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/
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/
