orlando tonight. i am glad that some of the fans here foster a positive attitude and still believe in raps. Raps in game 7! (not 6 anymore) go Raps!

Comments are closed

Thanks for your interest in commenting on this article, however we are no longer accepting submissions. If you would like, you may send a letter to the editor.

Report an abusive comment to our editorial staff

close

Alert us about this comment

Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.

Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.

Back to top