At The Half...

It is the mid-way point in the NBA season (the second half of the season starts tonight) and the Toronto Raptors are right where most pundits had put them in the season previews – competitive in the Eastern conference, but in the end will probably not be a challenge to the big three (Cleveland, Boston and Orlando).

The big three have since been joined by the Atlanta Hawks who have graduated to a top echelon team. The Hawks took the experience from last year’s playoff loss to Boston and have exploded this season with the star performances of Josh Smith, Al Horford and sixth man of the year contender Jamal Crawford. Unfortunately, Toronto hasn’t stepped up the same way Atlanta did when they lost to Orlando in the playoffs last season. Although, the Raptors have gotten great performances from Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and there sixth man Jarret Jack, it is still much easier for fans in Toronto to focus on the negative of their teams (haven’t really had a lot to cheer about lately, see Maple Leafs, Blue Jays and Argonauts).

After playing for most of the last decade under defensive minded coaches Kevin O’Neil and Sam Mitchell, Jay Triano’s squad would rather score buckets than protect their own this season. The Raptors are starting to look like the Denver Nuggets teams circa mid-‘90’s who decided they could score more than you and defense be damned! The Raptors are surrendering a mind-boggling 104 points per game. For the Raptors to make a deep run in the playoffs this season, they are going to need to find a defensive stopper somewhere on the roster or in a trade before the deadline of Thursday.

Maybe a shut down defender, someone like Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest isn’t on the roster at the moment, but the Raptors should be able to improve in one defensive category in the second half of the season with some good old-fashioned hard work, and that would be in rebounding the basketball. The Raptors boast a big, athletic front line with Bosh, Bargnani, and HedoTurkoglu but are constantly being out-rebounded on both the offensive and defensive glass. By cutting down on those second chance points and getting a few more themselves, they should be able to cut down that points per game number and increase their own.

Rebounding is a statistic that has the ability to win games, especially on the road. By limiting opportunities and not allowing the home crowd to get involved in the game after a big follow up dunk or second chance three. Since the Raptors have not been winning the battle on the boards, they have been predictably poor on the road this season with a current record of 9-17. Although this isn’t as bad as Milwaukee or the NJ Nets, it still is not very good. They have lost some games they should have won against weaker teams or teams that were devastated by injury. Playing well on the road is a mental aspect of the game that Coach Triano must work on with the team if they want to avoid a tough first round playoff match up.

Although the Raptors could be in for a tough first round playoff matchup against Atlanta, Orlando or Boston, this could be the best situation for the prized free agent acquisition from last summer Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu had a fantastic playoff run last year for Orlando. He propelled his team to the finals by hitting big shots and making the most of his dominating center Dwight Howard. He then signed a big contract with the Raptors in the offseason and fans expected the same things they saw in June. Unfortunately, Turkoglu has lost some of his big shot mojo somewhere between Orlando and Toronto – maybe it got stuck at the customs, but other than hitting his two free throws at the end of the game vs. the Lakers a few Sunday’s ago, Hedo has come up short too many times this season. Turkoglu needs to become the dominating late game threat, hitting his patented step back jump shot, that he was Orlando. If he can do that, the Raptors might get enough accomplished in the second half of the season to get an easier first round playoff opponent and the chance to get on a run and challenge for the East crown.

Although, the Raptors have had some struggles with defense, rebounding and Turkoglu’s shooting, there have also been lots of positives from the first half. These are the things that the Raptors need to continue to rely on for a potentially successful playoff run and maybe a chance to keep Chris Bosh in free agency this summer.

Speaking of Chris Bosh – Toronto’s All-Star has had an outstanding first half of the season. Bosh knew coming into the season that this was a make or break campaign in terms of a new contract and he has delivered. Currently second in the league (behind Dwight Howard) in double-doubles, Bosh has controlled games with his energy, been more aggressive on the offensive end (driving to the basket) and played a bigger role on defense (bailing out Bargnani and Calderon consistently).

Even though he lacks some defensive chops, the former first overall pick Andrea Bargnani has developed his offensive game this season, so much so that his work in his own end doesn’t matter any more. Bargnani causes match-up problems because of his size and athleticism for opposing centers and power forwards.

Other standouts this season for the Raptors have been Jarret Jack. Outstanding leadership and contribution coming off the bench behind starting point guard Jose Calderon and for a number of games during Calderon’s injury, the starting point guard. Calderon plays better when his is being pushed and Jack has certainly pushed the envelope this year.

Amir Johnson has provided energy off the bench and some solid defense and unfortunately for him, he could see his minutes reduced with the return of Reggie Evans. Evans had missed the entire season and will hopefully be a Charles Oakley type when he returns shortly. The rotation that Coach Triano has been using in the last month or so has been very effective. The Raptors aren’t going nearly as deep into their bench as they have in the past and this has worked nicely. With the addition of Evans to the line-up Coach Triano will have to adjust that rotation and hopefully everyone can fall into place quickly so the good play can continue. The one guy who has accepted his role well in the rotation is first round draft pick from this year, DeMar DeRozan. Drafted ninth overall (one spot ahead of Brandon Jennings – oops), DeRozan had started the first 45 games for the Raptors until a sprained ankle injury sidelined him. Although he doesn’t play many crunch time minutes, and only averages 8 pts per game, he has been playing better lately (averaged 13.6 points on 52 percent shooting in three games this week) and had a nice performance in the All-Star dunk contest which will hopefully boost his confidence in the second half of the season.

The Raptors have played well in spots this year – an opening night win versus the Cleveland Cavaliers and then recently a home win against the LA Lakers, not to mention the six game win streak to close out 2009, and also winning 9 of 10 including games against the Spurs and Magic. For the Raptors to have a successful second half (lets say .550 ball or better) they have to continue to win multiple games in a row, beat the teams in their own conference (Pistons, Knicks, Pacers) and win some more games on the road. If they can accomplish this, it may mean a happier June for Raps fans and a tougher decision for Chris Bosh come July.