Toronto Raptors 2009-2010 preview

General — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:11:14 +0000

Background of 2009-2010 Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors were a big mess last year and played well below anybody’s expectations. Going into the 2010 NBA season, the Raptors must absolutely make the playoffs and look like a promising team or everybody is well aware that Chris Bosh might be heading out of town. Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo seems to have been well aware of this fact and hence was the busiest GM of them all in the 2009 NBA offseason. He didn’t exactly have a lot to work with but managed to restructure the team and give the city new life. The success of this season will be judged more by whether Bosh decides to stay in Canada than the number of wins the team can amass – the hope is that those two will go hand in hand.

Raptors additions in 2010

Hedo Turkoglu

Reggie Evans

Antoine Wright

Jarret Jack

Rasho Nesterovic

Marco Bellineli

Raptors departures in 2010

Shawn Marrion

Jason Kapono

Kris Humphries

Nathan Jawai

Probably Starting Lineup for the 2009 2010 Toronto Raptors

PG – Jose Calderon
SG – Marco Belinelli
SF – Hedo Turkoglu
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Andre Bargnani

Toronto Raptors Guards

Jose Calderon is the player that forced TJ Ford out of town couple of years ago, and he has proven himself to be an elite NBA point guard. Many believe that he deserved to be an All-Star last year and would have been if a certain player by the name of Mo Williams wasn’t playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is the perfect player to lead this international and very skilled team. His reserve, Jarret Jack is a friend of Chris Bosh’s so his value spreads beyond the hardwood floor, but he is certainly a quality reserve guard that can even freelance over at the two spot if his younger team mates don’t fit in well. Speaking of which, DeMar DeRozen and Marco Belinelli are two young and gifted guards that have the chance to make a name for themself and the competition between the two for the starting spot will lead them to greater heights. Marcus Banks is a solid 3rd string PG as well giving quite some depth to this Raptors team that looked quite desperate on the floor last year when Calderon was on the sidelines.

Toronto Raptors Forwards

The departure of Shawn Marion might seem like a big loss for the Raptors , but the Matrix is a player that flourishes under a stacked team full of talent where he can get much accomplished WITHOUT the ball. What the Toronto Raptors have needed is a forward who can make plays WITH the ball. They found their man with the addition of Hidayet Turkoglu, the leader of a Finals team and one of the biggest defensive headaches for teams outside of Superstars. He will fit perfectly with Chris Bosh, who’s long needed someone to help carry the offense and pressure in the 4th quarter. Reggie Evans is a needed addition to this team that will provide a degree of toughness and craziness to this rather ’soft’ and composed team. Amir Johnson will see some playing time in the frontcourt rotation and he’s a kid that can develop into an asset if he’s given enough playing time.

Toronto Raptors Centers

The Raptors have resigned Bargnani to a multi-year contract and he should finally start playing like the All-Star player the Raptors coaching staff expect him to be. Since Bargnani doesn’t exactly play like a traditional center, Colangelo added two back-up centers to the team. Rasho Nesterovic will be that trusted player that the Raps can go to when they need stability, and meanwhile Patrick O’Bryant is a solid project that has shown flashes of brilliance in his days at Golden State.

Best Case Scenario for the Toronto Raptors

The Raptors have unbelievably transformed themselves from a 33 win team to a deep and talent team that will make the playoffs. If the new pieces fit in well and Turkoglu has a remarkable season bringing in the same kind of defense disrupting playstyle, then we could see the Raptors make the fifth seed and progress on to the second round of the playoffs.

Worst Case Scenario for the Toronto Raptors

If it takes the Toronto side some time to gel together and play well as a team, this team will fall below the 5th seed in the conference which qualifies as a near automatic first round exit in the unforgiving Eastern Conference.

Raptors 2010 Outlook

The Toronto Raptors in 2010 should most certainly make the playoffs and anything but could result in a huge disaster, not only taking away any sort of momentum that Colangelo created out of nothing this summer, but could also spell the departure of Chris Bosh when he becomes a free agent in 2010 – leading Toronto into the dreaded ‘rebuilding’ phase. The importance of the situation won’t be lost on the smart coaching duo of Jay Triano and Marc Iavaroni and they will be able to get the most out of their versatile lineup to at least make the playoffs and make a scary first round opponent for any opponent.

Toronto Raptors 2010 Predictions

Record: 42-40

Surprise Player: Marco Belinelli making a name for himself and being a scoring machine

Key Player: Hedo Turkoglu and his ability to run the offense and create open shots for his teammates on a consistent basis

That wraps up the Toronto Raptors 2009-2010 season preview and our detailed look at the Raptors in the 2010 NBA season.

NBA Basketball » Toronto Raptors