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Losing faith Raptors don't have confidence in one anotherPosted: Thursday March 07, 2002 6:40 PMUpdated: Thursday March 07, 2002 6:55 PM
In trying to figure out what has the Raptors on such a slide, look no further than their loss to the Rockets in Houston on Tuesday. Having lost 11 games in a row, Toronto was up 18 in the third quarter and ended up losing the game 112-109. The Raptors are playing totally without confidence, and when a team loses faith like that, the defense breaks down. That's exactly what happened to Toronto in Houston. It's not so much that the Raptors have given up; they're still playing pretty hard. The problem is, they have no trust in one another, and that starts with their best player, even though Vince Carter scored 43 points that night. Some of the veterans believe Carter takes a little too much time off with his injuries, and that has caused some serious team problems. They're talented enough to get it back, but they have four games left on this road trip, so it's not going to be easy. Going out on the road can sometimes help a team snap out of a funk like this, but the game in Houston was critical to getting back on track on the road. If the Raptors don't get this straightened out in time to make the playoffs, head coach Lenny Wilkens likely will take the fall for it. He's not necessarily the right one to blame here, but that's usually the way it happens.
Kobe seems determined to prove his toughnessWhen Kobe Bryant came into the league as a young kid, straight out of high school, many players thought he was soft. It looks as if Kobe has decided it's time to do something about that reputation.
In stepping up to anyone who challenges him, he's gotten much more physical. He takes a lot of charges, and he's not far away from an automatic flagrant foul suspension. This new-found aggression was on display in last week's altercation with Indiana's Reggie Miller. In that game, Kobe seemed to say to himself, "I'm going to show the players in this league that they're not going to push me around." Granted, Miller is one of the best trash talkers in the league, but Kobe was the instigator. And while referees will go out of their way to protect a star (just ask Gary Payton), elite players just can't allow themselves to get into fights. Kobe will get some star treatment from the officials, but if he throws a punch, he'll have to be suspended, and the Lakers can't afford to be without him for long. They may have gone 2-0 during Bryant's suspension, but they need him desperately if they're going to be in good position for the playoffs.
Knicks decide to play, but it's a little lateDon Chaney's one-year extension came as something of a surprise because of the way things have gone for the Knicks this season, but management must believe he can handle the adversity. From an ex-coach's standpoint, it's good to see that the coach doesn't get blamed all the time. Chaney got even more good news Tuesday, when the Knicks beat the Bucks 102-89. That was the best defensive game New York has played in several weeks; the team really came out enthused. If the players know a coach is coming back for sure, they realize they'd better start producing. One of the toughest things in professional basketball, and probably in all sports, is to be an interim coach or a coach who's in the last year of a contract. And when the players learned that Chaney would be back, the ones who really care about staying in New York decided to play better basketball. Not that it will get them into the playoffs.
Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN/SI's This Week in the NBA.
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