Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 9:00 am  |  114 responses

Raptors Call Out Their Coach

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

The Toronto Raptors were humiliated on the road last night, receiving a 31-point drubbing from the Atlanta Hawks. It was the kind of loss that gets coaches fired. Add in the harsh criticism from his own players, and Jay Triano may be seeing the last of his days as an NBA bench boss.

It didn’t help that the guy who he replaced (Sam Mitchell) less than a year ago was sitting in the stands, no doubt taking delight in the fact that things haven’t changed for the better without him in Toronto.

From the Toronto Star:

“Every time something happens it’s always, `It’s okay, it’s all right.’ It’s not all right,” said Jarrett Jack, the reserve guard. “Problems go by without attacking them or challenging them or bringing them to the forefront and getting them solved. We can’t keep keep putting them to the back of the bus and just saying, `That’s okay.’ It’s not all right. Everybody can’t walk on eggshells around here and say, `We’re playing good basketball.’ We’re not.”

Said Antoine Wright: “You’ve got to address (the defensive issues) and you’ve got to show people on tape. It’s not personal. If you want to win, you’re going to have to make some sacrifices.” Wright, who has criticized Triano’s schemes previously, was the only Raptor not to see the floor on Wednesday. He said Triano has failed to “call out” under-performing Raptors because unnamed teammates are “too sensitive” to criticism.

Chris Bosh, obviously the most important voice in the Raptors’ locker room, didn’t go after his coach, but called the performance last night (and all season) a “total embarrassment”.

After spending a boatload of money on free agents this summer, Toronto was supposed to be better than the 7-13 mess we currently see. In the NBA, that usually means that someone is going to have to take the fall for this, and that time is coming soon.

Sorry, Jay.

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  • Justin

    Anyone who puts this on the coach is an idiot. Is it the coach’s fault that guys don’t move their feet on defense, don’t box out, don’t fight to maintain their position on the block? Defense is a mental thing and you have to WANT to play, you need to dive on the floor for loose balls, anticipate where the passes are going and get in those passing lanes, etc. etc. People who want to fire a coach who has all these new players, a less than desirable schedule to start the year, and their most intense defensive player on the injured list don’t know what the hell they’re talking about and it’s pathetic

  • Buschfiya

    First off, Give Triano a chance… its still too early to fire his a$$. Most importantly, get rid of Jose Calderon, I don’t know why we haven’t gotten rid of him years ago. he had maybe one good season with us, but he is so bloody inconsistant it drives me nuts. Turkoglu either needs to step up or step out. Every time i turn on a game, he looks honestly bored, and always has a questioning look on his face as he he keeps asking himself ” why did I come here again?” no motivation, for him…the team as a whole looks pretty laid back. except for Amir Johnson and Marco Bellinelli, who seem to be doing well. according to the way the season has been going the starting lineup should be:

    Chris Bosh
    Reggie Evans
    Jarret Jack
    Amir Johnson
    Marco Bellinelli

    Overall the Raptors can score we know that much. but I sound like a broken record season after season, we need to stop settling for jumpers, and take it inside. Lastly but most importantly our defense is pathetic there is no defense. I have never see a worse defensive team in the 15 years T dot has been in the NBA.

  • wassup

    Anyone who says the raps just gotta do whatever it takes to resign bosh don’t know what they are talkin about. Im my opinion they should just trade him for some young talent right now while they can get it. it would be nice if they could get some tough players in that trade to but who knows what colangelo would do. I mean bosh completely dissapears in every fourth quarter and he’s startin to take too many jumpers again which he can make, but he’s ooooooohhh so much better when he takes it to the hole.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @um: This “not a team leader” rhetoric was exactly what they said of KG during his last season or two with the Timberwolves, if your non-retarded memory can help you recall that long ago. And I didn’t say that Bosh was a “better” rebounder – I said he was outrebounding them statistically.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @what: The same could be said of Dwight Howard over the past few seasons. The Magic play him and 4 shooters on the floor, or he’d never get those 20 rebound games. Chris Bosh isn’t a great defender, and no one is saying he is. But he’s the ONLY big man on the Raptors who even TRIES to do it.

  • LA Huey

    A Raps article with 100+ comments. Wow.

  • Migs

    @LA Huey – I guess you don’t know Raps fans. We’re on this treadmill til we die…

  • Buschfiya

    where’s the Passion? where’s the Intensity?

  • Buschfiya

    please get rid of Calderon and someone needs to coax turkoglu out of his slump he has no passion in his eyes like he doesn’t really care…

  • Buschfiya

    its like turk just came for the money

  • Migs

    @Buschfiya – Turk’s always had that sleepy look in his eyes…

  • Buschfiya

    I never see him coaxing his teammates though, like the other day Calderon had a turnover, Turk looked all pissed off at Calderon’s play, I thought he would get in his grill, but he just shrugged his shoulders and ran back up the floor.

  • drew

    you all are way too trigger happy.relax. bosh was a beast last night in washington, hedo was money when it counted, and reggie’s got his cast off. and triano? he adjusted too, subbing more often to allow a less-than-talented squad to be more intense on the defensive end amidst a tough time in the schedule.

    two years ago calderon was the sh*t and it was “trade ford, trade….everybody.” toronto fans are way too trigger happy. instant gratification junkies. this is going to take some hard work and patience. can they do it? we’ll see.

  • http://www.sheysmith.com Shey

    It really bugs me that so many sports writers and sports media are so OUT OF TOUCH with Toronto basketball.

    Triano isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Trust.

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