Time to hit the 'Panic' button?

[Beagle]

From what I've watched during the per-season and first few games (about 25 -30% of the action) I'd say criticism of Bargnani is massively overblown both offensively and defensively. He generally looks like he understands what's going on and is seldom the culprit when things break down. He looks like a pro to me. His shot has been a bit off, but that will likely come around. It'd sure be nice if he learned how to jump a little. He could block shots if he just lifted some.

Val has been great, though getting schooled a bit by the various NBA trees.

Fields has been useless. Playing with the other four starters, all of whom are decent, has hidden his awfulness to some degree. He just runs around and plays on hope. The ball will go in the hoop about 20 percent of the time for any jackass. Against Milwaukee he appeared to pass the ball to the opposing player once, right under the basket. He has lost it. Bench him and bring him into games late as a wildcard element to see if some value can be retained. I'm sure he won't mind. He's frying under the limelight.

Overall, I don't see what people are so worried about. It's nice to see the Raptors scoring so much even as they struggle to get their defense in order. And this is scoring despite having some weak shooters on the floor. DeMar has been impressive most of the time, Lowry has been blessed with good rolls and the rest of the squad have been just plain OK. Not too many dumb shots have been attempted by most of the squad outside of the designated shooters (and Anderson at times, but hey.)

No panic button necessary. Things look fine. Just bench Fields for Kleiza or DeRozan, wait for Bargs to get more into rhythm, develop Ross (and perhaps Acy a bit too if possible) , admire JV's positive contribution and wait for next season or perhaps even the playoffs this season if the bounces go our way more often than not. I can't see the Raps getting blown out much. Heck, they didn't last year.

[slaw]

It's too early to panic. I usually think it's tough to judge much about a team until 15-20 games have been played but here's the thing....

A lot of the issues: poor defense, rebounding in timely situations, poor shooting, inefficient offense - these are the same issues that have been around for years now. The games in Dalls and OKC looked virtually indistinguishable from games the last two years when they were tanking. It's troubling.

Again, no need to panic right now but there are a lot of worrisome signs involving many of the usual suspects.

[Nilanka]

It's a lack or urgency/intensity. Sure, it's early in the season. There are 77 games remaining. Plenty of time to right the ship, right?

Wrong! If we don't take care of the next 2 homes games vs. Philly and Utah, 12 of the following 15 games are on the road. We can't be starting that stretch 1-6, or even 2-5. We gotta win these 2 games.

With a mentally fragile team like this, falling too far behind the .500 mark will only spell trouble.

[ceez]

Biggest issues:
Bargs - ineffective, worthless on defense
Player rotations - cmon Casey you're better than this
Team full of jump shooters, not enough driving (only lowry)

Small issues:
Fields - thinking too much, needs to stop trying to do too much and have fun

[database_666]

I am interested in the fan's base prospective in lieu of what transcribed since the start of the season, and here are the most intriguing matters, in my opinion:
1. The Defense: Toronto coach has been lauded for as a career defensive schematics guru. It is obvious so far that defense on our team is incompetent and subpar to be competing on a NBA level. Where is the disconnect?
2. The Roster: announced by the GM as the formidable collection of young prospects, it is hard to give any credit to this claim after this poor start. And this claim is not made just because of the losses. It was made because there is a lack of effort, hustle, intensity, and definitive lack of collective and cohesion. Seems like this GM is making mistake after mistake in the drafts, and can not trade for even marginal talent. Bitterness comes from the fact that Bargnani, DeRozan, Davis, Ross, Acy, and also Valanciunas are either not talented and consistent, or athletic enough to be a competent part of a NBA team first-five squad. Imagine either one of them on any other team - would they be playing in the first five? The rest of the cast is a 'make-do'. If a temporary loss of only one player (Lowry) is deemed a cause for the no-show of the whole team in two consecutive games, how good is this team then? Last night while watching the pathetic Dallas team thriving against Raptors, I thought that I wish we had again PJ Tucker, Joey Graham, and Joey Dorsey, and hell yes, Reggie Evans on the team - they would at least show a speckle of pride and defense. What to do with this roster?
3. Jump Shot vs. Penetration: Vast percentage of the offensive plays are done from a single player ISO (isolation against the defender and a prayer that the ball will somehow get in). In essence, this team is doing the same thing as it did in the final 2 years of the Vince Carter era - which was easy to defend and led to defeating results. I have been monitoring the modus operandi of Kyle Lowry - career off-dribble penetrator to basket now looks to shoot as much as possible, and some of those shots came from far, far above the arc - that is not the reflection of the expanding range, I think. The rest of the team is static, mostly in the corners, awaiting the ball so that they could chunk it out. Why is jump shooting with no remorse so cheap in Toronto?
4. Direction: I do not see a strong player base, exciting prospects and a futuristic and developmental direction, provided by the team leadership. Rebuild mode seems to be permanent and persistent. Both GM and the coach are very eloquent and capable making excuses, calling this team 'young', 'up and coming'. Unfortunately, and as a true Toronto citizen and team fan, I think that this is not true. In my opinion, this team needs help at all the aspects which define the game of basketball: agility, athleticism, experience, and team spirit. What do you think are the strategic and tactical needs overall for the Toronto Raptors?

P.S.
Thank you all for comments.... I thought I would be spilling out much more vitriol after OKC and Dallas games.