The Raptors Turf: 2012-2013 Raptors season preview

       Today is the last preseason game for the Toronto Raptors as they will play the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis, Tennessee. In this blog post, I will talk about my predictions and thoughts for Toronto Raptors 2012-2013 regular season.

2012-2013 Toronto Raptors Win/Loss record

       The Toronto Raptors have had a great preseason as so far, they've compiled a record of 5-1, one of the best records in this years NBA preseason. With the way that the Toronto Raptors have played, I expect the Toronto Raptors to carry that momentum into the regular season. If they continue that momentum, I expect the Toronto Raptors to have a record of at least 43-39 and make it to the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed if Raptors key players remain healthy.

       Now, I don't know if you guys heard, but John Hollinger of ESPN predicts only 33 wins for the Toronto Raptors and many other media outlets expect between a range of 33-39 wins for the Raptors. Demar Derozan and Dwayne Casey fired back about Hollinger's thoughts as they felt that the team can win more than 33 games and I've post those videos to my Facebook page. It might be true that the Raptors might win only 33 games as these media outlets did their calculations and such. However, I, like many of the Toronto Raptors players and staff, feel that the Raptors can win more than 33 games if players remain healthy throughout the season and put in work. I also think that the Toronto Raptors can win more than 33 games because of the off-season moves that the team made and you can check them out on my earlier post in case you forgot what moves the Raptors made.

       It actually might be the year that the Raptors make the playoffs because TSN's blogger Jack Armstrong said that the last time time the Raptors made the playoffs were when they had winning records in preseason which was in 2006 and 2007. It just might happen with their current 5-1 record.

Line up for Toronto Raptors 2012-2013 (bold are the players that will be starting)

Kyle Lowry/ José Calderón/ John Lucas III
Demar DeRozan/ Terrence Ross/ Alan Anderson
Landry Fields/ Linas Kleiza/ Dominic McGuire
Andrea Bargnani/ Amir Johnson/ Ed Davis/ Quincy Acy
Aaron Gray/ Jonas Valančiūnas/ Jamal Magloire

       I think this is a pretty accurate line up that we can expect on opening night. I'm pretty sure that all you are thinking why would Valančiūnas back up Aaron Gray. I think this sounds reasonable and I'm pretty sure coach Casey would make this decision maybe for the first couple of months to get Valančiūnas accustomed to the NBA playing style. As the season progresses and if Jonas Valančiūnas plays well, I think coach Casey might put him into the starting line up. Also, this line up might even change because of injuries and any trades. 

2012-2013 Toronto Raptors Player statistics

       Below are my statistics for each Toronto Raptors player for the 2012-2013 season and that's if players remain healthy. (PPG= points per game, RPG= rebounds per game, APG= assists per game, BPG= blocks per game SPG= steals per game)

Starting line-up 

Kyle Lowry - 15.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 7.5 APG 1.9 SPG
Demar Derozan - 19.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG
Landry Fields - 6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG 3.2 APG
Andrea Bargnani - 21.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.7 BPG
Jonas Valančiūnas - 10.5 PPG, 10 RPG, 2.5 BPG

Bench

José Calderón - 12 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 7.2 APG
Aaron Gray- 6.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Terrence Ross - 10 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.1 SPG
Amir Johnson - 8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.5 APG
Linas Kleiza -  3 PPG, 2 RPG, 0.5 APG
John Lucas III - 4.0 PPG, 2 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.3 SPG
Alan Anderson - 3.5 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.4 APG

Other notes

- I think we can expect Andrea Bargnani to make it to the All-star game if he can remain healthy

- I expect Jonas Valančiūnas to be in the race for the Rookie of the Year

- I expect José Calderón to be traded as he is an expiring and might not be satisfied with being a back up

- I expect John Lucas III to give the team a much needed boost on the bench

- I expect Demar Derozan to attack the free throw line this season and get most of his points from there

- I could possibly see JLIII backing up to Kyle Lowry

- I expect Toronto Raptors offence to be improved than last season with the acquisition of Kyle Lowry running and making plays for the team, John Lucas III, Landry Fields and Terrence Ross

- Toronto Raptors play 16 games in November, 10 games away and six back to back games

       After tonight's game, the Toronto Raptors will open the regular season at the Air Canada Centre on Halloween against Indiana Pacers. Please feel free to comment on my post, talk about you're expectations on the Raptors season, who you guys think will start on opening night and whether or not you guys agree or disagree about what I wrote! I will have a new post next week on my thoughts about the Raptors first regular season game. Stay tuned!

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This is a video that will probably get you PUMPED for opening night. Take a look!

Preseason thoughts

Raptors preseason is here and it is kicking. They've already played two teams where one was against Real Madrid at Air Canada Centre October 8th which they won  and Detroit Pistons in Detroit October 10th which they lost. I saw a lot of interesting things in the two games which I liked and disliked about the Toronto Raptors.

What I've liked:

Demar Derozan: So far in two games, Demar Derozan has been consistent and I've liked his effort he has put in scoring as he lead the team in scoring against Detroit with 17 points and 18 points against Real Madrid. He also made a lot of free throws against Detroit making 9 out of 10 in 27 minutes by being aggressive and attacking the paint. Altogether, he's made 19  free throw attempts in 2 games.

John Lucas III: I'm surprised with how good he has been in two games. I expected Lucas III to be a scrub and wouldn't get any playing time unless there were injuries at the point guard position. With the way he is playing, I think he could definitely back up Kyle Lowry if Jose Calderon gets traded. I've been surprised as he had 16 points in each of the two games and also has the ability to make 3 pointers reminding of Mike James.

Jonas Valanciunas: As Valanciunas made his preseason debut, a 5th pick in the first round of the NBA draft in 2011, many people thought that he would put a double double. I didn't expect it and nor was I going to expect much from him against Detroit as he just came back from an injury and is still learning to adapt to the NBA playing style. However, Valanciunas did make a presence on the court and did the little things that people should have noticed who posted two points and 2 blocks in almost 13 minutes.

His size and length could be seen on the court and which allowed him to set up picks for Jose Calderon twice and even for struggling Andrea Bargnani who made two 3 pointers in the corner. He block Greg Monroe twice, who is an up and coming offensive centre.

What I've disliked:

Defence: With all the attention of focusing on offence and playing more uptempo this season, Raptors defence has been horrible at times and even coach Casey knows it. During there game against Real Madrid, Raptors allowed Real Madrid to shoot 44 free throws and 42 percent from the field. The Raptors also allowed the Detroit Pistons to shoot 70 percent from the field during the 1st quarter. Raptors also allowed Pistons to allow 60 points in the paint. I think that Raptors big men have to do a better job to protect the post.

Free throw shooting: Raptors free throw shooting hasn't been good at all. Raptors went 18/28 from the free throw line and 35/57 two games combined. Players to notice are Andrea Bargnani who is 4/11 from the free throw line in two games. On the other hand, Derozan has been attacking the free throw line making 19 attempts.


Andrea Bargnani: Bargnani has been lazy, looks uninterested on the court and hasn't really made a splash in preseason. Perhaps, he might be a little rusty from not playing in the summer and recovering from his calf injury. However, I hope he'll be much different when the season begins because he will be a part of Toronto Raptors success. What he's done for the Raptors in two games is not good as he only grabbed 5 rebounds in two games(only 1 rebound against Detroit). He's made only two 3 pointers in 8 attempts and only 4 free throws in 11 attempts. I hope he can step his game up and be the player he was last year before getting injured.

Other notes:

- Kyle Lowry won't be playing any preseason games because of a strained muscle in his thigh

- The Toronto Raptors next game will be tonight against the Detroit Pistons at the Air Canada Centre. After this game, the Raptors will have 5 days off and play on Wednesday October 17th against Washington Wizards.

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Training Camp

The Raptors training camp has begun in Halifax and have been practicing to prepare for preseason. I have been watching and reading stuff about the first couple days about the Raptors and found some interesting stuff which I want to talk about in this post and express my opinion.

Andrea Bargnani:

       Andrea Bargnani, who missed a good chunk of games dealt with a troublesome calf injury last season says that he's 100 percent healthy after spending his summer in Italy to recover from his injury. It seems to me that he is serious about this season because he never played for his national team either. Not only did he recover from his injury, he also came to training 15 pounds heavier which is very good news.

I think his gained weight is crucial this season because coach Casey and the team will heavily rely on Bargnani to carry majority of the scoring load score each night. The team cannot afford Bargnani to be out of the line up because it would definitely decrease the chances of the Raptors making the playoffs. Andrea Bargnani is also going to be the main anchor for this team and this young team will need presence each game to not only be a scorer, but be a mentor and leader to the younger players. I hope that his gained weight will allow him to be consistent throughout this long season, be a better rebounder and be that same player he was last year before his injury.

Offence:

       Last season, coach Casey made the team focus more on defense rather than offence and "pounding the rock". However, last year, Raptors were 28th overall in points per game(90.7) which was horrible and Bargnani being out was a factor.  It's also important that coach Casey utilizes the teams potential in offense such as scoring and running for players like Ross, Lowry, Derozan, Bargnani and such.

Therefore, coach Casey is making the team focus on offense in training camp to make the team play more uptempo, attacking the paint and making three pointers. In my opinion, I think it's a good approach for the 2nd year raptors coach because last year, the team was 9th overall in points allowed per game, whereas the offense was not great. This team will need to be consistent both sides of the floor (offence and defense) in order to win games and perhaps making the play-offs this season.

Stay tuned, I will be talking more about Raptors preseason as it progresses and I will also make a post about my thoughts on the Raptors first preseason game. Please feel free to comment and talk about how you guys feel about the Raptors preseason so far.

Also, to find out more about the Raptors preseason and media day, you can find it all on the Toronto Raptors website at http://www.nba.com/raptors/

Kyle Lowry v.s Jose Calderon

     With preseason just a couple days away, coach Dwayne Casey will get a chance to evaluate his group and determine who will start on opening day. Coach Casey will definitely keep a close eye at the point guard position to see whether point guard Jose Calderon or newly acquired point guard Kyle Lowry deserve to start on opening night.

As it was announced that the Raptors had acquired Kyle Lowry in the summer, point-guard Jose Calderon was not impressed with the trade. Various sources of media reported that he requested a trade as he was expecting to be the starting point guard for the '12-13 NBA season. Colangelo also said that he has no plans of moving Calderon. Therefore, there will no doubt be competition as to which one of the point guards will deserve the starting role on opening night. Below are the strengths and weaknesses that I found of Jose Calderon and Kyle Lowry to give an idea of who deserves the starting role on opening day. 

Kyle Lowry

Strengths:

- Young (26 years old)
- Good scorer and is able to find ways to score to the basket (15.9 points per game last season)
- Great rebounder (5.3 rebounds per game last season)
- Good work ethic

Weakness:

- Lacks experience as a starting point guard (starting point guard with former team Houston Rockets for only two seasons)

Jose Calderon

Strenghts:

- Pass-first point guard
- Able to make plays for his teammates (8.8 assists per game last season)
- Experience (started 293 games for the Raptors since 2005)
- Valuable (expiring $10 million dollar contract)

Weakness: Poor defender

Based on this comparison, I would want Kyle Lowry to start as he is young and would fit with the young, energetic and fast core squad (Demar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas, ED Davis and so on). Also, Lowry is pretty young and his hard work and energy will help anchor this team to be energetic and fast paced. In my opinion, coach Casey's plan to make his team more defensive should easily give Lowry the starting role because I think his double dribble penetration defense and pressuring the ball against his opponents will be an advantage over Calderon's poor defense.

What do you guys think? Should Kyle Lowry deserve the start over Jose Calderon or vice versa? Feel free to comment on your opinion and there will be more posts to come!

A review of Toronto Raptors 2012 off-season

     Welcome to my blog! This blog will be all about the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. I will be blogging almost everything about the Toronto Raptors whether it’s a trade, about important games and any other Raptors related news.

As the NBA season is just around the corner and preseason just a couple of days away, my first blog post will be a review of Toronto Raptors offseason. More specifically, my first post will be about the Raptors free agency period and the draft in the offseason for those who may have not paid much attention!

Free Agency

     The Toronto Raptors no doubt did have a busy offseason. Coming into the offseason, the Toronto Raptors had to address their needs which were the point guard position, small forward position and the centre position. 

The Raptors really wanted to address the point guard position by pursuing Steve Nash and did everything they possibly could. Bryan Colangelo and his team met Steve Nash on the first day of free agency to get him to sign with the Raptors and offered him the most money(36 million dollars). However Nash chose Los Angeles Lakers as family was his main priority. 

The Raptors also acquired Kyle Lowry who was playing at an all-star calibre before the all-star break with the Houston Rockets. The Raptors traded away their protected first round draft pick and Gary Forbes. Lowry who is 26 and still young, will bring two way point guard play by pressuring the ball and making all-star plays for his teammates. 

The Raptors also acquired Landry Fields through free agency by signing him to a 3 year 20 million dollar contract. It was reported that the Raptors signed him to prevent New York from a sign and trade for Steve Nash. This may seem a lot of money for Landry Fields, however, if Fields can be the same player in his rookie year when he was named Rookie of the Month twice and named to the NBA All-Rookie first team in 2010, his contract might be worth it.

The Draft

This years draft, the Raptors chose 21 year old athletic Terrence Ross from the University of Washington with their 8^th pick. Many fans were not in favour of the pick as many Raptors fans were hoping for centre Andre Drummond or point guard Austin Rivers with their number 8 pick if Harrison Barnes was taken. However, Terrence Ross is really what the Raptors needed with his ability for athleticism, shooting, defense and rebounding. 

The Raptors also chose power forward Quincy Acy in the 2^nd round of the draft who is similarly being compared to former Raptor, Reggie Evans as he can rebound, defense and score in the paint.

Please stay tuned for more as I will post a part two blog about the Raptors offseason and much more!