Beginning of Training Camp Update

So we inch closer to the start of the NBA season with the arrival of the Raptors' training camp. Interesting tidbits: DeMar DeRozan and Chris Bosh have both bulked up significantly - Bosh has apparently gained about 20 pounds on his upper body. DeRozan has been working out hard this off-season (judging by his Twitter feed) and looks very chiseled. Speaking of Bosh, he tweaked his hamstring and will miss the start of training camp. Here's hoping he gets better quickly, and that his new tattoo (sorry, he's not showing anyone yet) looks dashing.

The Raptors Charity Golf Classic was this week, and Bryan Colangelo, Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon as well as front-office staff looked like they were having a great time.

As well, Media Day was also this week and you can check out all the video on Raptors.com. Plenty of Raps are interviewed and all sound really excited for this season to start.

ACC Gets A Makeover

In a relatively undercover operation, the Air Canada Centre closed for 10 weeks to complete the last phase of the arena’s $48 million "renovation and revitalization". The re-vamped ACC features an expanded West side, which now includes a new entrance, new retail areas, and additional concession stands. The new multi-level atrium also adds a High-Definition studio for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s three networks: Leafs TV, Raptors NBA TV and GOLTV.

More than physical changes were taking place though in the ACC. Full replacement of the current signage panels to digital signage, an upgrade of all food, beverage and retail concessions and further investments in the security program are also happening. Also a new automated arena seat conversion system is being introduced. We don't know what it is supposed to do, but we are excited to see it.

Lastly, in what could be the coolest feature of all, a covered glass bridge will connect Air Canada Centre to Maple Leaf Square, a sports entertainment and residential development presently under construction. Maple Leaf Square's public square will play host to tailgate parties and pre-and-post event celebrations. Now Leaf fans have an excuse to get belligerently drunk even earlier!

The Broadcast Schedule Is Here!

On Thursday the Raptors announced the broadcast schedule for the 09-10 season. You can get it here. As with the past three seasons, all games will be available in HD. The station breakdown looks like this: 50 games split on TSN and TSN 2 (thank God it got resolved), 20 on The Score, 10 on CBC, and 2 on Raptors NBA TV.

Some early dates to watch out for:
Wednesday October 28 vs. Cleveland. The Raps open at home versus BraunBraun, A-P, and Jamario Moon.
Sunday November 1 vs. Orlando. Toronto's most notorious super villain comes back to Toronto for the first time with new threads. You can change teams Vince, but you can't hide.
Friday November 27 at Boston. If the Raps want to make a legitimate run this year, they must contend with the star-studded teams.
Tuesday December 1 vs. Washington. The authors of ESPN took the Wizards over the Raptors for the number 8 spot in the east. It will be interesting to see if Gilbert can come back and perform to the level he was at two years ago

Lastly we would like to apologize for being a couple days late on this, things have been a bit hectic in our lives. But hey, if you followed Jurassic Hoops you still would have no idea.

ESPN Predicts East Standing, Undercuts Raptors

I always hate getting my hopes up about the Raptors in the offseason, as I am convinced we are destined for a life in basketball purgatory, to be mediocre forever. However this year (as with every other Raptor season) I could not help myself. I analyzed our team over and over, asking myself how high do you think the Raptors can make it in the East. Fourth? Maybe even third?

Yesterday 53 panelists from across ESPN predicted the number of wins and losses for each team in the East and, to my surprise, the Raptors came in at ninth. They predicted the Raps to finish four games under .500 at 39-43. So here is my list of reasons of why I believe in the Dinos.

1. A re-vamped team
Let's face it, the Raptors last season had problems. Amidst persistent injuries to rotation players, a head coach firing a few weeks into the season, constant boo-ing from the fans, and rumors that the face of the team will walk in 2010, the Raps developed a defeated, lackadaisical attitude. This offseason The Architect went to work. He kept 5 of 15 players from last season, 3 being rotation players (guess who). The 2009-10 Raptors are a different team from last year, let's hope they realize that.

2. Depth and Toughness
BC has been talking for a while about adding tough big men who can bang in the key and grab rebounds. Rather than drafting an unpredictable big man (yes, Rob Babcock and Rafael Araujo, this shout out is for you), BC went into the market and grabbed Reggie Evans, Amir Johnson, and Rasho Nesterovic. These three guys bring a unique mix of abilities - Evans with hard-nosed grit and toughness, AJ with high-flying athleticism, and Radoslav with great fundamentals - and they can clean the glass better than Windex (yes, I hate myself for writing that).

Looking at the Raptor depth chart puts a smile on my face. What was once a depleted wingman lineup has now become filled with young players ready to compete for floor time. Behind Jose Calderon is another point guard who beat out T.J. Ford for the starting spot in Indiana. Raptor fans this season will witness a 10-man deep team.

3. The Wing Spot
With the acquisitions of Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright, and DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors have wing players who are not afraid to take the ball to the bucket. Hedo, 'Toine, and DMDR all have the ability to take the ball to the hoop with authority, a quality that has become lost in the Raptors' style of play in the past couple of seasons.

4. We Are Better Than the Wizards
ESPN put the Wizards in the 8 spot over the Raptors. Naturally because the Raptors have had a big turnover in personnel this offseason raises questions of team chemistry. But can Gilbert Arenas really be expected to come back fully healthy and automatically mesh with Mike Miller and Randy Foye?

Bosh's Stance Toward Extension Changes

The Globe and Mail reported today that Chris Bosh has come around on the idea of a contract extension with the Raps.

“We haven’t read the book yet, but when he has it ready, I’ll gladly sit down and talk about it, discuss pros and cons, and come to a decision,” Bosh said. “But I like that we’re not sitting around, waiting around, putting all our eggs in the basket and saying we’re going to wait for 2010 because we want to have [salary] cap space to get players you might not be able to sign. The do-it-now approach is very motivating, for everyone.

“We’re a lot deeper and I think we have a fantastic team. If we work on the small things, we can make some noise.”

It certainly seems like Bosh loves Toronto (see: "I love Toronto and Toronto loves me") and the Raptors have definitely shown that they are willing to do anything to build a talented core around him. In this economy, it's easy for teams to focus too much on saving money while forgetting the on-court product, and come 2010, Bosh may realize that Toronto is one of the teams most willing to gather up a supporting cast capable of competing.