Here is this year’s direct quote from the Raptors’ President/GM:
Raptors makeover will work: Bryan Colangelo
“The scope of the makeover definitely changed from what we originally thought but it wasn’t because we didn’t feel like we should do some of those things,” the president and general manager explained. “It was because we were limited in what we thought we had available to us.”
That all changed after a bold four-team, double sign-and-trade transaction centred on Hedo Turkoglu and Shawn Marion which gave Colangelo the resources to complete a rather remarkable makeover that will be fully unveiled at the team’s annual media day today.
“We’re much better off for it,” said Colangelo. “With all the new faces it’s going to be a challenge … but we really did want to make some changes.
“We’ve accomplished it on paper and now we have to put it all together.”
There’s the rub.
Yes, on paper the Raptors seem vastly improved over the squad that finished last season 33-49.
They have five backups who have been NBA starters and a big starting lineup seemingly more talented than it’s been in years.
But paper isn’t reality; no one can tell what is actually going to transpire during the course of a season.
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There’s the rub?
Here is what he had to say last season, at this exact same time:
On paper … the best team the raptors have had
“On paper, in terms of just pure talent, I would say, yes, this is the best team we’ve had,” the Raptor president and general manager said Monday afternoon.
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On paper?
On paper … means absolutely squat, in the NBA environment.
How a team’s players and coaches fit together, or not, whether they can create individual mismatches which their squad can then take full advantage of, and/or whether they can combine to minimize the match-up advantages which their opponents have based on their respective strengths and weaknesses, etc., are not things which can be assertained with accuracy from looking at a collection of statistical data accounting for “seasonal/career averages” in a plethora of categories ranging from simple to advanced.
Regardless of what the “stats gurus” will try to tell you about “How the game works”, the team that will eventually win the 2009-2010 NBA Championship will not be determined by:
A. How it happens to look on paper;
B. How it happens to perform in a NBA video game;
C. How its players may happen to rank in a NBA Fantasy Hoops contest;
D. etc.
There are 5 teams with a legitimate shot at winning the title this year:
1 LA Lakers [the reigning champions, 65 wins last season]
2 Boston Celtics [the 2007-2008 champions, 62 wins last season]
3 San Antonio Spurs [the 2006-2007 champions, 54 wins last season]
4 Orlando Magic [the reigning finalists, 59 wins last season]
5 Cleveland Cavaliers [the 2006-2007 finalists, 66 wins last season]
based upon:
1 The overall strength of their organization, from top to bottom;
2 The Quality Depth on their roster, specifically designed to create and minimize individual match-up advantages for themselves and their opponents, respectively;
3 Their team’s ability to Rebound & Defend, in general … and, specifically, on certain crucial possessions which decide the final outcome of playoff games;
4 Their collective ability to play Shared Team Offense;
5 Their star players’ abilities to make crucial plays, where necessary, in all three main phases of the game, i.e. Defense, Offense and Rebounding;
6 The quality of their coaching; and,
7 The quality of their GMing.
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Unfortunately, what is now painfully obvious for the Raptors is the lack of an over-riding plan for this organization to ever win a NBA championship while operating under the ownership of MLSE.
Since April 2004, when Glen Grunwald was fired from his position, as GM for the team, the Raptors have been in almost constant state of flux:
2003-2004, Grunwald-O’Neill
33-49/.402, 10th place, missed the playoffs
2004-2005, Babcock-Mitchell
33-49/.402, 11th place, missed the playoffs
2005-2006, Babcock-Mitchell/Colangelo-Mitchell
27-55/.313, 12th place, missed the playoffs
2006-2007, Colangelo-Mitchell
47-35/.573, 3rd place, 1st Rd playoff loss
2007-2008, Colangelo-Mitchell
41-41/.500, 6th place, 1st Rd playoff loss
2008-2009, Colangelo-Mitchell/Colangelo-Triano
33-49/.402, 13th place, missed the playoffs
2009-2010, Colangelo-Triano
?, ?, ?
Teams “in a constant state of flux” do not know what they are doing when it comes to ever being able to build a championship operation in the NBA … in spite of their own ability to make $$$ hand-over-fist, on an annual basis.
It takes a high degree of Basketball Acumen to actually win the title in this league … and THIS simply isn’t to be found on a piece of paper, or through crunching numbers.