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Michael Grange, March 26, 2008 at 11:44 AM EDT

When you go dry you go to the well. That seems to be the thinking around the Toronto Raptors these days.

Losers of 11 of their past 14 games the Raptors are considering flipping their starting line-up for tonight's game against the Detroit Pistons.

In would be T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic, out are Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani.

Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell had no comment on the possible change yesterday at shoot-around, saying only he was thinking about a move.

Of the two, starting Ford is the biggest surprise. A starter until a neck injury cost him two months of the season, Ford has chaffed coming of the bench behind Jose Calderon, who blossomed as a starter.

Inserting Nesterovic reflects the veteran's strong play in March and the continued uneven play of Bargnani.

I'll update further later.

  1. andy c from Canada writes: i agree with the Rasho (imho this move should have been made a long time ago) move but TJ back in the starting lineup is interesting. billups will just post up Ford and detroit will make the raps pay when the double comes. if they were going to put Ford in the starting lineup i'd rather see him in against the smaller and quicker chris paul.
  2. C Ta from Richmond Hill, Canada writes: Just another reason to proudly wear my Calderon "Right to Play" t-shirt. The guy is a class act, but we already knew that. Alongside Bosh, he should be the face of the Raptors.
  3. Rich Chan from Canada writes: It's great when we award players for their general poor play, but whatever, yes, we do need a shake up. I see us falling behind early in the game, then will have Calderon come in and bring the scoring back up and then we'll lose in the 4th because TJ is trying so hard to make us win. LOL. Mathematically, we probably won't make the playoffs. If we don't it might be a blessing so that we can address the Ford problem. What a loser.
  4. Stephen Gray from Aurora, Canada writes: "Mathematically, we probably won't make the playoffs."

    What?
  5. Archie Gillespie from Canada writes: Although Grange's blurb doesn't have all the details, the Star states Calderon initiated the meeting with Smitch and BC. Interesting that TJ appeared not to have been in attendance. I suspect TJ will have a short leash and certainly no guarantee of being on the floor at crunch time (if there is one tonight). Will also be good to see how Jose can work again with Kapono and perhaps reignite Bargs. From BC's perspective it may be an opportunity to get TJ going again to bump up his trade value come off season...go Raps.
  6. Stevie Dee from Canada writes: My first thought on this was "what???". Ford hasn't been playing well at all and certainly doesn't warrant a "promotion" to the starting lineup. BUT, let's face it, Calderon has played very well with BOTH units. Ford clearly isn't clicking with the second unit. The minutes are essentially equal for both players (obviously depending on the specific game) and starter / backup for this position is simply a title on this team. That being the case, kudos to Calderon for initiating a meeting to suggest going back to a rotation where both players played well and the team was more successful. In fact, this may work out well. As I mentioned in the Denver thread, Ford hasn't been playing a lot with the Raps "scorers" (Bosh, Parker, Bargnani) when in with the second unit. There isn't much movement, and he seems to feel the need to jack up a lot of shots (whether you believe that it's warranted by him shooting close to 50% is not relevant to my argument). Maybe, by moving him back to the starting lineup, he'll revert to previous more balanced form where he was facilitating the offense well and producing big time assist numbers to go along with the points. Calderon, on the other hand, seems to do equally well with the second unit. As I say, win-win and the Raptors come out stronger. Way to take the high-road Calderon.
  7. David P from Canada writes: I'm not impressed with Ford - he makes too many mistakes and just lacks the polish that Calderon shows game in and game out...perhaps if TJ was slightly more professional he'd recognize that his minutes matter and he's helping the team win...surprisingly it's not all about personal stats...Too bad Ford's going into the starting lineup, but I think BC needs to move Ford in the off season - I'm sure Houston could use another PG who likes to pout when his minutes get cut (even though he's not as good as the main guy)...
  8. Khan dor from Canada writes:

    Kaboom!

    The sound made when a team implodes.
  9. steven tran from Winnipeg, Canada writes: If Jose asked for this change in search for the best interest of the team then he should be applauded for his team first attitude. That says alot about his charecter.

    However what does it say about TJ that even though he may be more "talented" then Jose he can't mentally handle the role of backup PG. That Jose would sacrifice his starters role (in a contract year even) in the hope it would repair TJ's battered ego says all i need to know about TJ.

    Trade him a pick or one of our so-so wing players for a better 3. Then bring in a PG who can handle the backup PG role behind Jose for the 12-15 min per game (maybe Ukic, maybe a Free Agent or draft pick)
  10. Stevie Dee from Canada writes: Steven,

    I have absolutely no problem with TJ not accepting the backup role. A player with his skill shouldn't, and I would be disappointed if he did. But, as I stated earlier, there really is no backup in the situation; the minutes are usually equal, and often the second PG off the bench gets more minutes. But I get what you're saying, the pouting has got to go...earn back the spot with good play!

    What is more important is the play on the court from both, and clearly Ford does not play a style that works with the Raps second unit. Calderon does.
  11. NikolaTesla -the genius who lit the world from Calgary, Canada writes: This really doesn't do anything. Again Andrea gets to be the scapegoat for Sam and some fans. Yes all the losing was Bargnanis fault LOL.

    As long as Bosh is the focal point of this team and Sam Mitchell is the coach this team will be what it is now.
  12. D D from Canada writes: Wow...a guy gets injured, just starts trying to get his game back and people are going for the jugular. Im gathering people didn't notice that it was Bosh being out that caused the losing, not Ford coming back?? Frankly I thought it was a bonehead move on Sammitch's part to not immediately insert Ford into the starting lineup and put Calderon on with the second unit...where he could actually put Kapono to use (with Ford out you'll notice how Kapono didn't get looks for 3). The roles on the team are not about who is the more talented or who deserves the starting role, it is about what works best....Ford starting worked best for the majority of the players.
  13. Rich Chan from Vancouver, Canada writes: Whoa D D? We've all figured out now that Jose plays better with both starting and back-up roles. TJ just with the starting role. We'll starting winning now, but TJ's antic have already destroyed this team and everybody knows it. Even with Bosh out, if Ford did not come back we still would've won more games than what we have done already. Ford not on this team works best, but Ford as a starter is second best.
  14. Jackie Moon from Toronto, Canada writes: Yeah, so Ford's not winning any popularity contests with the fans anytime soon.
  15. steven tran from Winnipeg, Canada writes: Stee Dee, You're right i should have been more specific in my comments. What i should have said was - i have no problems with TJ not being happy with being a backup PG. Like you said, someone with his talents and history of being the star on the team should want to be the starter. But having said that he should have won back the starting role, not sulked his way into it. He should have won it the same way Jose got it by being just too good to deny. But the fact was TJ was terrible as a backup. he was like a cross between Rafer Alston (when he sucked in Toronto) and Mike James (who sucks pretty much everywhere). he shot too much, ignored his "lesser" teammates and over dribbled, threw away bad passes...painful to watch. And i say that likeing TJ. i defended the trade back when we sent Charlie V for him. I mean he's a pro right? 8 mill (or whatever it is) says he should be able to perform to the best of his abilities regardless of what the team asks of him (he dosen't have to like it, he just has to perform). I never got the impression he would just suck it up and play, eerything he did on the court seemed to be with the intent of impressing the coach with his singular abilities to get back to the starter role. Either way i hope it works cause watching these games is painful and brings back bad memories of the Kevin O'Neil era (post Jalen and Vince injuries)
  16. Yertu Damkule from Canada writes: hey ladies, was outta town again w/ shaky 'net access...what'd i miss? nikola - i agree, 'scapegoat' isn't a good term to describe AB. it's far too kind. dude has simply been MIA for the majority of the season. all they want is a solid, consistent stretch of play, and he's been unable to deliver. it's not like they're asking him to be a go-to guy, just someone who can bring more to the table than he takes off, and he hasn't. a shame, really, he seemed to be rounding into form a couple months ago. i think people forget how valuable he was down the stretch last year, and that he actually stepped up & played well in the playoffs, especially compared to how he's going now. i've been a HUGE AB supporter (ok, apologist), and i still think he has an excellent chance to have a fine career. but if he ain't bringing it, then a change is needed. playing on 2nd unit, against weaker opposition, especially if he has jose on the floor with him, and if he can play PF instead of centre for stretches while bosh is out (a bit of an 'if' if rasho is starting, as i assume AB will be the 1st big off the bench to sub rasho), then it may help. of course, part of the reason he *SHOULD* be having success is playing alongside bosh (y'know, the double comes to bosh, he kicks to AB for open jumpers). as for TJ starting, like most have mentioned, it doesn't seem to matter to anyone except him, but it seems pretty clear that he's been pressing for weeks now coming off the bench. i see it simply as needing to shake things up...the status quo certainly isn't working. unfortunately, the horses have already fled, so shutting the barn doors now is probably a little too little, a little too late. at this point, i'm willing to have them try anything, if for no other reason than to get their collective confidence level up to where it needs to be to compete. they all look like they just got beat up in the schoolyard. steve, jose 'won' the starter's job when TJ went out.
  17. steven tran from Winnipeg, Canada writes: Yertu,

    I agree Jose played awesome when TJ was out. But are you telling me he wasn't playing amazing before then as well? Following this team as close as i have been forever i can say that Jose was tearing it up with the second unit BEFORE TJ got injured and that he was finishing some games even when TJ was healthy. I would expect the same from TJ when he was coming off the bench and that was not happening. That's what i mean by winning the starting position back.
  18. Stevie Dee from Canada writes: Yertu, First of all, welcome back! I saw the games before and after TJ got hurt (missed the late Feb / early March games), and agree 100% that Jose "won" the starters job. I'm not saying that I agree with the playing time split, just that the only part of this rotation that has been set this year is that the PG playing time is ALWAYS divided 50/50 or 60/40 or 40/60, and that Bosh gets his 28 to 34 min. per game. Personally, I see it as a big, big deficiency that Delfino plays big time minutes for 5 games, then is lucky to get 7 min. a game. That Humphries grabs 12 boards in 17 min. one game, and then is glued to the bench for the next month. Quick hook on Bargs (i.e. 14 in the first quarter against Denver then pulled after 3 misses in the second half). Graham has gotten a chance, Dix played big minutes after not playing for half a season, Rasho's in/out/in etc. Anyway, I digress. Jose should be the starter and should be playing around 30 min. a game. Fact is, it aint gonna happen and Calderon sucked one up for the team. I love watching this team, but it's got an identity crisis and we've gone backwards this year. I understand what Calderon is doing in trying to get some stability back. Ironically, if there is some truth to this article, Calderon understands it better than SMitch!
  19. Khan dor from Canada writes: And the fact that Calderon "understands it" still does not mean that "it" SHOULD have been allowed to happen on this team, at this time, in this way, and for the reasons stated so far.

    Organizational Leadership is still missing from the top down in this franchise ... and it's painful to have to watch "it" up close & personal, like this.
  20. Rich Chan from Vancouver, Canada writes: Khan and Steve, I couldn't agree more, why wasn't it Mitchell who came forth with this suggestion. Mitchell seems to be pretty clueless about the whole situation and it's his job to be this way. By the way, I was listening to Mitchell talking in the morning show and when it came to asking about mistakes that people make he referenced Moon, Graham and Bargs, but that his veteran guys such as Bosh, Calderon and Nesterovic understood things. Never did he once mention TJ making any mistakes. Wow, Milwaukee blood runs thick, and so does Mitchell's brain.
  21. andy c from Canada writes: something i think got lost in the rasho/TJ excitement. how is moon still in the starting lineup?
  22. John Nicholson from Oshawa, writes: Can you spell TEAM leader-Jose Manuel Calderon !!!

    Looks like it worked, an outstanding game on offense and defense by Jose, and TJ much better in the 2nd half of a much needed WIN.
  23. Khan dor from Canada writes: BTW ... just to clarify ... the pending implosion with this team WILL NOT happen right away ... but down-the-road apiece when they resume losing games ... either in the playoffs or next season (if Ford is still with the team).
  24. Vinthulan N from Canada writes: Love da josn livinsgston move buh i rather have jose over tj anyday

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