Sam Mitchell: "I did not watch Eurobasket"

[Neozyrus]

It was about time.

[Alyosha12]

I think Sam has too many players on his roster he can accually use, and doesn't know how to use them all, to his advantage.

[robbe]

If I see the Raptors roster, I see a quite good, balanced roster.

But when I see their games, I see a team that plays 1-1 and 2-2, with the other players waiting on the outside for the kickout, without any structured offense. Now there are many teams over there playing like that (while, for example, Utah doesn't fit into that category), and I'm starting to not really care anymore, but it just hurts seeing Garbajosa, Parker and co. having to play that way.

I think Colangelo know's what he's doing. But he had no room to remove Sam Mitchell, because you just don't fire the guy with the Coach of the Year title.

Just imagine seeing all those players play after Ettore Messinas playbook.

[mvblair]

I think Sam has too many players on his roster he can accually use, and doesn't know how to use them all, to his advantage.

Yes, but some of them are being overused, like Moon and Kapono...in my opinion.

If I see the Raptors roster, I see a quite good, balanced roster.

Yes, me too.

But when I see their games, I see a team that plays 1-1 and 2-2, with the other players waiting on the outside for the kickout, without any structured offense.

I only watched a game against Cleveland, and their offense was much, much slower than it was last year. I think your observation explains that.

--Matt

[JGX]

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/278381

DALLAS – Toronto forward Jorge Garbajosa was inactive for Tuesday night's game at Dallas after team medical personnel saw something "unusual" on an MRI of his left leg, the one he broke last season.

Garbajosa has missed three of the Raptors' last four games. He is not expected to play or practice again until the team can determine the extent of the problem.

[JGX]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g2SGtoYWGdR_XcCYJ34ZqbpdD6Nw

TORONTO (AFP) — Jorge Garbajosa, the Toronto Raptors' Spanish forward, will see a specialist about his ailing left ankle and leg, the National Basketball Association team said Saturday.

The Raptors issued a statement in response to reports out of Spain that said Garbajosa would miss the rest of the season because of ankle surgery.

"We have arranged for Jorge to consult with a specialist in Baltimore on Monday," the team's statement read. "Future treatment and therapy options remain undetermined at this point."

[Neozyrus]

Toronto has always wanted to put Garbajosa into another surgery since the review of the ingury in August.
But as Garbajosa denied that possibility in order to play the EC and as the insurance for his ankle expires this week, is quite a coincidence that now doctors find something again in his anckle that probably will require another surgery.
Maybe all that Toronto's doctors say is true , and i want to believe that is true, but still, is suspicious.

[kestas]

sam mitchell didnt and should have not deserved nba coach of the year.

maybe they gave the award to him in order to play down the influence of foreign scrubs that were so important to this team. NBA has to think about it's American image of some sorts, don't they.. and btw, Kapono is way better than Garbajosa in this regard and I fully understand why he's playing more (especially if Garbajosa has ankle problems).
but please do not take that personally, this is simply a shallow thought from a person who isn't the bigest fan of NBA

[Lebron23]

I think the Raptors find a gem, when they signed an undrafted Free Agent during the off season named Jamario Moon.





Jamario Moon: Man with a Mission

He attended Meridian Community College where he averaged 20.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds. Moon entered the 2001 NBA Draft but failed to be drafted by any team in the NBA.

After he had impressed in a three-day mini-camp held by the team, then he was offered a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors

Lists of draftees in the 2001 NBA Draft

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?year=2001&sort2=ASC&draft=0&sort=

I think Moon would be the modern day version of Ben Wallace, an NBA player that became undrafted in the 1996 NBA Draft, and during his prime he became one of the best defender in the history of the NBA winning an NBA title in 2004, and becoming a 4 time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

He is one of my favorite Rookie in the NBA, and his life is such an inspiring story because he has been given a chance to play in the NBA. I hope he fulfill his dreams, and become one of the best role player in the history of the league.

[DanMajerle]

"The Brain" talks again :

Now we found out through the Toronto Sun that he even feels insulted when you try to tell Sam Mitchell they are playing European-style basketball:


"I feel insulted when I hear that," Mitchell said. "I don’t see NBA players wanting to get out of their contract to play in Europe. you don’t see college kids leaving school early to play in Europe. Nothing against Europe, but this is our game … You watch European basketball and all they want to do is play like we play. All they want to do is dunk the ball."

I liked the one marked in bold . He's really a real observer of basketball

http://www.ballineurope.com/us-basketball/nba/insulting-sam-mitchell-and-the-raptors/#more-342

[mvblair]

"I feel insulted when I hear that," Mitchell said. "I don’t see NBA players wanting to get out of their contract to play in Europe. you don’t see college kids leaving school early to play in Europe. Nothing against Europe, but this is our game … You watch European basketball and all they want to do is play like we play. All they want to do is dunk the ball."

For the record, that quote is coming from the Toronto Sun newspaper (I followed the link from the Euroball site) under the headline Euro Trash.

I liked the one marked in bold . He's really a real observer of basketball

Wow. Wow. I really don't know what to say. I've tried to defend Sam Mitchell, but this comment is just, well, just wrong! It's wrong for two reasons: 1) he says that all Americans want to dunk the ball, and 2) he says that all Europeans want to dunk the ball.

I think that a lot of young players, no matter where they are from, want to do the cool dunks and look pretty. That's true for youngsters like Bargani and Humphries on the Raptors. But most players, as they mature, move past the "Slam Dunk Contest" phase. Two European Raptors in that category are Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa. Other mature guys like Grant Hill and Ginobili are wonderful dunkers, but they continue to work on other parts of their game: specifically play-making for both of them. That makes them much more valuable players.

So, I think Sam Mitchell could say "all young players want to do is dunk" -- and he would be partly right (although some youngsters have never had the need to come into the league with a dunk-based game, like Danny Granger or Beno Udrih).

But also, to say that when European players dunk, they want to be American, is just silly. I think that most players who can dunk on a given play will do so, just because it's a high-percentage field goal. That doesn't mean that everytime Andres Nocioni or Marko Jaric or Shane Battier dunk the ball, they're trying to imitate those great, Championship-winning American players like Fred Jones and Gerald Green that every coach would kill to have on their team.

[robbe]

"I feel insulted when I hear that," Mitchell said. "I don’t see NBA players wanting to get out of their contract to play in Europe. you don’t see college kids leaving school early to play in Europe. Nothing against Europe, but this is our game … You watch European basketball and all they want to do is play like we play. All they want to do is dunk the ball."

Oh my. I'm starting to feel sorry for this guy.

Still I think there is nothing "European" about the Raptors' style of play. There might be players whose interpretation of their roles is "European" style, but speaking of the Raptors' systems, that is NBA style at its purest.

[Richey666]

Luckily Raptors dont have "European" style of play, or they would lose all games with 20+points like best team of Europe did.

[Neozyrus]

Its just curious that this guy that apparently seems to know so little about the european basket, is training the team with probably more europeans or "european-style" players.

[jugoplastika]

Luckily Raptors dont have "European" style of play, or they would lose all games with 20+points like best team of Europe did.

Remember, in October, 2 months ago, the result was:

ACB Spanish league clubs vs NBA clubs: 2-1