Last season the Toronto Raptors weren’t very good, but they had a pretty good defense (12th in the NBA) that kept games close. So it stood to reason that if you added Kyle Lowry’s offense, the much anticipated Lithuanian big Jonas Valanciunas and rookie Tereence Ross, this team would take another step forward.
Nope. The Raptors are 4-16. They have a bottom 10 offense still and their defense is a mess, 28th in the NBA. Toronto is giving spot-up shooters good looks and not closing out, and they are the second worst team in the NBA at defending guys in the post (via Synergy Sports).
GM Bryan Colangelo has caught up with the team and is doing interviews to try and find out why. He might start by looking in the mirror and discussing with that guy roster construction and what kind of team he is trying to build. Colangelo also talking to players and coaches to try and figure it out.
But he’s not happy, he told Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
“This situation is, from all standards, unacceptable,” the team’s president and general manager said. “It’s disappointing, it’s embarrassing but this is where we find ourselves….
“There’s been a lot of dialogue, a lot of discussion,” he said. “It’s constant evaluation of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and why we’re doing it.”
The team and coaches held a closed-door 25-minute meeting after getting thumped by the Jazz this week, too.
Colangelo has no guaranteed money on his deal past this season and having been on Toronto radio the past week a couple times I can say he is a target of the fans. With reason, again what plan do you see in how the team is constructed? And now, what are you going to do with the enigmatic Andrea Bargnani, who has two years and $22 million left on his contract AFTER this season. He’s not going to be easy to move.
In the long term, the Raptors may be better off with another lottery pick to build around, even in what is seen as a down draft this year. But the Raptors problems are deeper than that and coach Dwane Casey and Colangelo need to figure out what the path is for this team and get them back on it. And get them to defend, too.