Defending Calderon’s Defense
Listening to Raptors fans over the past two seasons complains about Jose Calderon’s limitations on the defensive end has gotten old.
Granted, Calderon will never be known for his defense, but something encouraging to witness over the teams last few games has been watching Calderon enjoy some success on the defensive end. Last weekend he was getting into the grill of Rajon Rondo, on Friday he drew an impressive charge on Wilson Chandler and on Sunday afternoon he did an impressive job of sticking with future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd.
While none of this will warrant Calderon a spot on a list of elite defenders in the NBA, it’s great to see him once again enjoy some success on the defensive end.
“I think Jose (Calderon) has seen the reason the team has been successful lately is because we’re defending better,” Triano explained to Hoops Addict. “I think he’s getting up on his guy the way we’ve asked all of our guys to and it’s probably more noticeable with him because he is back in the lineup after being out for so long. This is one of the things we changed a little bit when we changed our defensive philosophy.”
It would be easy to chalk Calderon’s defense up to buying into the teams defensive philosophies and getting up on his man, but something that can’t be overlooked is Calderon finally appears to be healthy. Over the past season and a half he has played through laundry list of injuries which have limited his ability to make lateral cuts or be the kind of defender he wants to be.
Now that Calderon is finally able to move like he wants on the court fans are starting to see what he’s truly capable on the defensive end.
“Absolutely,” Triano emphatically told Hoops Addict when asked if Calderon’s struggles on the defensive end were due to his recent batch of injuries. “When you are 100 per cent in this league you do the right thing and you’ve got a chance. If you are a little bit less than 100 per cent then teams are going to exploit that and they are going to make you pay.”
After a big win against Dallas, Calderon, while grinning, admitted a big reason for his improved defense is due to the fact he’s finally healthy.
“I can move my legs and everything else a little bit better,” Calderon told Hoops Addict on Sunday afternoon. “That is what I wanted but I couldn’t do it earlier this season. Now that I can that is why I’m feeling more comfortable. I can be more aggressive on both ends of the court and react a little bit faster than I used to.”
What a novel concept: being able to move your legs the way your brain is telling you to helps you become a better defender.
It should be easy for Raptors fans to realize Calderon’s struggles on the defensive end the past two seasons were due to the injuries to his hamstring and hip. However, instead of looking at the bigger picture – and realizing he didn’t turn into a bad defender overnight – Raptors fans were far too quick to dismiss his abilities on the defensive end.
Hopefully now that he’s healthy again fans will once again see that Calderon has the ability and desire to be a decent defender. It’s just a shame his reputation has to be tarnished with fans because they weren’t able to see the big picture.
9 Comments on “Defending Calderon’s Defense”.
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[...] Defending Calderon’s Defense | Hoops Addict “I can move my legs and everything else a little bit better,” Calderon told Hoops Addict on Sunday afternoon. “That is what I wanted but I couldn’t do it earlier this season. Now that I can that is why I’m feeling more comfortable. I can be more aggressive on both ends of the court and react a little bit faster than I used to.” [...]
January 19, 2010 » 8:26 AM »
Can we trade this guy yet ? He hasn’t worked out in Toronto and we should package him with Bosh and get something nice in return
January 19, 2010 » 8:48 AM »
Calderon is rounding back into the form that helped take the Raptors to the playoffs two seasons in a row and is regaining his steals and boards from that time. Watch that “per” go over 20 again!
If Jack and Calderon can share PG duties and play 24-28 minutes each per game without complaint, there is no reason to trade either player.
The Raps now have a scorer & playmaker to come off the bench and keep the second unit flying. Definitely enough firepower to get the Raps to the 5th seed in the East.
January 19, 2010 » 10:39 AM »
I think there’s a little bit of revisionist history in this article. Forget about last season. The hamstring obviously hampered him all season and he was never right.
However, this season he took the whole summer off and was completely healthy according to himself, the team and the press. Despite this his defence was attrocious in the first several weeks of the season. Nobody mentioned anything about a sore hip until around the beginning of December. Was his hip a problem since the beginning of the season? If it was, it was never reported by the team or the press.
Let’s remember that fans can only comment on what they know and what we were seeing was terrible defence from a guy who was apparently healthy.
So give Calderon full credit for his excellent play since he returned from injury but don’t hammer fans for criticizing his defence in the first month or two of the season when he was supposed to be healthy.
January 19, 2010 » 11:26 AM »
Brendan – C’mon man, do you not remember the turmoil the moves from the summer had on the roster for the first two months of the season? Dealing Calderon and the face of the franchsie would nuke the season. Plus, both guys are key cogs to any success the team has.
Brother Steve – Amen! I love the idea of a time share as it will keep both players fresh. From what I can tell neither player has an ego so that may just be how things play out for the remainder of the season.
SG60 – Great point, but I beg to differ. As a Kin grad my take would be the hammy took more than the summer to heal and Calderon forced things a bit during training camp and the first month of the season. It was rushing back from the hammy that strained his lower body and led to the hip issue. I’m not a doctor – nor do I play one on tv – but from my Kin background that’s my take. Again, just my two cents.
January 19, 2010 » 2:14 PM »
Ryan – You have to realize sometime that Bosh is not going to resign. He has no reason too. We are a 3rd tier team in the NBA right now and if we make playoffs we will be out first round. So why would he want to stay where it is obvious that Toronto is not making the right moves.
As for Calderon he is not a starting PG in this leaue. last year he logged major minutes due to Toronto having no backup PG. What happened ? He got injured. This year he logs high minutes again and look what happened, he got injured.
Toronto needs to trade these 2 players while they have value. Jack can start and run the point as we are in desperate need of a SG. We need that wing player that can create his shot and be a defender on the Perimeter.
January 19, 2010 » 2:28 PM »
C’mon Brendan, what point are you arguing? That Calderon’s defense is shoddy or the Raptors should trade CB4?
If you feel the team should deal Bosh than the train already left. Too late. At this point of the season the law of diminishing returns dictates they’d get squat. If BC were going to move him he would have been dealt at the deadline last year or this past summer. At this point he’ll ride Bosh to the end of the season and if he won’t resign they’ll get some young players back via a sign and trade.
In regards to Calderon logging high minutes, why do you think the team invested in a veteran point guard for a significant chunk of change last summer? To limit Calderon’s minutes.
Hate to burst your bubble but look at Jack’s numbers in the games previous to Calderon’s return. His percentages and stats in general dipped a ton due to fatigue.
January 19, 2010 » 5:41 PM »
Ryan – I am arguin both with trading Bosh and calderon’s defense.
as for Jose minutes, yes they have gone down but look what happened just like last year. He got injured. Calderon does not have the toughness to compete 35+ mins a game and stay healthy.
As for Bosh’s trade value it is higher now. In the summertime it goes way down as he can leave and we get nothing or we sign him and get a minimal return. Why would the Raps want more young players when that will result in nothing more then a losing record ?
I still don’t get how you think right now we would get nothing in return when people are throwing players at us as Bosh is a hot player and has been all year.
I trust B.C in what he is doing but right now he has passed on some trade offers that I would of done in a heart beat. I still remember the G.S deal that was in the works for Bosh and even the Lakers now offering Bynum.
January 20, 2010 » 9:06 AM »
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January 24, 2010 » 4:44 AM »