Year One A.B.: The Hedo Trade

Earlier this summer, Hedo Turkoglu appeared on a Turkish TV network and proceeded to lambast the Raptors organization as well as its fans. He accused the Raps of not "utilizing [his] skills properly" among other accusations. This was when the Turkoglu signing hit rock-bottom, but it was remarkable because the hopes surrounding it were sky-high.

Hedo put together a monster postseason in 2008-2009, hitting numerous clutch shots and playing excellent all-around ball for the Magic in helping them reach the NBA Finals. He was set to sign with Portland for a 5-year deal worth about $50 million. He reneged on that contract and decided to sign with the Raptors for about $53 million. As a result, Turkoglu was heralded (not to mention paid) as the "last piece" that would lift the Raps to the upper half of the Eastern Conference. His outside-in game and playmaking ability would contrast perfectly with Bosh's inside-out game and Bargnani's versatile scoring prowess. Critics noted the length of time - he was already on the wrong side of 30 and would be nearing the end of his career by the end of the contract. They also pointed out that Turk is basically a super-role player: good at everything, but with no one skill that makes him invaluable. He's a good shooter, but not a great one. He's big, but doesn't have great defensive skills or the ability to post up. He can make plays, but without the ability to penetrate at will, he's not a prototypical point forward. It was obvious that Bryan Colangelo was making an calculated - let's not say "desperate" - move to try to keep Chris Bosh in town.

The 2009-10 season launched with much fanfare... and we all know how it ended up. But the Turkoglu situation was in slow-burn mode the whole season. While his peripheral numbers were decent: 4.6 RPG, 4.1 APG, his scoring dropped by almost six PPG (following a 2 point drop from the season prior). He also shot just 41% from the field.

The Turkish TV comments were the last straw, and BC finally found a suitor to take Hedo off his hands. He swapped Hedo for Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa, a super-speedy Brazilian guard with the ability to score and run the break. "The Brazilian Blur" signed a five-year contract for $34 million in 2006 which means his contract expires at the end of 2011. This is a fantastic move for the rebuilding Raps, who save over $30 million from this deal alone. He'll be an interesting fit with the athletic young Dinos: Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis, who'll all be able to run the break with him.

In addition to this deal, BC had a deal lined up to ship Jose Calderon and another piece (probably Reggie Evans) to Charlotte in a three-way deal that would bring Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw to Toronto, saving the Raps even more money off Jose's deal. Michael Jordan got cold feet, however, and shipped Chandler to Dallas instead. Hopefully Colangelo has some other money-saving or pick-stockpiling moves up his sleeve.

Year One A.B: Big Shoes to Fill

Photo Credit:

http://ballersfb.nike.com/basketball_content/nba/players/profile/amir_johnson.jpg

Chris Bosh's departure from the Raptors takes away 24 points and 11 boards per game from the Dinos. For now, the burden of filling the Bosh void falls upon Amir Johnson and rookie Ed Davis. Ideally, Andrea Bargnani and other Raptor role players will be able to pick up their scoring and rebounding to help fill the void. However, for the Raptors to have be a successful team, the power forward position must still contribute significantly. Are Johnson and Davis able to contribute enough for the Raptors to be successful?

As it stands, Amir Johnson is probably best known as the last player ever to be drafted straight out of high school. At the beginning of the summer the Raptors locked up the 23 year old for 5 more years with a 34 million dollar contract. I am a big fan of Amir Johnson. I love that at 23 years old he already has 6 years of NBA play under his belt, and I believe that NBA experience is a value that cannot be taught. Amir is also a versatile player; he played all 82 for the Raps last season, averaging 6 ppg and 5 rpg in about 18 minutes per game. If you extend his numbers out to starter minutes (36 mpg), Johnson would average just under 13 ppg and just under 10 rpg, which many would say would be perfectly adequate numbers for a starting four.

Amir's progression throughout the '09-'10 season was on display. We saw him grow more comfortable in a Raptor uniform. He brought energy and crashed the boards off the bench, sparking the team for a run more than often. Amir is excellent off the pick and roll, and even towards the end of last season he was starting to get his number called on plays. He has always been an efficient scorer with a career field goal percentage of 60%.

Amir's offense is still quite raw however. He lacks great post moves and hesitates to take an open foul line jumper. But the bottom line is: with 6 years of experience under his belt and at just 23 years of age, Amir has plenty of time to refine his game.

Photo Credit:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/cm4lSMmEbMR/North+Carolina+Asheville+v+North+Carolina/huKOHxBb4N7/Quinard+Jackson

With the 13th pick in the 2010 NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors selected a 6'10 left-handed power forward. No, it was not Chris Bosh's clone, it was Ed Davis. I find Ed to be a very intriguing prospect. In his freshman year, Ed averaged about 7 ppg and 7 rpg with the North Carolina Tar-Heels en route to being named to the ACC all-freshman team. In Summer 2009, Davis was slotted to be a top-5 pick in the draft should he have chosen to enter it. Davis decided to go back to school, however in February he suffered a broken wrist which ended his season.

In his years with North Carolina, Davis showed that he has an excellent touch around the basket and is not afraid to grab a rebound or two. He even led the Tar-Heels with 65 blocks (1.7 per game) in his freshman year. In Summer League play, Ed looked right at home. He shot an impressive 63% from the field and averaged 12.6 ppg and 6 rpg for the undefeated Raptors.

I like Ed Davis a lot and I think that we stole him with the 13th pick. I also like that he will not have the pressure of starting in his rookie year. He can learn from Amir, and feel comfortable hanging with the Young Gunz (Sonny, DMDR, Amir). He does, however, need to work on extending his range and hit the weight room a little bit. In his draft interview, Ed said that his favorite player was Chris Bosh. That's a start...

Year One A.B: A New Franchise Player

Photo Credit: http://static.sky.it/static/images/sezioni/sport/Nba/bargnani_toronto_raptors_nba.jpg

Hate it or love it Raptor fans, we have just entered the age of Andrea. The success of the 2010-2011 season (and very well of future seasons as well) now lies on the shoulders of Andrea Bargnani. The first overall pick in 2007 had underwhelming rookie and sophomore seasons in the NBA, however in '09 and '10 Andrea really came into his own. The Raptors have seen Andrea gain confidence, weight, and a better grasp for NBA style basketball, providing the Raptors with a solid second option to the now departed Chris Bosh. Now it is Andrea's team to lead. How will he fare as the primary scoring option for the 2010-2011 Raptors?

Coming into the Association as a rookie, Andrea had a solid face-up game and a three-point shot that could scare any defender. The obvious comparison between Bargnani and Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki were made. I will take this comparison a little further because, best case scenario, we hope that Bargnani will do everything Dirk does and more.

Dirk became the franchise player of the Mavs in 2004 when his good friend Steve Nash left Dallas to play in cactus country. As a 26 year old, Dirk rose to the challenge and saw a per game point increase of 5 in his first season without Stevey (from 21 ppg to 26 ppg). He disproved many of his critics who said he could not play with another star. Since '04, Dirk has recorded career numbers in almost every category. His name is now synonymous with the Dallas organization.

Now let's look at our 7'0, 250 lb international forward. Playing second fiddle to CB4, Andrea's best season was his '09-'10 campaign, as he posted 17 ppg and 6 ppg, while shooting a career best 47%. The 25 year old Italian is about to become the focal point of the Raptor offense. I am hopeful because every season has seen Andrea's numbers increase, and there is no reason to suggest that he will slow down this season. His post game has improved significantly to the point where he can now be considered an "inside-outside" player. To keep his success going this season as the primary option, Andrea needs to not be flustered when he is counted on to put up 20 shot attempts per game this season. Furthermore, he needs to not force shots and not be afraid to kick the ball out for a re-post. Perhaps foul trouble, Andrea's old foe, is now his biggest threat. However, there is reason for hope even on this front. While Drea's foul numbers did increase with increased playing time (24 mpg to 32) in his third season (from about 2.7 fpg to 3.2), in his fourth season he showed a much improved ability to avoid fouls. His playing time increased to about 35 mpg but his fouls decreased to his early numbers - back to 2.7 fpg. For comparison's sake, Dirk averaged about 2.6 fpg in 2009-10, and Carlos Boozer averaged 3.2 in the same season. All this improvement came despite a sizable improvement in Andrea's intimidation on defense. In his second season, his blocks per game were an unimpressive .5 bpg. However, as with all his stats, he made a large stride in his third season, bringing his blocks up to 1.2 per game, and another improvement in his fourth to 1.4.

These all signify good things to come. This season could very easily be a beautiful thing for Andrea, we could see the birth of a new superstar. However, he needs to keep in mind that he needs to play within his own game and play with his teammates. Otherwise we could see a struggling Italian jump shooter for the first part of the season.

Raps (Were?) to Sign Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes has reported on his Twitter feed that he'd "be playing for the Toronto Raptors" next season. However, according to ESPN, the trade may have fallen through due to Orlando's lack of tradeable assets. Since the Raptors used most of their mid-level exception on Linas Kleiza, the deal would have to be a sign-and-trade, meaning the Raps would have to give up something in return. The deal-breaker may be somewhat of a blessing: while Barnes is a solid player at both ends of the court, the Raps' main concern should be saving money and stockpiling young talent - taking risks if need be. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that Barnes' trade value would appreciate over the course of the season - he'd get more minutes in Toronto than in Orlando - meaning he could be swapped for picks or young players. No matter what happens, PH will keep you up-to-date on the Raptors' wheelings and dealings.

Stay tuned for our continued recap and forecast of Year One A.B.

A Personal View: Chris Bosh's Career

Chris Bosh was my first "favourite player" in the NBA. He was drafted by the Raptors the same season I began playing basketball with any real purpose when I - nothing short of miraculously - made my middle school's team in grade 8, and realized I knew absolutely nothing about the game of basketball. My "homework" was to watch Chris Bosh - another lanky, raw rookie. People always said he "played the game the right way" - he hustled, never backed down from a challenge, and muscled (mostly bone, in his case) up against much bigger players. He played a significant portion of his rookie reason with two knee braces, and managed to appear in over 70 games. I guess you could say he was my favourite player only by default, but of course I had no knowledge of any other players beyond Vince Carter in Toronto.

He worked hard on his game - he came back the next year with a much-improved game in all aspects - after Carter's departure, he posted elite NBA forward numbers: 19 points, 10 rebounds per game. I took a page from his playbook and worked on my game whenever possible, taking the opportunity to play for the "Grade 9 Team:" a barely-existent team with a coach who only showed up half the time, and a season that lasted three whole games. But continuing to follow in his footsteps, I stepped on the court the next season for tryouts, confident in my chances of making the team: even more so when it was announced that in order to give enough playing time to all the interested players, there would be an "A" team and a "B" team - though the B starters would be better than the A benchwarmers (so they said, anyway). I made the B team and started every game, as Bosh made his first All-Star game, my team made its way to the division finals (getting smoked, but that's beside the point). The next year Chris made the All-NBA Second Team, I made the Varsity team, eventually winning Most Improved Player. And then, just as Chris did, I became jaded. I played my ass off for sure, as he did, but basketball was just something to do - not the only thing to do.

So maybe I can see where Chris is coming from. He paid his dues here for years. Perhaps he just wants to play with "his friends," to inject passion back into his game.

Or maybe I just fell in love with basketball independent of Chris Bosh. Either way, I know I won't be booing you when you come back to the ACC.

Year One A.B.: Chris Bosh's Departure

Christopher Wesson Bosh, drafted 4th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, was supposed to be the big-man complement to Vincent Lamar Carter's outside scoring. The two would compile All-Star games together and form a fearsome two-man scoring tandem - both potent, do-it-all offensive players with a devastating arsenal of moves. As we all know, Vince decided Toronto wasn't for him and didn't deserve his effort, forcing a horribly lopsided trade to the New Jersey Nets, crippling the Raptors' hopes for a few seasons.

Along came Bryan Colangelo, and BC and CB, now a perennial All-Star, appeared to have the Raptors on the right track. BC drafted another versatile big man with seemingly unlimited potential first overall in Andrea Bargnani, and in his rookie season the Raps captured their first-ever Atlantic division crown. Unfortunately, that would be the peak of that Raptors team's success. Bosh continued to play at a very high level, even making the All-NBA Second Team in one season, but it became clearer and clearer that CB4 was not the "franchise player" the Raptors had hoped. Criticisms of mediocre defense, poor clutch performance and his good-not-great rebounding numbers abounded. The Raptors needed to pair him with another elite player to have any hope of competing in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference. After failed pairings with mostly-washed-up versions of Jermaine O'Neal and Shawn Marion, the Raptors found themselves in the last year of Chris' contract extension, and he was not prepared to sign a contract extension in the summer of 2009.

Fast forward to April 2010. The Raptors, even with highly-touted (and equally maligned) signing of Hedo Turkoglu, floundered partly due to injuries and mostly due to general ineffectiveness from several key players, despite significant strides made by Andrea Bargnani and Bosh's fifth straight All-Star appearance. It became more and more obvious that the era of Chris Bosh as the face of the Raptors was coming to a close. Bosh announced on July 9 that he would be joining Dwyane Wade in Miami, and soon afterward, Bryan Colangelo announced that the team had completed a sign-and-trade, sending Chris Bosh to the Heat for two first-round draft picks: Toronto's own first-rounder in 2011 which had been traded as part of the Jermaine O'Neal deal, and Miami's first-rounder as well, to go along with a valuable $14 million traded player exception. And the Chris Bosh Era officially came to a close, perhaps the way Chris would have wanted it to: loyally and paying dues to the team that essentially gave him control of the franchise for these long years.

And now we rebuild.

Year One A.B: DeMar DeRozan

After losing their all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, double-doubles, and minutes played, the Raptors are facing their toughest year yet.

Of all Raptors, DeMar DeRozan is going to have to define himself the most. The Raps are now in search of another scorer to compliment Andrea Bargnani and Jarrett Jack, and this could be a prime opportunity for the young DeRozan to find his offensive game. Last year in his rookie campaign, DeMar averaged a modest 9 points and 3 boards per game while shooting right around 50%.

This summer for DeMar has not been an off-season; he's been in the gym every day lifting, shooting and scrimmaging, trying to become a complete player. As DMDR told RealGM, "I want to improve and it's better than sitting at home... I get to be in the gym and get out there and play against other guys". This determination, it seems, has translated onto the court thus far. DMDR simply tore up the Vegas Summer League, averaging around 21 PPG (third most in Vegas) and 5 RPG. Even more impressive are DeMar's percentages, shooting 58% from the field and 40% from three. DeMar was named to the all-tournament team in Las Vegas alongside names like John Wall, JJ Hickson, and Ty Lawson.

It is important, regrettably, to take these numbers with a grain of salt. After all, the Summer League is hardly an indicator of NBA success. But what we can see when watching DMDR is his progression. Firstly, DeMar has put on about 10 pounds of muscle since last season, allowing him to control himself more in the lane and be a stronger battler for defensive position and rebounds. Furthermore, we are seeing a more confident player. DMDR averaged 13 shot attempts per game in the Summer League and showed that he is not afraid to take a clutch shot and be selfish. It is also a great thing to see that DeMar is adding a three point shot to his arsenal.

So, will DMDR be an All-Star next year? Eh, probably not, but all signs indicate that we will see a more aggressive, offensively complete player come October, who could be a viable second or third option for Year One A.B.

We're Back!

Hello Raptor fans!

After an extended hiatus, Prehistoric Hoops is back and ready to blog! Usually our hiatus would be due to us climbing Mt. Everest, or our site being sabotaged by Scott Lewis, however for the past six months, life just got in the way. But we're back and ready to bring you the most up to date, in depth Raptor and NBA information on the internet!

We are also very happy to announce that we now have our own website! You can now find us at www.prehistorichoops.com

(Note that the old address - www.prehistorichoops.blogspot.com - still works, it just redirects you to the new site.)

Check back later for our grand re-opening post!

Raps Face Red-Hot Suns

The Raptors - Suns matchup has become somewhat of a David vs. Goliath battle. The Suns have simply dominated the Raptors and look for their 11th straight win against the Raps tonight. The Suns, after a disappointing '08-09 campaign, have started their season on fire, posting up an 8-2 record. The Raptors now sit at 5-4 after an impressive 22 point comeback vs. the Clippers.
Tipoff tonight is at 8 pm on TSN 2.

W2W4:
-Kid Canada looks as impressive as ever this season, putting up 17 ppg and nearly 12 apg. The Raps need to get to him early and limit what he can do on the ball. This is obviously easier said than done.
- Tonight Chris Bosh will face off against Amar'e Stoudemire, a strong, physical big man who can also shoot the jumper. This will be the marquee match up for the night. If Chris can play solid defense against Amare, the game will be a lot easier to win.
- Amazingly, Chris Bosh is still 100% from three point land. Look for his gamely three pointer.

Raps Draw Late-Night Matchup with Clip

Tonight at 10:30 PM EST the Raptors will be facing off against the Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon-less Clippers in what's one of the closest games the Raps have had to a must-win game this season. The Raps are 4-4, having gone 1-2 on the first leg of their 7/8 games on the road. They pulled out a hard-fought win at home against the Bulls and now look to make some noise as they finish up on the West Coast. The Clips currently stand at 3-6.

NBA.com preview

W2W4:
- Can the Raps perform on D? With some credit going to the Bulls for not being able to put a beach ball in the ocean, the Raps held the Bulls to 25 percent shooting in the second half and causing them to miss 13 straight field goals at one point. Remember that this is a Dinos team that surrendered 131 points to another team missing its two top players in the Spurs. The Raps need to capitalize on this shorthanded Clips team.
- Jose Calderon. After a lot of harsh criticism stemming from his mediocre play in the first few games, Jose has stepped up. His last four games look like this:
vs. CHI: 18 points, 6 assists, 1 turnover
@ SAS: 13 points, 9 assists, 2 turnovers
@ DAL: 13 points, 7 assists, 2 turnovers
vs. NOH: 16 points, 8 assists, 0 turnovers
Pretty solid numbers. If Jose can keep shaking off the rust, he'll keep this Raptors offense running at full speed.
- Chris Bosh utterly owning the NBA. Check out his rankings in all these categories.
Bosh is first in the NBA in the following:
Three-point field goal percentage
Free throws made (and FTM per 48 minutes)
Free throws attempted (and FTA per 48 minutes)
Bosh is in the top-5 in the NBA in the following:
Points per game (and per 48 minutes)
Total Points
Rebounds per game
Defensive rebounds per game
Efficiency ranking (and efficiency per 48 minutes)
Total efficiency
Bosh is in the top-20 in the NBA in the following:
Field goals made (and per 48 minutes)
Field goal attemps (and per 48 minutes) (note he's 9th in field goals made, but 15th in field goals attempted, and 10th in FGM per 48 and 18th in FGA per 48)
Offensive rebounds per game
Total offensive rebounds
Total defensive rebounds
Total rebounds
Defensive rebounds per 48 minutes
Rebounds per 48 minutes

So... he's pretty good, I guess.
Oh yeah, he's also on the league's longest streak of 20 or more points, dating back to last season.