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Sam Mitchell was recently the favorite to be fired first this season. But now the Raptors are playing .500 ball and Mitchell is the Eastern conference's reigning coach of the month. Michael Grange's article lists his faults, as well as his strengths, which are as follows:

Yet there's little doubt Mitchell has been more than a handsome suit stalking the sidelines this season.



Not only are the Raptors better defensively than last season — currently ranked 13th in the NBA in defensive efficiency — but they've also improved dramatically through the season, suggesting it's not just the new faces that have made the difference.



The club's offensive efficiency — 17th in the 30-team league — has also improved steadily, in particular since Mitchell and his staff elected to drop the run-at-all-costs approach they started the season with.



Also, past rosters offer several examples of former Raptors — Matt Bonner, Mike James an even Rafer Alston — whose best years came playing for Mitchell and no obvious cases of players who have thrived after leaving. Prize rookie Charlie Villanueva (now with the Milwaukee Bucks) improved over the course of last season, as Bargnani has this season.



Mitchell works well with Bosh without resorting to coddling or babying, and for what it's worth, he's earned the respect of Anthony Parker, as thoughtful and reasoned player as you'll find in an NBA locker room.



"He's a straight-up guy," Parker said. "He makes you look at yourself in the mirror and not point fingers at anyone else if you're not doing what you're supposed to do, because he's put the people out there that can help the team at any given moment."