Does anybody else get the impression that Sam Mitchell is conditioning this team to be a bit too shot-happy? --------------------- There's this observation by Fred Jones: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"You were supposed to work the ball and wait, let yourself get in a rhythm, (but Raptors) coach (Sam Mitchell) was on me, 'Shoot the ball, shoot the ball.' I've got to get in that mind frame. It's just a difference." ..... "For me, (Mitchell) ain't going to have to tell me too many times to shoot the ball," </div> http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Basketbal...971225-sun.html Along with Anthony Parker: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I don't think it's too much of an adjustment," Parker said. "I had the green light to make plays but I've never had the green light to take bad shots or whatever kind of shots I wanted. Coach (Sam Mitchell) told us when we have the shot, take the shot and I'm a pretty good judge of when I have a good shot and when I don't. That's all it is. </div> http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Basketbal...963814-sun.html And we've all heard about Bosh jacking up a few 3's in the intramural game: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"Coach told me I could shoot them if I practised them every day so I've been working on my form," Bosh said. </div> http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=180103&hubname= One thing I've felt about our offseason is that we've downgrading in terms of 3 pt. shooting. While we are still a very good shooting team and we have an abundance of guards, we might not be able to light it up as often as we did last year. However, Mitchell may not share this opinion: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"We'll always have perimeter shooting. Mo Pete can shoot, Fred Jones can shoot, so can Anthony Parker.</div> And it may lead to the opposite of what Chris Bosh expects this year: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"We're going to get more layups than contested three-point shots," said Chris Bosh, pointing to the speed and pass-first philosophy of new point guard T.J. Ford, who came to the Raptors in the Villanueva deal in June.</div> http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Basketbal...956489-sun.html --------------------- My point is that Mitchell needs to be careful not make this team too dependant on the jumpshot. We already have players that have a tendency to use it too much (Jorge Garbajosa) and we may not be as great a 3 pt. shooting team as last year. But, most of all, this team is going to show a lot of consistency if they are serious about contending. And relying too much on our shooting has been the primary cause of the inconsistent Raptors teams the last few seasons. The Raps are a very versatile team and, IMO, they have too many weapons to take this type of approach in camp. What do you guys think? Am I reading too much into it? EDIT: I just found this, which makes it look even worse: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So far the results in practice have been positive, Mitchell said. The club has struggled shooting the ball during training camp, which he hopes is more about the defence than the shooters. "For the most part, our defence has been great. It's making us a little nervous, we're not making shots. . . . But I have no complaints with our overall effort on defence. We're talking, we're helping.</div> http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...Basketball/home
I agree. I hope we don't rely too much on our perimeter shooting like we have in years past. We really had no resemblance of a post game the last couple of years other than Bosh (who likes to take a lot of perimeter shots also). Basically if our shots weren't going down, we were in huge trouble. Good teams don't have a one-dimensional offence. Anyways, Mitchell needs to (and will be) fired.
I don't think he's putting to much emphasis on it because he already knows what our main issues are; rebounding and defense. I've heard Mitchell state through the media so far in camp that if we're going to win, we need to rebound and defend. We've been a top 5 offensive team for the past couple seasons (Sam also stated this), so offense/shooting isn't our biggest problem.
<div class="quote_poster">P.A.P. Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">We've been a top 5 offensive team for the past couple seasons (Sam also stated this), so offense/shooting isn't our biggest problem.</div> It's hard to say because the last few years, we've had guys like Vince, Donyell, Villanueva, and James on our team. Parker, Bargnani should fill that hole this year but that remains to be seen. You can't rely on the fact that we've had good offensive teams in the past and assume that it will be the same this season.
