Post by JTBRLZ on Jul 11, 2009 11:50:52 GMT -8
Expansion Franchise in Toronto Finding Niche
Raptors starting to roll
Toronto Star
The new Raptors GM/Coach JTBRLZ did his homework before the expansion draft, and tells us at the Toronto Star that he came out of the draft excited for the season. "We were really satisfied with how the expansion draft went. We really only missed one or two guys that we had targeted, the rest of the guys we picked were all ones we had at the top of our list."
Although satisfied with his picks, JTBRLZ still did not feel that the Raptors were talented enough to stick with the rest of the league. "We believed that we could not play straight up basketball and play competitive basketball. The first few weeks, I tried to out-think other teams by mixing up our strategies instead of just letting our guys play like they know how to. We messed around with the press a lot, tried slowing down our offense, but all of this was to no avail."
JTBRLZ said that although he wasn't satisfied with his team's lack of success the first two weeks, he still believed that the problem wasn't the team's strategy, but rather it was just a bunch of guys playing together for the first time and there wasn't really a superstar that could carry the team while they learned to play together.
All of this came crashing down after the Raptors game on Day 15 against the Hornets. The Raptors lost that game by a score of 106-58 and that's when JTBRLZ realized that something was wrong. "Although these guys were all new together, they were still professional basket players, all very talented. There's no reason they should be losing games by almost 50 points. This is the National Basketball Association, it was embarrassing."
So at the next practice, JTBRLZ had a team meeting where he discussed with the team the first two weeks and asked them what was wrong. He said the leaders of the team really took over at that point and voiced all of the player's complaints about the team's systems. "The first guy to talk was Spud Webb. Spud stands up in front of the whole room, and Spud's a short guy so he had to stand on top of a chair to get everyone's attention, and says to me, 'Look coach, we understand that we're a new team and everything, but you're really making it tough for us with all these complicated things you're making us do on the court. Just let us play man.' So I did."
After that meeting, JTBRLZ promised to his players that he would simplify everything so they could just do what they were born to do: play basketball. Since that point, the Raptors have gone 9-5 and have moved into the eighth spot in the East. "The only expectations I had coming into this season were for us to be competitive," says JTBRLZ. "I just wanted a team that other team's wouldn't look forward to on their schedules, but now my expectations are changing. I want this team to make the playoffs and be a force."
Looking back at the first two weeks now, JTBRLZ admits that he made many mistakes he wish he could take back. "I realize now that I highly underestimated this team going into the season, but looking back I'm not sure why. We got all of the guys we wanted to in the expansion draft, we picked up two solid young players in the entry draft who are only going to get better in Michael and Kevin, and then we picked up Spud in Free Agency before the start of the season, so we really liked our squad. However, my insecurities about the team led to me over-thinking and over-complicating everything for these guys for the first two weeks, and now I take full responsibility for that. I just hope it doesn't come back to hurt us in the end."
Raptors fans can at least thank JTBRLZ for one thing, his policy of only getting players who are committed to playing defense. "We went into the expansion draft thinking one thing: defense. And it has really help shape the structure of this team." The Raptors currently boast the best ranked defense in the league, holding opponents to a league leading 96.2 PPG. That combined with the Raptors strong depth had led to their recent success, which JTBRLZ says he hopes doesn't end anytime soon. "It's a great feeling working with a winning team. The atmosphere is just better, everyone's happier, which we hope will only lead to more success."
