CBC-Sports

A playoff blueprint

April 16, 2009 02:04 PM | Posted by   Paul Jay  

The final week of the regular season was an encouraging one for the Toronto Raptors, demonstrating as it did that the team's core of Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker, as well as the injured Andrea Bargnani, can play with anybody.

Alas, they will not be playing anybody in a meaningful game for over six months, and by the time they do the team that took the floor Wednesday night may be radically different.

Eight teams in the Eastern conference will be advancing to the playoffs, however, and as Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo mulls who to keep and who to let go, it might be worth his while to take a hard look at those teams and see what lessons can be gleaned from their respective paths to the post-season.

As a public service, here's my sense of what each of these teams could teach the Raptors. (Listed in ascending order from worst to first.)

Detroit Pistons: Cap space isn't everything. It was a bold move; Pistons GM Joe Dumars traded his star point guard Chauncey Billups and forward Antonio McDyess to Denver for Allen Iverson. The move was designed to clear cap space to give Detroit financial flexibility while making room for Rodney Stuckey to become the team's new point guard. There was just one problem: neither Iverson nor Richard Hamilton has been willing to come off the bench. Only a good start to the season saved them from dropping into the lottery. Now Detroit has cap space, but no real direction. Like Detroit, Toronto also has money to spend this summer, but not much to show for it.

Chicago Bulls: Rookies matter. It was hard to know what to expect from the Bulls, who have a weird collection of talent that seems to equal less than the sum of its parts. But if there was one constant on the Bulls, it was the play of Derrick Rose, who immediately took the starting job from Kirk Hinrich and gave the Bulls a rock at the most important position on the court. As the Raptors prepare for the draft, perhaps it's worth remembering that one player can make a difference.

Philadelphia 76ers: Depth matters. The Elton Brand experiment was a disaster in Philadelphia, and when he went down with injury, many assumed the season was sunk. Instead, the team rebounded, both literally and figuratively, and got solid contributions from second year forward Thaddeus Young and rookie Marreese Speights. It might have seemed curious that the Sixers would draft Speights and sign Brand when they already had Young, but all through the Sixers lineup there is depth and built-in redundancy. When the Raptors injury bug hit, there was...Will Solomon? Jake Voskuhl? There's a lesson here somewhere.

Miami Heat: It's a star's league. Few expected the Miami Heat to make a playoff push, but those that did surely might have anticipated a solid season from rookie Michael Beasley. Nope. Miami is in the playoffs for one reason, and that's Dwyane Wade. Whether you think Chris Bosh belongs in the same stratosphere as Wade, it's worth noting that teams that have traded their top player in recent years (Memphis and Pau Gasol, Minnesota and Kevin Garnett) have not made the playoffs. For the Raptors to bounce back, they need to keep Bosh.

Atlanta Hawks: Choose role players wisely. If there was a worry about the Hawks last season, it was the bench. The starting five was a nice group of players, but outside of Josh Childress, the Hawks had few passable backups. This offseason Atlanta lost Childress, but unlike the Raptors, who guaranteed spots for fringe players like Solomon, Hassan Adams and Roko Ukic, the Hawks went for cheap but known NBA role players like Flip Murray and Mo Evans, two players who combined to average over 19 points a game, including over two three pointers a game. We know the Raptors have a thing for the Euroleague, the D-League and other overlooked places, but surely if there's a need to fill a rotation spot, someone with a little more experience might also be a good fit.

Orlando Magic: Make sure the pieces fit. If you had a monstrous man-hulk of a centre that dominated under the basket, what kind of teammates would you surround him with? If you're Orlando, it's shooters, shooters, shooters. And the system works. Now if you had a lean power forward who was at his best on offence when shooting or driving to the basket from 17 feet out, would you surround him with...more shooters? For three seasons, that's what the Raptors have done. Maybe it's time to rethink that plan.

Boston Celtics: Injuries are no excuse. Kevin Garnett has missed 25 games, while key role players Tony Allen and Leon Powe missed 36 and 12 games respectively. And no Celtic played all 82 games. Yet they still won 62 games. Sixty-two. The next time a general manager or coach or apologist blames a 33-win season on injuries, this year's Celtics team is Exhibit A for the 'Suck it up' school of thought.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Don't be afraid to spend. When the Cavaliers traded for Mo Williams, the concern I voiced was that the team was loading up on highly-paid players who may not be worth it if LeBron James bolted a year from now. But Cleveland's strategy has been simple: the best way to keep your best player is to win, no matter the cost. As Colangelo mulls how best to surround Bosh and the others, perhaps he should remind his employers at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment of this.

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