Raptors Shatter Records, Exercise Option on Belly

Today The Score announced its numbers from the Raptors opener. The game brought in a record audience of 420,000 during its broadcast, with a peak audience of 741,000 during the final half-hour. This is the highest regular season Raptors audience across any Canadian network within the past decade. If this doesn't show that the Raptors have amazing fans, I don't know what does.

In a relatively quiet announcement, the Raptors announced yesterday (Thursday) that they will exercise their fourth year option on Marco Belinelli. Belly is now guaranteed through the 2010-11 season. Belly had a strong debut as a Raptor, going off for 10 points and one electrifying dunk

Raps Take On The Grizz

Tonight the Raptors will take on the Grizzlies in Memphis. The game will commence at 8 pm and is available on TSN 2, the Fan 590, or check ATDHE.net for an internet stream.The Grizz lost their opener to Detroit by 22 points. Meanwhile the Raptors are 1-0, having defeated the preseason favourite for NBA champion.

W2W4
- In the Grizz opener, Marc Gasol posted up a huge game, scoring 21 and grabbing 15 boards. In order to win, the Grizzlies need that inside presence. Andrea and Chris will have their hands full with Marc and Zach Randolph tonight.
- Last game, O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley were nowhere to be seen, as they combined for just 12 points. The Grizz need O.J. to score if they are going to have any success.
- The Raps are coming off a huge home win against the Cavs. They have to ride the momentum into this game and come out strong in the first quarter. They need to set the pace of this game.
- Considered to be the x-factor for Raptor success this season, Andrea Bargnani showed why he was a number 1 overall pick. He turned Shaq and every other man guarding him into a defensive liability en route to a 28 point, 5 rebound game. As CB4 said himself, " if Andrea gets going, if he's scoring the basketball a lot, then we're going to be tough to beat".
- Simply put, the Raps need to do exactly what they did against Cleveland (save for their trademarked 3rd quarter lapse). The Raps held the Cavs to just 35% shooting, played tough defense, and shared the ball on offense. If they can do this night in, night out, Raptor fans have a lot to look forward to.

Raps Take Opener! 101-91 Raps

In a great game for our Dinos, the Raptors start the season 1-0. The Franchise Chris Bosh put up a big game and Andrea Bargnani showed that he's here to prove something this year, leading the Raps in scoring. The Raps' D was tenacious, posting 4 steals and 6 blocks (3 by newcomer Hedo Turkoglu in his debut!). If this is the way Raps games are going to be for the rest of the season, it's going to be a lot of fun.

NBA.com recap

Player of the Game:
Give it up for Il Mago. He led the game in scoring with 28 on 11-15 shooting (2-3 from 3, 4-4 from the line) in under 30 minutes on the court. He picked up some questionable fouls which limited his playing time and ability to rebound (he had a merely-okay 5, though, with CB4 on the glass, there weren't many boards to be had). He was running circles around the Cavs' big men and was scoring from anywhere. It's kind of interesting how both the Italian boys (Andrea and Marco Belinelli) are so similar in their ability and willingness to score from anywhere. Each one also had a thunderous dunk in the game.

Notables:
CB4 - 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists. Not a bad start for the face of the franchise. He answered Shaquille O'Neal's assertion that he is the "RuPaul of big men" strongly, and helped hold the Most Dominant Ever (?) to a decidedly mediocre game (12 points, 7 rebounds, 0 blocks, 0-3 FT, 4 fouls).
Jose Calderon - 5 points, 11 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers. Had a Jose-esque game. Didn't score a lot (he really doesn't need to with the firepower around him) and, oddly, after receiving the award for setting the NBA single-season free-throw shooting record, missed his first two free throws of the game, finishing 3-5 from the line. He and Jarrett Jack, importantly, stopped Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson from being effective playmakers - 28 points, but a 5:5 assist-turnover ratio and combined 8-24 shooting). Jose acknowledged in the offseason that his defence last year was bad, and hopefully he can continue to hold his own on that side of the ball.
Hidayet - 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks. Had a very solid debut at home, filling in the stat sheet nicely. He was very good defensively and scored a little bit when he needed to. It also seemed like he was in good control of the offense at the end of the game, helping us keep a sizeable lead until the end.

Full box score

Stat of the Game:
The Raptors simply dominated on the defensive end, giving up very few easy buckets and holding Cleveland to 34.9% (29-83) shooting. If they can concentrate and hold their own in their zone the whole year, this season will definitely be fun to watch.

RAPTORS SEASON OPENER

Well, tomorrow is the day! Your Toronto Raptors will host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 pm. The game will be on The Score for viewing pleasures, the Fan 590 for listening pleasures, and be sure to check www.ATDHE.net for an internet feed.

What To Watch For
- This is a new Raptor team. BC and Jay Triano have talked all summer about creating a new culture for the team, instilling hard work ethic and defensive supremacy. The Raps have a tough assignment in their first game facing the LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, and the Cavs. The Raptors have had very little success against Shaq in his career, and even less with Braun Braun. Shaq has averaged 23.5 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game, while Braun has averaged 28 ppg, 7 asp, and 7.4 rpg.
- With 10 of 15 Raptors putting on the jersey for the first time tomorrow, will team chemistry be up to par for the start of the season?
- Andrea Bargnani has been labeled as many to be the x-factor for the Raptors 09-10 season. Jay Triano was impressed with Andrea's work ethic in the preseason and the progress he made. Tonight he will have a tough assignment in guarding Shaquille O'Neal. Lets hope Reggie Evans made him a little tougher.
- The Raptors need to play tough and get out and run against the Cavs. Tonight they played in Boston so they will be tired.

The Beginning

Those of us who are lucky enough to have Raptors NBA TV are in for a treat. Tonight starting at 6 will be the RNTV preview of the new Raptors. At 7 is part 1 of The Beginning: Inside Raptors Training Camp.

For those who don't have RNTV, make sure to check back here, as we will be scouring the depths of the internet for a stream.

Preseason Update: A Budding Bromance

Just like me and In BC We Trust, it seems as if DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems have a developing Bromance.

The evidence? Look at the recent tweets from DMDR and Sonny:

Sonny:
Sitting at my boy DeMar crib, about to get at him in this Fight Night.3:58 PM Oct 10th from web

DMDR:
About to kill @Sonny13 in this Fight Night!4:02 PM Oct 10th from web

Sonny:
At ruth chris steakhouse with my boy demar, good win today.7:21 PM Oct 11th from mobile web

DMDR:
@Sonny13 is the funniest teammate I ever had.41 minutes ago from web

DMDR:
@Sonny13 needs his on reality Tv show. Lmao34 minutes ago from web

Preseason Update: By the Numbers and What To Watch For

The Raptors are four games into the preseason and are sitting at a 2-2 record. What can we take away from the 2009 Raptors first games? Lets check out the numbers from the games. Of course, keep in mind this is the preseason and not actual basketball.

The Numbers

A key issue for BC in the offseason was toughness on the defensive end, especially when it came to rebounding. Thus far it seems that the same old Raps are coming out on the boards. They were beat on the glass in two of four games and are a combined -10 on the glass. In a conference of superstar forwards and centres, the importance of limiting second chance points will be crucial towards Raptor success this season.

Another point of stress for The Architect was defense. In the first 4 games, Raptor opponents are shooting on average 45.1% from the field and have scored an average of just under 101 points per game. This is very similar to the Raps 2008-09 numbers, as they gave up just under 102 points per game and allowed opponents to shoot 46.5% from the field. Oh yes, and the Raptors also allowed the 76ers to shoot 64% from three point land (J-Killa had 12 points on 4-6 from three, in case you were interested).

Save for one outing, the Raptor offense has shown little sign of weakness (even without Hedo). The Dinos are averaging just over 97 points per game on 44% from the field. Andrea Bargnani, largely considered to be the Raptors x-factor for success this season, is averaging 16 points in about 22 minutes per game.

W2W4:
Pleasant Surprises and Position Battles
The preseason has taken a more interesting turn for the Raptors this season. Why? Because with the influx of new players, (almost) nobody has a guaranteed rotation spot. Players like Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, Marco Belinelli, and DeMar DeRozan have all began the preseason with a spark, trying to catch Jay Triano's eye.

To be honest, I was (and still am) confused at where Amir Johnson would fit into a Raptors lineup which had a veteran backup centre and a fierce backup power forward. However Amir is putting on a show in the preseason, averaging 8 points per game and 8 rebounds per game in just over 20 minutes per game. If Amir can keep up the energy off the bench and solid production, he may just find himself in the rotation.

Sonny Weems has been a pleasant surprise in my eyes. Coming off the bench for the first two games and then starting the last two, Sonny has scored over 10 points in three of is four outings.

Perhaps my favourite addition of the summer, Marco Belinelli has not disappointed so far. Marco has averaged just under 12 points per game thus far. I'd take that for Devean George.

To top off the seemingly crowded wing position is DeMar DeRozan (pictured above, pun definitely intended). DMDR is doing some special things on the court this preseason, including a 19 point outing in Washington. However, I am most impressed with DMDR's persistence in taking the ball to the rim. He is averaging 4.25 free throw attempts per game. Oh yeah, and he can dunk too.

The Raptors' next game is Wednesday, as they fly into Hartford to play the Celtics. Hedo Turkoglu is expected to make his Raptor debut.

RealGM's Andrew Perna Previews the Raptors

Yesterday Andrew Perna, one of the editors over at RealGM (and one of the few people on that site who actually know anything about the sport, but that's another story) previewed the Raps. I happen to agree with a lot of what he has to say, but I'd like to analyze what he has to say and add some commentary of my own.
Read the full article.

On Jose Calderon:
"After playing in all 82 games during the 2007-08 season, Jose Calderon missed 14 contests last year. Regardless of the time he missed, Calderon averaged career-highs in points (12.8), assists (8.9) and minutes per game (34.3). As Toronto’s best play-maker, he had a 41.0 assist percentage, which quantifies his chemistry with teammates Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.

He isn’t an explosive scorer by any means, but is careful with the basketball and is extremely reliable at the foul-line. His defense is decent, although he is often beaten by faster point guards."

I don't think Perna gives Jose enough credit for his scoring abilities. He set a career high in points by about a point and a half, but that included a drop of 20 points in his FG% and 25 in 3PT%. He was definitively the leader of the team last year for the first time, so his shots per game did rise, but I think it's more than likely that his drop in percentages and lack of an explosion in his scoring average (as some analysts predicted) was due to his playing hurt for most of the season. Also, it's a tad generous to say he's a "decent" defender, though his injury may have had an effect here as well.

On Raptors swingmen:
"DeRozan is an interesting piece, especially since his role isn’t exactly clear-cut. Turkoglu could take a majority of the minutes at small forward, or even shooting guard, but Belinelli should have to show something significant in order to lock down a majority of the perimeter minutes over the rookie. The former Trojan is raw, but his potential may be higher than any other member of his class.

If Belinelli blossoms in Toronto, the three-man rotation of the Italian, the Turk and the American could help the Raptors climb near the top of the Eastern Conference."

I would assume that Jay Triano is spending most of this training camp giving every player a defined role (at least I hope he is). The comparisons between this team and last year's Magic have been beaten to death, but it's not at all out of the question for DMDR to have a similar season to Courtney Lee's last year - defend hard, get easy buckets in transition, and contribute offensively when he's hot. With regards to his potential, I agree, and he's already gotten much stronger to add to his prototypical swingman build. The final point is the one I think resonates strongest, though: should Belinelli have a big season (think 12-15 PPG or so) he could very well be this team's Manu Ginobili-type sparkplug off the bench, something we missed dearly last year with all the injuries and poor play.


On the season:
"Forecast: Colangelo believes that the Raptors can be a 50-win team with home-court advantage in the postseason. That’s not out of the realm of possibility, but the club will have to gel quickly and their studs (Calderon, Turkoglu, Bosh and Bargnani) will have to remain healthy in order to have a shot. They’ll finish with around 45 wins, which should put them in the four-six range in terms of playoff seeding. They aren’t anywhere near the beasts of the East (Boston, Orlando and Cleveland), but there isn’t any reason why they can’t complete with or surpass the rest (Atlanta, Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia)."

I agree here 100%. The Raps will likely steal a couple victories from the big dogs in the East but they'll have to defend their turf against the second tier if they plan to win those 50 games. It's certainly possible, especially if the young guys take a step forward and Chris Bosh's added weight brings him to the next level.

Soon PH will bring you our season preview. Remember, tonight the Raps take on the T-Wolves in Minnesota at 8 PM EST.

Raps Stumble in Preseason Back-to-Back

The Raps played their first two preseason games over the past couple of days and dropped them both, 107-98 in London, Ontario, and 84-79 in Toronto. It's very tough to raise any solid concerns or point out anything of value for two reasons: a) it's preseason (there is a saying that goes, "you can't find out who can play, you can only find out who can't play") as well as the Raps' two leaders (and likely two best players) in Chris Bosh and Hidayet Turkoglu are sitting out for now with minor injuries. That said, here are some points that can be gleaned from the back-to-back:
Reggie Evans does not arrive anywhere quietly. He put up 8 steals in the two games and was a beast inside and on the glass. He's not afraid to let people know how sharp his elbows are at any point and he picked up 9 hard-nosed fouls. He was, as usual, poor from the free-throw line (7-14) which means he likely won't be able to play at the end of games, and will probably be replaced with Rasho Nesterovic, Amir Johnson or with Andrea Bargnani sliding over to the 4-spot.
Speaking of Il Mago, he led us in scoring in the first game with 22 points, showcasing all his tremendous scoring prowess. In the second game he played under 20 minutes in order to give AJ some time (who put up 8 points, 8 boards and 6 fouls), but if Bargnani can be that dominant on the offensive end it will make things easy for Jose Calderon.
Touted rookie DeMar DeRozan did a solid job filling the stat sheet with a two-game line of 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 three-pointers (2-5 shooting). It's important for DMDR to establish his presence in all facets of the game and realize that he doesn't have to carry the load offensively with gifted scorers around him in Bosh, Turkoglu, Bargs and Jose. He'll likely get some time with the second unit as well, and it could be fun to watch him and Marco Belinelli, two very different wing players, light it up in their own ways.

The Raptors' next preseason game is tomorrow (Friday), 8 P.M at the Minnesota Timberwolves.