After losing All-Star power forward Chris Bosh to the Heat last year, they were left with a heap of srole players without a star to keep the team running. Toronto finished the year with a 22-60 mark and only 3 games shy of the worst record in the East that Cleveland possessed.
After the season, they made a decision to make a coaching change and fired Jay Triano in favour of previous Mavericks Assistant Dwane Casey. Casey played a major role in the Mavs championship run with his man-zone hybrid defensive system. It is going to be engaging to see what he will do with the players that he inherited in Canada.
The Raptors ended up with the 5th pick and used it on 19 year old 7 foot center Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas has an opportunity to be something great in the NBA, but he is now playing in the Lithuanian League and would possibly not be able to play for the Raptors in the coming years.
Toronto has been fairly occupied so far this offseason, signing veteran free agents Gary Forbes, Rasual Butler, Anthony Carter, Aaron Grey, and Jamaal Magloire, while keeping their main players from last year in effect.
This squad is built around a core of post player Andrea Bargnani, shooting guard Demar Derozan, point guard Jose Calderon and 6th man Leandro Barbosa. This roster was able to provide an explosive and exciting offense. Bargnani was the Raptors leading scorer with 21.4 points/game although only played in 66 games. Derozan contributed 17.2 points/game, Barbosa came of the bench to add 13.3 points/game, and point guard Jose Calderon almost averaged a double-double of 9.8 points and 8.9 dimes.
Amir Johnson started in 54 games for Toronto last year and averaged a career high 9.6 points and 6.4 boards. It appears to be as though he will once more be the starting power forward. JaJuan Johnson is the player they got from the Bulls last year that they’re especially excited about. In 25 starts for the Raptors last year, small forward JaJuan Johnson put up 9.2 points, 4.7 boards and 3 assists/game.
The Raptors also have a returning Linaz Kleiza and Jerrd Bayless in its rotation. With all the free agent pickup, it’s difficult to see who Casey will use in his rotation. The Raptors bench is stuffed with guys who used to be great at one time, but now not so much.
Pick: 5th Eastern Conference Atlantic Division – With our NBA predictions we’ve got the Raptors on the outside looking in as the Atlantic division have gotten a load more competitive recently. Boston is still the team the beat, New York is all of a sudden looking like a legitimized team with Anthony and Stoudemire in the fold, and the Nets added Deron Williams and probably Dwight Howard. As of right now, Toronto will have a difficult time making an attempt to battle for division seeding and a spot in the playoffs. They might have an outsiders opportunity to sneak in the playoffs, but they have to play extremely well to have a chance.
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