Raps 6-16 versus top half of the league

[Kosta]

Yeah, to me this just means we find a way to get the job done other ways. We've still beaten the likes of the Spurs, Rockets, Hornets and Mavs and have come close against other top teams. Eventually we will start winning against those teams, and that's when we'll be able to take our game to the next level in the regular season.

[jonny three time]

This consistency in our record shows that this team isn't really unbalanced the way people seem to think. The whole idea that we need a rebounder, or a slasher or whatever doesn't really hold water. Those things could help, but its not something that the team really needs. If there were these drastic weaknesses you'd see the Raptors lose to bad teams that have the right strengths to exploit our weaknesses. Instead we lose to all types of teams that just happen to be great teams. While beating all types of teams that are bad teams.

The biggest weakness I see with the team is the level of unawareness shown by pretty much every player when they face a superior competition. It's one thing to know what you want to do against great teams and get beat while doing, its another to show up and look unaware as to how you should play them. You can see it on both offense and defense as well. Whether its the age of the roster, or Sam not being prepared enough from a technical standpoint on how to play great teams, I don't know. Hopefully BC can figure it out in the offseason and give next years team a better chance to beat elite teams.

[seanied]

So we're 6-16, with wins over the Spurs, Mavericks, and Hornets. Are you including the Rockets, Magic, and Cavs in that listing?

Last year against the top teams out West, we were 1-9 - we lost every single game to the top West teams, except for one win against Houston.

So 6-16 is actually a substantial improvement. So, given that we're not a "top team", it's not surprising we have a losing record against the best teams in the league.

The important thing is that the Raptors are getting better at playing top teams and, most importantly, have been able to steal a few of these wins on the road.

I got my info from
here: http://teamrankings.com/nba/
and here: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/nba0708.htm

The Rockets, Magic, and Cavs are all listed in the top 16. But we lost to Orlando. Probably Blazers are the 6th.

[Calderoni_8]

Raptors just need some times to grow and develope and bring in fresh talent

[RockTHECasbah]

That was uncalled for

[tnugget]

Smitch shows no semblance of a coach with maturity, and it shows in our team identity. One simple example is how Smitch ALWAYS calls a timeout if the raptors have a large lead and the other team makes 2 or 3 consecutive baskets. What this does is it puts up a red flag to the opposing team that our team is playing scared, thus giving them more confidence.
If you look at great coaches, for example Phil Jackson and Avery Johnson, they usually let their teams play through adversity. They let their players figure it out for themselves.
Also, when you have great teams with leaders on the floor, such as Detroit and Phoenix, you don't ever need to panic, because they have confidence to the point where they know they will come through when the game is on the line, you expect it from them.
Smitch, and the players we have at this point are not up to par when it comes to either of these attributes. You can blame the coach or you can blame the youth or immaturity of the team, which has been beaten to death like a dead horse to this point...
I say, it's easier to blame smitch and replace him because these players, other than the core group, are going to be around for a while. We can aid the speed of the process a little bit by getting a coach who is a little more mature, and doesn't treat the entire team like their rookies.

[La princesa]

No one said Raptors were a great team.. chill man