khandor’s sports blog

According to published reports, Toronto will use the the following line-up for this evening’s first game of the regular season [at home vs Cleveland]:

* - Solid rebounder at this position. 

The final standings in the Eastern Conference this season will most likely feature an exceptionally close finish between the No. 6 and No. 12 positions, as every team below the top 3 entries … i.e. Boston, Cleveland and Orlando, aka, Tier One … may be capable of playing well enough to legitimately compete for the 8th playoff position. 

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Q1. What do the Raptors need to do in oder to give themselves the best possible chance of being in the playoff hunt for the entire season?

A1. Play their best players at their best positions AND set aside the damaged egos of those in the organization who still believe that former 2006 No. 1 [overall] Draft Pick, Andrea Bargnani [7-0, 250], has done enough, to point this in his NBA career, to warrant designation as the team’s Starting Center, in place of Chris Bosh [6-10, 230].

If the Raptors eventually use the following line-up, instead, this season:

* - Solid rebounder at this position. 

which provides better balance overall for their team, by improving the Rebounding and Defense of their starting unit AND the Offensive fire-power coming from their bench …

they will give themselves the best chance possible to:

1. Make the playoffs;
2. Earn a Top 6 seed;
3. Win their 1st Round series; and,
4. RETAIN the services of their lone All-Star, Chris Bosh, when he exercises his right to pursue unrestricted free agency next summer.

The major problems with this year’s Raptors team …

i. Relatively poor Rebounding;
ii. Poor Transition Defense; and,
iii. Very poor Pick & Roll/Pop Defense;

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For the importance of ii. and iii. …

The Second Big Man
Transition defense is a very important part of the NBA game. It’s one of the two most important areas of defense; the other is pick and roll defense. Every team spends a tremendous amount of time on these areas, and Stopping these two areas of the game is what leads teams to very successful seasons.
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… can all be overcome effectively by reducing [not increasing] the role of Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250] and using him properly, for the first time since his rookie season, as the primary back-up for Chris Bosh [C, 6-10, 230].

Hopefully, the Raptors’ brain-trust [i.e. Bryan Colangelo, Maurizio Gherardini, Jay Triano & Co.] is able to figure this out, sooner rather than later.

Related:

NBA secret scout nails description of Bargnani

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

Game 14 – vs Orlando [Sun Nov 22]

The Magic’s 2nd trip to the ACC this season should prove to be more enjoyable for the visitors. Knowing full well what it feels like to play and lose a 1:00 PM game on Sunday afternoon, after spending the previous night in Toronto, should produce a much more determined effort from Orlando this time around … especially, with Rashard Lewis back in the line-up [i.e. following his league-imposed early season suspension]. 

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 5-9

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PS. During the 2006-2007 season Orlando [40-42/.488; 3rd Southeast] and Toronto [47-35/.573; 1st Atlantic] finished as the 8th and 3rd seeded teams in the EC playoffs, respectively. Since then, however, the fortunes of their franchises have gone in completely opposite directions. 

2007-2008, Orlando [1st Southwest; Lost 2nd Rd of Playoffs to Detroit]; Toronto [2nd Atlantic; Lost 1st Rd of playoffs to Orlando]

2008-2009, Orlando [Southwest, 1st; NBA Finalist]; Toronto [Atlantic 4th; missed playoffs]

2009-2010, Orlando [plus .500?]; Toronto [minus .500?]

With:

1. Vince Carter [G-F] now in Orlando and Hedo Turkoglu [SF] now in Toronto;

2. Dwight Howard [C] in Orlando and Andrea Bargnani [C] in Toronto;

3. Rashard Lewis [PF] in Orlando and Chris Bosh [PF] in Toronto;

4. Jameer Nelson [PG] in Orlando and Jose Calderon [PG] in Toronto;

5. JJ Redick [OG] in Orlando and DeMar DeRozan [OG] in Toronto;

6. Stan Van Gundy [head coach] in Orlando and Jay Triano [head coach] in Toronto;

7. Otis Smith/Dave Twardzik [as the management team] in Orlando and Bryan Colangelo/Maurizio Gherardini in Toronto [as the management team]; and,

8. Rich DeVos [as the owner] in Orlando and MLSE [as the owners] in Toronto;

it is going to be very interesting to see how these two franchises compare over the next few seasons.