| A Shortlist Of Things I Don’t Understand About Sam Mitchell Authored by Nolan Hand - November 24, 2005 - 12:51 pm
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1) The Matt Bonner conspiracy – After all the talk at the beginning of the year about “whoever can bring it at 7:00 will play,” I’ve still seen Matt Bonner struggle at 7:00 (and 7:30, and now 9:30) and still somehow play twelve minutes in the fourth quarter while Chris Bosh plays seven minutes in the fourth quarter. Maybe Sam literally meant 7:00? I don’t know. Quite frankly though, watching Bonner hit the side of the backboard on a late-shot-clock 3-pointer near the end of that Clippers game made me feel even more sick than the Jägermeister shots a few nights ago. My stomach actually turned. I had to sit down and regroup myself before I could accept that loss without revisiting supper.
2) Chris Bosh – Or, even better, the lack thereof. Bosh picks up one foul – his first of the game – with 3 or 4 minutes left in the third quarter, and goes to the bench. I wasn’t sure what the deal with that was exactly, but I accepted it because it didn’t actually hurt the Raps at the time. We held our own without him on, but the back of my mind wouldn’t leave the absence of Bosh alone. Then the fourth quarter rolled around, and there was no Bosh. And then the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter came, and there was no Bosh. By this time, I think I’d torn three pillows in half and wrecked a coffee table. Bosh came in after the Clippers went on a quick 6-0 run to cut the lead to four. After a beautiful third quarter, Bosh had sat for 8 minutes and Raps fans had seen their lead evaporate.
3) Hoffa – Or, even better, the lack thereof. I would have understood having Hoffa sit the fourth quarter (or most of it) if Mitchell had intended on going with a “most talented” line-up, but that idea was thrown out the window with the floor-presence of Matt Bonner. Hoffa was having an effective game, both offensively and defensively. His presence was forcing Brand to make tough fading jumpshots and hookshots and keeping the LA frontcourt off the offensive glass. What happens when Hoffa stays out? The Raps rebounding advantage disappears. We went from a +7 rebounding differential to start the fourth quarter to no differential. Out-rebounded by seven in the fourth. If it were socially acceptable for a man to cry, this would have been a great occasion. I’m not chauvinist, I swear.
4) The Fall of Rose – This has been expounded over and over and over by pretty much everyone in the knowledgeable Toronto basketball universe, but I’m repeating it anyways: until Jalen Rose remembers how to score, he cannot win us games. It’s not like his defensive presence can will us to victory in the fourth. The man was shooting somewhere between 10-20% entering the fourth, and yet he is elected to play minutes in the fourth over MoPete who, while not exactly blazing the box score, was shooting a reasonable percentage and was the only one doing anything about Sam Cassell. Jalen’s given us no reason so far this season to trust him down the stretch (or at any time, for that matter). As delightful as watching those fourth quarter hero-shows Rose put on last season, they don’t matter anymore. With all respect, that was over 6 months ago. I don’t think Jalen’s even shaved since then.
5) Charlie – Let’s start with this: I know he had five fouls. But the real question is, what can Matt Bonner do that Villanueva can’t? There’s a tasteless joke there, but I won’t go for it. I’m classy like that. But honestly, is there anything Bonner has over Charlie? I refuse to buy any of the “Charlie’s a rookie; he’s not ready for the clutch yet.” It’s not Bonner’s stifling defense, as that doesn’t exist. Bonner can hit threes, but so can Charlie, except that Charlie can put the ball on the floor when the shot isn’t there. If Bonner gets closed off, he’s either deadweight or a turnover-waiting-to-happen. There’s just absolutely nothing Bonner does that should earn him twelve fourth quarter minutes.
Sam Mitchell needs to pick up on what everyone watching these games already sees: Matt Bonner is an, “Oh crap, they’re clogging the lane – we need to stretch the defense for a few minutes” player, not a 'twelve-minutes in the fourth quarter of a close game' player. I don’t know what else to think. If anyone out there knows the meaning of all this or the reasoning behind it, please, in the name of everything good and decent, inform me. I’m not going to have any furniture left if this pace keeps up.
- Nolan Hand can be reached at threeinthekey@gmail.com |
