Raptors Revert Back to Form... (April 16, 1999)

Last week, the media was ready to anoint Glen Grunwell, GM of the Toronto Raptors, the executive of the year, Butch Carter, the coach of the aforementioned team, coach of the year honors and Vince Carter, the guard/forward for the Raptors, rookie of the year. This week, I'm not so sure. The Raptors have lost four straight. Their losses to Miami and Indiana were not unexpected, but the way they were thumped and thoroughly dominated, especially the Miami game, was. Over the past month, the Raptors pulled themselves out of the basement by their bootstraps and showed they are a real NBA team, with real NBA talent with the ability to win every game. They had already beaten Indiana earlier in the year. So why the recent collapse? Hard to say. The other two losses, to New Jersey and Boston baffled many. Toronto had thoroughly controlled those two teams in recent games. But Toronto is floundering. I guess with their recent success, a four game losing streak is considered bad, but last year, a four game winning steak was considered a good thing, it meant they had won a game five games ago.

The Raptors are a tired team. While some people have extolled the virtue of the a Raptors bench, Butch Carter doesn't really use it that well. He doesn't have a steady rotation. He doesn't play Tracy McGrady with Vince Carter too much. When T-Mac is on the floor, Dee Brown is playing beside him. Doug Christie often takes some of the point guard duties when the Raptors go big. Kevin Willis and Charles Oakley, while in great shape, are playing serious minutes and it's catching up to them. Don't blame John Thomas and Michael Stewart for not taking up the slack. Neither of them are nearly as good as Oak and Willis and neither get a lot of playing time because of Coach Carter. Vince Carter is getting 37 minutes a game. That's a lot for a rookie. He's not at the rookie wall yet, but he will be. Carter doesn't play John Wallace nearly enough. Wallace is the most talented offensive talent on the Raptors. When he's in there, he can score. Wallace doesn't play with Carter too often either. I often wonder why is going to the coach's head when he substitutes so oddly. All I know, is Reggie Slater and Sean Marks don't play at all, other wise, it's a wild ride. Carter seems to have some sort of weird loyalty to the incumbent point guard Alvin Williams. Williams provides nothing. At 6'5", he's a big guy, but doesn't post up. He's not a great shooter. He can't break anyone off the dribble. He's too slow to guard the small quick point guards in the east like Iverson, Strickland, Best, Cassell, Marbury, etc. He's a waste of a player. If he played 10 minutes a game as a backup point guard, I wouldn't complain. He could be a useful second point guard, play some defense again the bigger guards, push the ball, waste some fouls, etc. But he's the starter and gets more than 20 minutes a game. It's ridiculous.

When the Raptors are not shooting well, they can't win. I know that seems like the mantra for many teams, but this is a team of scorers not shooter. Christie is not a great shooter, but when he's hot he's ok. Dee Brown was unconscious for 15 games, but he's not a 50% three point shooter. He's a decent shooter, and the best one on the Raptors, which says a lot. T-Mac and Carter scorer but creating off the dribble and in the open court. When Carter's outside game started to leave him, he was having trouble taking it to the hole, because opposing defensive players were starting give him the shot again. Oakley still can hit his open 18 footer from the corner or wing, but Willis has been struggling with his shot down low. I think it's because he doesn't get the ball enough down there to get comfortable. He's asked to rebound mostly, but he's not getting his 15 shots a game, that he's used to. He's by far their best post player. The Raptors would be served well, by letting him shoot at least 5 to 10 times in the first quarter. If his post game is going, it gives Christie, Carter and Brown more room to shoot.

But all this is speculation….who knows the Raptors might start another winning streak and everyone will again say how this team is on the way up. They do have at least two first round picks this year (three if they don't make the playoffs, as their pick, held by the Knicks, is lottery protected) and they also get some Euro-star forward. Maybe the future isn't so bad after all.

Return to Hoop-LA Home Page