High-scoring Raptors get an F on ‘D’
Defensive woes persist in OT loss
WASHINGTON— As the Raptors poured in a season- high 61 points in the first half of last night’s game against the Wizards, Sam Mitchell was only occasionally seen standing on the sideline congratulating his troops on baskets well made. More than occasionally he was observed frantically waving his hands as if to repel a particularly persistent swarm of blood- bent mosquitoes. “ Get back!” Mitchell would holler. “ Get back!” Though the Raptors came into last night’s tit- for- tat score- athon with a reputation as allleague sieves, sometimes they would get back. Alas, coaxing the squad into credible defence will be a season- long chore for the coaching staff. The Raptors lost another close one, 119- 111 in overtime, while letting the opposition shoot a blistering 50 per cent from the field. And what leverage does an NBA coach carry in the ongoing battle to squeeze defensive excellence out of players who largely get paid based on their offensive production?
Mitchell, who’s been looking for an answer, conjured up an historical example yesterday afternoon. Back in 1989, he recalled, one of the league’s most famous defensive forces was a 7foot- 6 Sudanese tribesman named Manute Bol.
Bol was an undeniable nightmare for would- be scorers — he averaged 4.3 blocks playing 22 minutes a game — but it wasn’t long before the nightly highlight shows became just as enamoured with his quirky offensive contributions.
Bol teed up 91 three- pointers that year, and it didn’t seem to bother him that he couldn’t shoot worth a hoot, missing on nearly 80 per cent of heaves. Mitchell chuckled at the thought. “Why would (Bol’s coach) Don Nelson let Manute Bol shoot threes? . . . If a guy’s going to be energized and block six or seven shots a game, you let him shoot a three every now and then,” said Mitchell.
“ Especially early in the game, when you feel like it’s not going to hurt you. If he makes it, it’s just going to make him more energized. And the fact that you let him shoot it: Now all of a sudden you can really get on him when he’s not doing his thing defensively because now you’ve given him something he normally doesn’t get.
“ If you’re touching the ball on offence, it’s going to make you a better defender. Why is it like that? I don’t know. Go ask the guy who invented the game.”
Mr. Naismith wasn’t available for comment, but suffice it to say he would have approved of Jose Calderon’s generous distribution of the ball — an 11- assist performance — not to mention the Raptors’ penchant for sharing the shots. But for all the offensive opportunities fanned out, nothing seemed to inspire the Raptors to stop the Wizards’ incessant procession to the bucket. Until, that is, it mattered most. With the game tied 105105 and five seconds left, a Raptor double- team forced Washington’s Gilbert Arenas into a tough three- pointer at the buzzer. Arenas — on a night he scored 37 points — obliged with a miss.
For the visitors, it was a rare moment of defensive accomplishment. But it couldn’t be savoured. At night’s end, for all the offensive diversity, Mitchell was still searching for answers. Such went the night. Calvin Booth would dunk and Charlie Villanueva and Matt Bonner would look at each other as if to say, “Was that my guy or yours?” Jarvis Hayes, who averages 8.6 points per game, had 12 in last night’s first eight minutes. And it wasn’t always clear who was supposed to be guarding him. Arenas fired from anywhere, anytime, and the Raptors, like a lot of teams, rarely found the antidote. His three- pointer with 19 seconds left made it 104- 100. Joey Graham, who drew the unenviable assignment of stopping that trey, was a step slow. But say this for the Raptors: They keep firing. Morris Peterson’s dramatic trey in the dying moments of regulation was one of 20 three-point attempts. They made nine of them, but Bol would not have been impressed. The Raptors blocked exactly two shots all night.