On the eve of the Raptors season-opening game tomorrow night against LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and the explosive Cleveland Cavaliers, the all-star forward acknowledged yesterday that his revamped, re-tooled and refocused team will have to out-work the elite clubs in the Eastern Conference this year to have any chance of winning.
And if they don’t, well, it could be a long year. And though he didn’t say as much, if they don’t, this season may end up being Bosh’s farewell tour in Toronto, as one U.S. wag put it. Even with some key new faces, including potential all-star Hedo Turkoglu, Bosh suggested yesterday following a practice at the Air Canada Centre, that the Raptors, who are 2-6 in the pre-season, are certainly not one of the upper echelon teams in the powerful East.
On paper, there is versatility, athleticism, toughness and veteran leadership.
The Raptors have options to go big or small, depending on matchups, to extend defences and spread the floor.
There is a lot to be optimistic about, but at the same time there is plenty to be concerned on too.
Facing the powerful Cavaliers in the opening game of the season is a challenge but it has to be taken in context, warns Raptors star Chris Bosh. "The whole season doesn’t matter on this one game," Bosh said Monday. "It is a game that we want to win but at the end of the day, it’s one game. I think it’s good that we’re starting out against one of the better teams in the East; it’s really good to challenge ourselves early but other than that, win or loss, 1-0 or 0-1, that’s just one of many."
Hey, remember last week when Chris Bosh was going all Norma Desmond on us with the TV shoot that looked like a movie production post-practice that one day?
Well, Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan were at it yesterday.
The production values seemed a bit lower but they were filming some kind of commercial or public service announcement or something involving tossing an empty Coke can back and forth and then shooting it at a basket.
(Someone said they thought the bit had to do with recycling, which makes sense to me).
"You have got to look forward to it," forward Chris Bosh said. "You can’t complain. It’s going to happen anyway. Sometimes it’s good to get the tough part of the schedule out of the way. That means if it’s tough now, it’s going to get a little bit lighter down the road."
"Hopefully it’s through those tough times that we decide who we’re going to be as a team and we turn that into a positive as we go down the stretch," Triano added. "I think it was three years ago we started off 2-10. And we ended up winning 47 games. We have to play every game."
Toronto Raptors: The Raptors are hoping to become part of the Eastern elite this year, and with newcomers Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, and rookie DeMar Derozan joining Chris Bosh and company, the Raptors definitely have the talent to compete with the best in the East. Offence will not be in short supply, but the Raps will struggle to rebound and defend, limiting their chances at becoming legitimate contenders this year.
Spoiler
TORONTO
The Raptors are at least trying to give impending free agent Chris Bosh the message they are trying with the signings of Hedo Turkoglu and Jarrett Jack.
The Raptors signed F Hedo Turkoglu, who played a big part in Orlando’s advancing to the NBA Finals last spring, and G Jarrett Jack, who’s coming off his most productive season last year with Indiana. So head coach Jay Triano, the Canadian who guided the Raptors to a 2540 finish after Mitchell’s firing last season, has tools to work with as Toronto gears up toward a return to the playoffs.
The Toronto Raptors are known in the Great White North as the Euro Raptors, and for good reason. Hedo Turkoglu was added in the off-season to a roster that already includes a slew of international players, and it had better payoff for general manager Bryan Colangelo. If it doesn’t, Chris Bosh could find himself on another team by this time next year.
When training camp opened earlier this month only three players — Chris Bosh, Italian forward Andrea Bargnani and Spanish guard Jose Calderon — had been in camp the year before.
But it is a sturdy foundation for Colangelo to build a playoff-quality team.
"It was a radical makeover," he conceded to reporters. "We made the changes that we felt would make us a more competitive basketball team.
"I’m not one to under-sell and over-deliver. I always try to put a realistic view on things."
#11 Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are a disappointment. It’s not too early to say that is it?
Bargnani’s 35 minutes a night are all that is holding this Raptors’ team out of the playoffs.
I keep waiting for the Raptors to turn into the east coast version of the Suns like Bryan Colangelo envisioned. I’m not sure that they will be like that this season, but I like the collection of talent they have. Bosh is motivated and in a contract year, Turkoglu, Bargnani and Belinelli can jack it from 3 and Antoine Wright, Jarrett Jack and Reggie Evans make for an improved bench. I think the key is Calderon, who needs to be the “Nash” of this group. If he can, they might surprise.
Toronto hoops fans probably know Kat from the Rapors Dance Pak, she also gave fans a behind-the-scenes look of the Dance Pak on NBA XL and Twitter nation knows her as @RaptorspaceKat. On top of that, she is also the new host of the new Raptors fan show, Raptorspace soon to be on Raptors TV. I asked Kat a few questions on hoops, the Dance Pak and got the scoop on the new show.
Biggest Disappointment: Raptors
One gets the impression that they are expecting big things in Toronto this year. Well, missing the playoffs is kinda big. Losing Bosh is certainly big. On the basketball court? Things won’t be so big.
Toronto Raptors 46-36 (4)
Can Turkoglu do for Bosh what he did for Howard? I think this team gels, Calderon takes the next step, Turkoglu continues to be a killer in the pick and roll, and Bosh has his best year. This team will be a tough out.
5. Toronto (45-37): Is Bryan Colangelo the mastermind everyone makes him out to be? We’ll find out over the next few months. To his credit, Colangelo did a nice job of overhauling last year’s ineffective roster — now we see if the guys he brought in can do some work. Turkoglu, of course, is the biggest name, while Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Reggie Evans and Rasho Nesterovic were all brought in to shore up the second unit. Evans will bring some much-needed toughness, but will it be enough to make a difference?
Although I’m happy with the new and improved bench, I have my doubts. It sounds like a ton of offense but not a lick of defense. Rasho, while he brings athleticism to the backup big man position, has a limited defensive game. It’s overrated. Marco Belinelli didn’t play much in Golden State, something that was thought to be a questionable decesion by head coach Don Nelson. Will Belinelli prove him wrong?
Preseason is done for the Toronto Raptors and there remain more questions than answers with the squad. While I am generally apt to put a positive spin on events in Raptorland, my Jalen-Rose colored glasses are a little clouded as the season opener approaches.
Here are list of 6 questions (one for each preseason loss) that concern me, followed by the answers – which don’t necessarily fill me with confidence, either.
O’Bryant took to Twitter late this summer and started building his network by following each person back and conversing with them in 140 characters or less. He is not a marquee player but realized that using a platform like this would help fans get to know him. He became more than just the guy drafted 9th overall playing garbage time. And, it wasn’t long before fans were discussing Canadian health care or Milk in bags with Patrick.
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Thanks for the link up!
Any chance we could get linked up?
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