Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo fired Sam Mitchell, the 2007 Coach of the Year, after a 39-point loss to the Denver Nuggets last December. Colangelo hoped new coach Jay Triano could solve the Raptors’ defensive issues and would make a calmer presence on the bench.
Wednesday’s 146-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks proves the Raptors aren’t cutting it defensively, and that calmness that Colangelo liked in Triano is being criticized by his players.
“Every time something happens it’s always, ‘It’s okay, it’s all right.’ It’s not all right,” backup point guard Jarrett Jack told the Toronto Star. “Problems go by without attacking them or challenging them or bringing them to the forefront and getting them solved.
“We can’t keep putting them to the back of the bus and just saying, ‘That’s okay.’ It’s not all right. Everybody can’t walk on eggshells around here and say, ‘We’re playing good basketball.’ We’re not.”
All-Star Chris Bosh was just as frank after the game.
"The defensive effort hasn't been there for a while. We didn't magically appear last on the charts defensively," Bosh told reporters. "I mean, tonight was just a total embarrassment. We couldn't stop anybody. We haven't stopped anybody all year."
Pick: Over
Indiana Pacers at Utah Jazz (-10, 210.5)
Carlos Boozer is making his agent a very happy man these days. The former Blue Devil is playing the best basketball of his career at the right time.
Last season Boozer all but assured Jazz management that he would use his player option to enter free agency in the summer of 2009. But an injury hurt Boozer’s production and at the last minute he decided to stay put in Utah.
Fans in Salt Lake City weren’t too pleased. The club had already sunk a good part of the team’s cap space into younger power forward Paul Millsap. But Boozer’s performance this season is making him look like one of the best bargains in the Association.
He’s averaging 23.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists over the last nine games. It’s no shock the Jazz have gone 7-2 straight up and against the spread over the same period.
“I’m very confident in my game,” Boozer told the Deseret News. “I don’t want to blow it out of proportion, but I’m having fun. I’m just playing off my teammates.”
Expect Boozer to beat up the Pacers in the paint Friday night.
pick n roll 12/4
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