Everybody relax

[S.R.]

Football is only 11 minutes of action to people who don't like football. That 'inaction' time in between is actually as exciting as the action. When a team is on a 3rd and 8 seeing the formation they bring up, seeing the shifts, the defence's formation, guys feigning blitzes and the anticipation of the moment is as entertaining as any of the plays that happen after the ball is snapped.

Football is like a great movie, constantly building an intense story and delivering crazy action scenes in between all the buildup, culminating with that last minute drive.

Yeah, this is true of so many sports. People who don't like baseball, soccer, golf, football, NASCAR, curling (!), etc. etc. find the inaction boring. A fan sees all the strategy and gets the build-up even when the players/athletes are just standing around (or driving in hundreds of circles turning left).

[Uncle_Si]

I think we all know the team and the coach are flawed, but we didn't know that at the start of the season. I'm glad Masai gave the guys a chance to prove themselves, now he had players and money coming off the books and lots of solid players in free agency and tons of tradeable assets.

The playoffs were always going to dictate the direction of this team, I think it's now clear what direction that is.

It's going to be a very interesting offseason, hopefully we have a better showing than we did in the playoffs....

[Bendit]

I am so conflicted.

Maybe it has to do with all the kicks to the groin I absorbed last night. Spilled my drink a few times. Coincidentally, it began towards the end of the 2nd period. Then I got massaged by a bit of a comeback in the 3rd (got a refill) but alas, soon got sledgehammered into simpering submission.

For a total capitulation it will have to come down to Masai becoming incoherent at his next press conference.

[mjt20mik]

I think we all know the team and the coach are flawed, but we didn't know that at the start of the season. I'm glad Masai gave the guys a chance to prove themselves, now he had players and money coming off the books and lots of solid players in free agency and tons of tradeable assets.

The playoffs were always going to dictate the direction of this team, I think it's now clear what direction that is.

It's going to be a very interesting offseason, hopefully we have a better showing than we did in the playoffs....

This is my thoughts exactly. Low liability, and the team still over achieved. Sure we have talent, but nothing really meshes.

Really it just comes down to our schemes. They don't match our players. Scramble defense is terrible when you have a big that isn't mobile and a pg that likes to gamble. It will never work.

[caccia]

Really it just comes down to our schemes. They don't match our players.

I agree that, to maximize the possibilities of any one team, the head coach needs to tailor his strategy to the strengths and abilities of his players. That requires very good evaluation skills, patience, and imagination. None of which Coach Casey has in abundance.

[2KJ]

Yes, that second game against Washington was terrible. I don't think anybody would say otherwise. But at this point half this forum is in FIRE ERRBODY mode and seriously, guys - it's not remotely close to being that bad.

Let's all remember the following things:

1. Kyle Lowry is almost certainly playing through injuries at this point. That isn't an excuse for his poor play in this series, because he's clearly inside his own head right now and he's getting upset when he gets a stupid bullshit foul early (it's happened once in each game so far and it's been Bradley Beal each time), and it's not like Lowry doesn't get bullshit fouls a lot so he should be used to it. But screaming that Lowry is "toxic" when this team is one that by all accounts genuinely loves one another? That's silly. Saying that he's selfish when he averaged nearly seven assists per game in the regular season is nuts. Saying that he doesn't care when he was averaging personal bests in practically every stat earlier this season makes no sense.

2. Accusing DeMar DeRozan of not having a work ethic or not being mentally tough is ridiculous. That's the furthest thing from his problem. DeMar's problem is that he's a solid third starter at best and being asked to be a star player, and that's always been his problem. Which is not so much "his" problem as it is the team's, but I digress.

3. Amir probably needs six months off from playing to properly rehab his ankles. He can't afford to take that time off since it would essentially mean missing out on his one final chance to get a decent NBA payday. But his mediocre play of late is not because he is a bad player. He is a very injured player. There is a big difference.

4. Jonas is playing much better than anybody is giving him credit for. He's an excellent rebounder, a very good scorer and if he was playing in a coherent defensive scheme his defensive issues would be minimal at worst. If he was getting touches commensurate with his scoring ability he'd be a consistent 20-10 guy.

5. 2Pat is a fine stretch four off the bench. Criticisms of his play seem to boil down to: he's not a starter. But we're not playing him as a starter! That's why he's not getting starter money! He's getting talented bench guy money!

6. Finally, although both of these losses to the Wizards look terrible, it is worth pointing out that in both losses the Wizards went on insane runs that were not entirely the Raptors' fault. In this most recent game the Wizards' third-quarter run was produced by practically the entire team shooting well above-average on threes, many of which were reasonably contested. Drew Gooden hit a contested three, for crissake. Which is to say: statistical flukes such as that can happen.

None of this is to say that none of these players (to say nothing of the rest of the squad) are untradeable. But it is worth remembering that together they have managed 49 wins and that, with essentially no offensive system worth mentioning beyond reliance on individual talent in one-on-one ball, they had the third-best offense in the entire league. This is not a total shitbox of a team. This is a team with a reasonable amount of talent but one that does not have a true star player and one that, we can finally say with some universal agreement, simply does not have a coach who can execute modern NBA strategies.

So stop panicking.

It's not panicking, but more of frustrating. Honestly, Milwaukee would have given us trouble too imo due to their length, and Kate Middleton would probably drop Bradley Beal-like numbers. What pisses me off however is most of us wanting this matchup with Washington to avoid Cleveland in round 2, not realizing that the Wizards have the playoff edge against us despite us sweeping them this season. In 2 of the 3 wins vs them, they didn't have either Beal or Porter, and both have been playing very well in the series (Beal on offense, Porter on defense). Of course, reg. season don't mean anything in the playoffs (see: Brooklyn vs. Miami and OKC vs. SA last year). Not only that the Wizards won a playoff series last year, but they are doing exactly what they did to the 4th-seeded Bulls last year (Wiz won the first 2 in Chitown and won the series in 5). And also, there was more ball movement and defense last year with Salmons and Nando than with Lou Williams and Co. And wasn't James Johnson signed to solve our problems with bigger, scoring wings like iso-Joe, Lebron, and well Paul Pierce? If he's not being used, I wish they could have used that money to sign a veteran who has been there like Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol or even VC.

Frontcourt would definitely need an upgrade in the offseason: 2Pat is great off the bench and so is Amir. Tristan Thompson would be on the top of my list.

[JawsGT]

For the most part I agree with the OP, but these guys are playing like bums. I thought we had the better chance of winning this series but alas, the wiz's strengths are our weaknesses and defence usually trumps offense in the playoffs. The wiz are exploiting that advantage and making the proper adjustments and executing their game plan. Our game plan, apparently, is the same as it was during the regular season, and it isn't working anymore than it did since the All-star break. Very disappointed.

I really feel terrible for the folks that spent big dollars to watch this team suck the big donkey dong in person. I actually considered going up for a game, which would have cost me somewhere in the vicinity of $3000 in tickets, airfare, hotel, etc for two. Boy am I glad I didn't, cause I surely would have whipped it out and pissed all over these guys if I was close enough to do so. Honestly, I'm not that ticked off, but I would be if I had dropped alot of money to watch these guys fall apart. They literally have no clue what to do out there.

I thought the signs were there after game 1 that this could be our series. Now, I don't think it's possible that the Raps figure out a way to adjust on both ends of the floor that will give them a chance to win. The only hope we have, I think, is for Wiz to get complacent and stop executing. Will that happen for four games? I doubt it, the Wiz look like the much better team.

[bodmon]

I agree with Magoon's original assessment. The players are not bad, the system just doesn't work, or doesn't exist and that's on the coach. Players aren't going to come up with a new scheme in game - they're playing how they've been taught to execute throughout the season.

If you notice some of the movements the Wizards employ, those are designed and practiced. Beal doesn't run randomly on the court; he needs other players to be in the right places setting screens or creating space for him to operate. That's a play you can't just execute without everyone being familiar and on the same page. If the Raptors had plays like that, I'm sure the players would be able to execute. But the problem is that those plays don't exist. There is no offensive scheme, period. It's all one-on-one. Even the limited movement that does get employed seems to be just to free up the player/give him the ball for one-on-one action.

The scramble defense is not suited for this club either and it seems that's the only system Casey knows how to employ. Just b/c it worked in Dallas doesn't mean it will work all the time, and Casey has not adjusted to accommodate the players. Val is not mobile enough to play the screen hedge game and the other Centers/PFs are undersized both physically and vertically to effectively rebound when they're out of position. However, outside of maybe JJ and Amir, man-on-man defense is atrocious for the most part. But that could also be a scheme thing - ie. the guards know that a big will hedge to slow down the player, so they won't put as much effort into initially negating the pick or fighting through it.

Ultimately, it's a scheme thing and Casey needs to go if we want to get to the next level. I appreciate what he's done for the Raptors - we're in a much different place than we were 3 years ago. But I think from a coaching perspective, we've maxed out. There are weaknesses on the roster, but I feel if certain players were used differently (ie. more pick-and-roll action to feed the roll man, more drive penetration and kick-outs as opposed to dribble hand-offs), we wouldn't be complaining right now.