Season Preview: Toronto Raptors

I'm baaaackk... Ok, ok, on with the show.

Toronto Raptors

Starting 5:
PG- Jose Calderon
SG- Anthony Parker
SF- Jason Kapono
PF- Chris Bosh
C- Jermaine O'Neal

Off the bench
Guards: Will Solomon, Joey Graham, Hassan Adams, Roko Ukic
Forwards: Kris Humphries, Jamario Moon
Centers: Andrea Bargnani, Nathan Jawai

I like the TJ Ford for Jermaine O'Neal trade, I really do. Honestly, I don't think Rasho Nesterovic really added that much anyway, he was a reasonable replacement when we found out that Andrea Bargnani couldn't really play the center position, but aside from that, yeah, not much. I'm really looking forward to the Chris Bosh/Jermaine O'Neal frontcourt combination. Of course, we always have to call into question O'Neal's health, I know, I know, I wasn't going to play the injury card, but given his past couple of seasons, I think it's a legitimate concern. However, there's also the speculation that he was on a middling Pacers squad and therefore not very much inclined to come back. Why d0 I like this frontcourt so much? Well, as much as Jermaine O'Neal is a nightly 20-10 threat, what I like more about that line is a 10 more than the 20. Chris Bosh can score in bunches, and Jermaine O'Neal will garner you blocks and rebounds, the things he does best, not scoring. It allows for specialization and therefore the ability to focus more. Jermaine gets to play a little closer to the basket and Bosh can roam a little more, showing more of his nice mid-range touch. Then, with a plethora of long-range shooters, and a passer with the court vision of Jose Calderon, their offense is set.

Not getting into the depth issue, another point of contention is who starts at the 3 spot. Last season, the Raptors favored rookie and former Globetrotter Jamario Moon. However, with the arrival of O'Neal, Moon at the 3 runs into muc the same problem as Lamar Odom at the 3 on the Lakers, which is to say, his skill sets aren't really needed. Granted if you look at the lineup, they don't really have much of a slasher, but with Chris Bosh's post abilities, I really don't think they need one, and Anthony Parker I suppose is serviceable enough. Jason Kapono is kind of like the epitome of 3pt specialist, in that, that's really all he can do, shoot, from beyond the arc. He's kind of like an oversized Steve Kerr. He is the reigning 3pt shootout contest champion for a reason. Another option is to add length to the frontcourt by starting Bargnani at the 3, but then the issue of defense comes into question, and whether or not he could keep up with the Paul Pierces and the LeBron Jameses and the Caron Butlers and so on and so forth. Some have argued that Kapono has the same problem while others have argued that he's not as big of a liability as we would imagine (this sound familiar? Moon = Ariza, Kapono = Radmanovic).

Aside from that, bench is somewhat of an unknown, two of the major reserves Nathan Jawai and Roko Ukic being rookies from overseas. Jawai is a 6-10 center from the Australian NBL, and was a fairly proficient low-post threat and rebounder, averaging 17.7 pts, 9.6 rbds, and 1 blk per game on 57.5% FG percentage. Not a lot is really known about him and no one's really sure how he'll transition into the NBA, however, looking at some of his highlights, he looks to be like a scrappy, hustler, someone who works for every play. I think he can grow to be a very solid player, epsecially with O'Neal and Bosh to help him with his game. Draft Express lists him as best case being like Erick Dampier (not a great best case scenario) and worst case being like David Harrison (oh boy). We'll have to trust Toronto and their usually proficient foriegn scouting. While Andrea Bargnani looks like he could be a bust, he's shown signs of having major potential too, they do say it took Dirk a couple of years to adjust, and Yao took a while too if I recall correctly. Roko Ukic is a Croatian point guard, again not very well known, plays for the FIBA club Lottomatica Roma. At 6-5 he's a taller point guard, which isn't a bad thing. Watching his highlights against the Raptors when Lottomatica Roma faced them in an exhibition game summer of '07 I actually really liked what I saw. He's explosive, and fairly quick, able to easily cut into the lane and find his shooters around the perimeter, he also has a pretty good shot (apparently led the league in 3pt % before). His passing is pretty good, but some analysts say that he puts the ball on the floor too much and takes too much time bringing the ball up, apparently his off the ball game isn't great either. However, I think that playing behind a guy who sees and runs the floor as well as Jose Calderon, he'll be able to grow into it, he (Ukic) is only 24, so he's got a couple of years to grow into it, he could be another free agency steal (much like Calderon himself).

In a middling Eastern Conference that is beginning to show signs of life, I believe that this team has improved enough to make it to the second round. More and more like the Western Conference though, it'll depend on who they draw, they might be in a spot to draw a team like Cleveland, in which case, they might not be able to find an answer to LeBron, or Washington, where they can hope that one of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, or Antawn Jamison once again doesn't make it to the playoffs healthy. I say 50-53 wins, easily playoffs, again, depends on who they play, but I can see them making second round.