2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews: Toronto Raptors
Posted by Neil Paine on October 21, 2010
Welcome to our 2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews, in which we contact the finest team bloggers on the web and ask them to contribute their thoughts on the squad they cover. What follows is their take, along with the team's depth chart (courtesy of ESPN.com), projected 2011 stats via our Simple Projection System, and polls where you get to have your say. Enjoy!
Toronto Raptors
Coach: Jay Triano
2010 Summary:
Record: 40-42, Finished 2nd in NBA Atlantic Division
Pythagorean W-L: 36-46 (19th of 30)
SRS: -1.83 (19th of 30) ▪ Pace Factor: 93.1 (13th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 111.3 (5th of 30) ▪ Defensive Rating: 113.2 (30th of 30)
2011 Depth Chart (with 2010-11 projected per-36 minute stats ... yellow = newcomer)
| Pos | Player | Age | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FG% | 3PM | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Jose Calderon | 29 | 13.7 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 0.489 | 1.3 | 0.401 | 0.869 |
| PG | Jarrett Jack | 27 | 14.6 | 3.7 | 5.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 0.468 | 1.2 | 0.388 | 0.845 |
| PG | Marcus Banks | 29 | 14.5 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0.472 | 1.2 | 0.311 | 0.771 |
| SG | DeMar DeRozan | 21 | 14.8 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.508 | 0.2 | 0.305 | 0.772 |
| SG | Leandro Barbosa | 28 | 19.5 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 0.456 | 2.0 | 0.357 | 0.861 |
| SF | Linas Kleiza | 26 | 16.4 | 6.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.468 | 1.7 | 0.337 | 0.753 |
| SF | Sonny Weems | 24 | 14.0 | 5.2 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.513 | 0.2 | 0.228 | 0.695 |
| PF | Amir Johnson | 23 | 12.1 | 9.7 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.606 | 0.1 | 0.284 | 0.661 |
| PF | Reggie Evans | 30 | 9.6 | 11.0 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 0.457 | 0.1 | 0.351 | 0.538 |
| PF | Ed Davis | 21 | ||||||||||
| PF | Julian Wright | 23 | 11.6 | 6.4 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.498 | 0.2 | 0.285 | 0.646 |
| PF | Joey Dorsey | 27 | 12.2 | 9.5 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.461 | 0.6 | 0.358 | 0.619 |
| C | Andrea Bargnani | 25 | 17.6 | 6.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.464 | 1.6 | 0.386 | 0.799 |
| C | David Andersen | 30 | 14.8 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 0.435 | 1.1 | 0.345 | 0.699 |
2010-11 Blogger Outlook by Scott Carefoot, raptorblog.com
With the departure of Chris Bosh to become the designated “grenade-catcher” for LeBron and Wade on South Beach club outings, the 2010-11 Toronto Raptors are counting on Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan to step up their roles in the offense and help shore up the team’s league-worst defense. If preseason is any indication, the outlook for that happening is grim.
As putrid as the Raptors’ defense was last season, their offense was almost as good. Unfortunately, a large amount of credit for that has to go to Bosh for his rare ability to score in high volume and at high efficiency. They don’t have anyone on their current roster who can consistently create their own offense like that. As such, Toronto’s team offense will likely drop from top-five to middle-of-the-pack while their defense and rebounding figure to remain subpar.
Whether or not Raptors management and fans are willing to acknowledge it, this will almost certainly be a rebuilding year for Canada’s team. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however – if they can land a potential superstar in the next draft, perhaps the Raptors will eventually break out of the cycle of mediocrity they’ve been stuck in for the past decade.
Poll Time