Amigos' NBA Previews: Toronto Raptors

Recent Past Christ, remember when the Raptors almost made the Conference Finals? That was fucking weird.

Anyway, more recently than that, shit fell apart pretty good there, they drafted some half decent but not that great players, and now they're...half decent? There we go. I think that's about right.

Offseason Marion left, Anthony Parker left, and they brought in Hedo, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli Amir Johnson and RASHO. Oh, and they drafted Demar DeRozan, who I think is sort of nice. They overpaid the shit out of Hedo, and I think losing AP will hurt a little bit (as I'm not as sold on Belinelli as others are), but these aren't bad players. All of them have upside, and they'll all do a job for them. Which is more than you can say for a lot of teams' pickups, I guess.

Probable lineup Jose Calderon, Demar DeRozan, Hedo, Chris Bosh, and Andrea Bargnani as the starting five (I think). Jarrett Jack, Marco Bellinelli, Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, and Rasho as key subs.

General Overview This is quite the compliment, with the league as it is: The Raptors are quite possibly the weirdest team in the league.

Now, admittedly, this is partially because of just how international this shit is. But, seriously, that's a weird fucking team, spearheaded by the leader of weirdness, Hedo Turkoglu. But, seriously, if you look at the things...they aren't bad. They really ought to do some things, in that crop of sub-awesome Eastern Conference teams.

Jose Calderon is a very solid point guard, and they need to let him do his thing. Jarrett Jack did well for Indiana, and I can appreciate that he'll be able to contribute, but you've got to give Calderon the ball, and time on the court. That means they need to avoid overdoing the Hedo weirdness. I know it's an attractive prospect, giving Hedo the ball and watching him do...that shit he does, but seriously...Jose's the better option.

Aside from that, you obviously have Bosh, who is very nice, but whose stock fell a bit last season. Serious doubts about his ability to be the man right now, but taking into account what it takes to be "the guy" in this league, on a top team, that's not a huge insult. I don't know what he'll do in free agency, but he's still a motherfucking nice player, for the Toronto Raptors...right now. And that's what we're concerning ourselves with at the moment, I guess. He'll win them some games, and with what ought to be a decent squad, with a definite shot at the playoffs, motivation shouldn't be a problem.

Otherwise, they're clearly overpaying Bargnani, but he's alright. Rasho's pretty much the exact opposite of him off the bench, which is a sort of good thing, in terms of matching up and all that. I like Amir's potential, but I doubt he'll get too much of a chance, backing up Bosh. Other than that, there's some decent depth here, but nothing too spectacular. Sort of what you'd expect, for a team of this caliber.

If they were a hip hop act Roots Manuva. Foreign, 'ya see.

Guessing how they'll do Let's see. Boston, Orlando, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Washington, Toronto (not necessarily in that order, just off the dome). Is that it? Alright, there. I have Toronto as one of nine teams with a shot at the playoffs. I think they'll likely make it (that probably contradicts other previews, but oh well), but I have no idea at the expense of which team. They'll probably finish seventh or eight, and get knocked out in the first round. So, there you go. That's...an improvement, right?