Next year's Toronto Raptors team

I find that when discussing next year’s Raptors team and how they are going to perform in the years to come, it is a topic that is both exciting to some while at the same time meaningless to others. Currently the Raptors are sitting at 30 wins and 48 losses and fifth in the Atlantic division. Because of these current standings the Raptors also only have about a 5.3% chance of getting their draft pick next year which would have been in the top three. Even though the season is almost over and it is clear that this wasn’t one of the better seasons for the Raptors. This season has definitely had its own ups and downs in terms of excitement and news stories. The beginning of the season was pretty much like how the end of the season has been turning out. There were some wins, some surprising upsets, but at the end of it all there was still mostly losses. Of course when I say excitement and news worthy stories I am talking about when Toronto surprised everybody by trading with Memphis to gain Rudy Gay. This was hard for some, because in doing so we lost Jose Calderon. Jose was a steady player for the Raptors and even though he was traded he left with nothing but love in his heart for the city, its team and its people.

When Gay first came to Toronto there was uproar and everything seemed to be turning around for the Raptors and it was working in their favour. It seemed as though Gay brought with him all of the hype and intensity that he was signed on for. Toronto was excited and the whole team was playing much better together; specifically DeMar DeRozan. This has been one of his best seasons and he has put up respectable numbers almost every game he’s played. Another big topic of discussion that had been swirling around the Toronto Raptors was Andrea Barnani and whether or not he would still be a Raptor. He was out for the majority of the season in the beginning and again in the end. And the little time that he did spend on the court didn’t really help out anybody; not himself or the raptors. I believe that he will be traded next year for sure in attempts to retrieve anybody that could help the raptors even if it’s just by a little.
One of the few good things that did come from this poor season is that with Andrea out and the raptors poor streak, a lot of the developing players on Toronto received a chance to step up and show what they’ve got. In looking forward to next year’s Raptors team it is very possible that they will have become a force to be reckoned with and will probably make it to the playoffs. Players like Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas, Alan Anderson, Ahmir Johnson, Kyle Lowry, John Lucas III, Quincy Acey, and of course DeRozan and Gay are all players that will work hard to make sure our team is stronger than ever and moves forward. The Raptors are a young team and are loaded with so much potential that if they truly play their best then they might be able to stand up against any other team when they reach their prime. I believe that the raptors will only get better from here on out and that we should allow them to grow so that will become the team that everyone wants them to be.

Toronto Raptors victory over the Washington Wizards

Last night’s victory over the Washington Wizards was definitely one of the best games for the Raptors. The season is slowly coming to an end, and sadly the playoffs are out of reach for our Toronto Raptors but that doesn’t stop some of our favorite players from playing the best they can and continuously giving their all in every game they play. It was a rocky start for the Raptors as they were playing catch up against Washington in the first two quarters and ended the first half 50-39 trailing behind. However it would seem as though they entered the second half with a new energy and desire to leave victorious at the end of the night. They battled hard and took the lead to make the score 68-62 after the third and didn’t stop there. In the fourth quarter they pulled out all the stops. They made sure to hold onto their lead and although it might have come close at times they pulled away to end the game with a victory of 88-78.
This game was not only memorable because of the victory but also because of the great effort put in by our players. Both DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry had game highs from the match. DeRozan scored a game high of 25 points, while Lowry contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds and his game high of 13 assists. However with this being said, the MVP of the night was undoubtedly none other than the rookie Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas scored career high of 24 points and aggressively grabbed 10 rebounds. He lead the team in minutes played with 40:42 minutes, followed by DeRozan with 37:23 mn and Lowry close behind. And surprisingly enough after dropping 34 points previously against the Pistons, Rudy Gay only played 26 minutes and finished with a total of 6 points. Like I have mentioned in my previous post, I strongly believe that Toronto can only get better with this new team that they have put together, and that our rookies will shine much brighter than expected. I’d like to emphasize on the rookie Valanciunas again. Being that he is only 20 years old and he is already making such a statement he will definitely continue to prove himself worthy of the position he has been placed in. 

 http://youtu.be/ggOQefxiBgo

Who is our franchise player???

With the trade deadline gone and all trades finalized the answer to this question may seem plain and simple to most, but we must remember that nothing is for certain. Before I talk about the obvious player that we are all thinking about (Rudy Gay); I would like to look into the Raptors history on who their previous franchise players have been, what they have done for the team and why the Raptors might have been struggling in the past few years.

Without going too far back, we all remember the “invincible” Vince Carter who led the Toronto Raptors to their very first playoffs ever in 2000. Vince came into the league in 1998 and brought with him a lot of buzz. Vince Carter was added to the Raptors lineup in 1998 and was named rookie of the year in 1999. Everything was going great for Vince. He was voted an NBA All-Star in 2000 and also won Slam Dunk Contest that same year. All of this praise for Vince Carter was bringing with it a lot of praise for the Raptors. There was no question that Vince was the Raptors Franchise player and arguably the best player they’ve ever had with a career average of 22.2 points per game. Sadly however things took a turn for the worse in the year 2003 when Carter started to have problems with management and was then traded the next year. Luckily for the Raptors the year before Vince’s departure they acquired new talent Chris Bosh. Almost simultaneously as Carter left, Bosh was named the team’s new focus and was being built upon. Bosh was a 1^st round 4^th overall draft pick and like Carter he was also showing impressive numbers and doing big things for the Raptors. In the years following, it was soon made official that Bosh was Toronto’s new franchise player and was voted to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star game (He has continued every year since). Bosh had a steady run with the Raptors averaging 20.3 points per game. But like Carter, Bosh came to the conclusion that he would not likely win a ring with the Raptors anytime soon. So he decided to leave the team that helped make him into who he was and left to become part of the big 3 in Miami, alongside LeBron James and Dwayne Wade in 2010. After Chris Bosh left Toronto it would appear as though Toronto was trying to focus on being and all international team with a focus on European players. It was in this time that Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon were at the forefront of the raptors line up. Hedo Turkoglu also played with the Raptors for a little while. With Bosh’s absence it would seem as though the Raptors no longer had a drive or determination to play as hard or with as much heart as they use too. During this time many would say that Bargnani was the new franchise player, but this was only because he was able to steadily put up the points. However he was still getting the biggest paycheck which is something that is usually reserved for a team’s franchise player but many doubted that he deserved the title. Bargnani was the 1^st round 1^st overall draft pick by the Raptors back in 2006, this made him the second player ever without experience in the USA to be drafted first overall. Ever since then Bargnani has earned a career average of 15.2 points per game. His average has been steadily dropping in the last two years. Bargnani has never been an NBA All-Star and he was unable to lead the Raptors to the playoffs after Bosh left. It is because of this as well as Bargnani’s off and on game performance that has caused Toronto fans to frequently boo him in recent games. However, all of this being said it would seem as though all hope is not lost for Toronto, as new Star Rudy Gay has joined what seems to be a new and greatly improved Raptors team. Gay brings with him a career average of 17.9 points per game. But more importantly it would appear as though he brought a certain fire with him that has once again ignited the Raptors team. The new lineup is indeed an impressive one and alongside Gay is DeMar DeRozan who is averaging 14.9 points per game and continues to be one of Toronto’s most reliable players. DeRozan performance along with the entire team has risen since the arrival of Gay. In the past one could say that Toronto could almost be considered somewhat of a starter team as former players have developed their skills there and then moved on elsewhere. With the acquired Gay however, Toronto has for once picked up a player who is already well established. Toronto fans can only hope that Gay continues to be a positive move for the Raptors as they fight for a spot in the playoffs. If great things are in the future, one can only hope that this is just the beginning for the Raptors and they well continue to rise up as a team with Gay Leading the way.

Our Raptors team

This year has definitely been a year of big changes and has been filled with new ideas for the Toronto Raptors. A lot of people might argue that the team that they have put together this year is the best team that they have had in a long time. With the current record that they are able to hold onto they definitely still are not seen as one of the NBA’s all-star teams, but they are doing a little bit better than they have in previous years. A lot of credit has been given to the Toronto Raptors new head coach, Dwane Casey. He is said to have a great concept of how the sport should be played in Toronto and he is also known for his great defensive tactics. Dwane Casey along with the rest of the Toronto Raptors Coaches and head management staff has been able to put together a rather impressive lineup for us here in Toronto. Our new starting point guard and one of the main changes and most talked about player in Toronto is Kyle Lowry. He has been in the league for six years and has definitely created a buzz for himself as a new Raptor. Our Backup point guard is none other that Jose Calderon. Jose continues to be strong aspect for the raptors but he does not give us the push that we are expecting from Lowry. Our started shooting guard remains Demar Derozan; small forward is Landry Fields; power forward is Andrea Bargnani who is also the franchise player, and our centre is Jonas Valancunias . With this lineup it would still be pretty far fetch to say that the raptors have a champion ship team but we might just definitely be going in the right direction.