Raptor Land

The only professional sports team in Toronto this year with a chance not to alienate and anger its fans are the Toronto Raptors. Although, it wouldn’t take much for the “Raptor Truthers” as Bill Simmons puts it to get upset at the team, they just have some more rope to play with since of all the off season moves.

Bryan Colangelo went to great lengths this winter to save his job and regain the mantle of “executive of the year”. Although, he gets an ‘A’ for effort, all the moves may not pay off this year because of the talent in the east (Cavs, Magic and Celtics) and they may not be good for the future as the moves have a negative impact on the salary cap.

So, a new look Raptor squad will take the floor on October 28 to face the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Air Canada Centre for the first of many Eastern Conference tests. Let’s look closer as to who the Raptors will send out there to try to be the beasts of the east…

Front Court
Chris Bosh – F
The all-star is going into his contract year so we should expect a big year.
Andrea Bargnani – C
Il Magico has put on some extra muscle this off season and if he can work as well inside as he does outside it should give the Raptors some great match-ups.
Hedo Turkoglu - F
The prize off season acquisition will provide some clutch shooting, but no defense.

Back Court
Jose Calderon – PG
Expecting another great year of free throw shooting and running the show from the Spaniard. If he can avoid injury, he should be good enough to guide the attack.
DeMar DeRozan – SG
The high flying rookie will remind a lot of people of Vince Carter – but only for his dunking ability. He will run the court, and is better defensively then the options coming off the bench, the reason he gets the start.

Bench
Marco Belinelli – SG
If Coach Triano opts for energy off the bench, than Belinelli could get the start at SG. He was coming into his own the last few years, so Colangelo is hoping he breaks out as a Raptor.
Jarrett Jack – PG
Much has been made of Bosh’s university teammate. Getting pushed for playing time is good for Calderon (see Ford, TJ).
Rasho Nestorvic – C
Back as a Raptor, he will provide 5 hard fouls a night in a limited role.
Amir Johnson, Antoine Wright and Reggie Evans – G-F
The log-jam at SG and SF is with these guys, all are viable options and it will be a game by game decision on who gets more playing time. Reggie Evans will become a fan favorite if given the chance to play minutes.

If the Raptors have to go to man 11 or 12 it is not a good sign. Although deeper than previous years, the options are not fantastic. Players you might see if the Raptors get into injury trouble include;
Sonny Weems, Quincy Douby, Patrick O’Bryant and Marcus Banks


Where will this team finish in the standings. A lot depends as always on injuries, but more this year, it also depends on how all the new parts are able to work together with the big 3 (Bosh, Bargnani and Calderon). Here is how I predict the finish of the eastern conference…

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Orlando Magic
3. Boston Celtics
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Toronto Raptors
8. Washington Wizards
9. Miami Heat
10. Detroit Pistons
11. Charlotte Bobcats
12. New York Knicks

Cleveland Cavaliers beat Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals
Los Angeles Lakers beat San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals

Los Angeles Lakers beat Cleveland in the NBA Finals