2011-12 Toronto Raptors Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
When the Toronto Raptors weren’t able to re-sign All-Star power forward Chris Bosh, they knew they were left without a whole lot to stay competitive. Toronto ended the 2010-11 season with a 22-60 overall record. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-63) were worse off in the Eastern Conference.
Ownership decided to make a coaching change, and the team will play under Dwane Casey, who was an assistant on the Dallas Mavericks last season. Casey played a key role in the Mavericks championship run with his man-zone hybrid defensive system. It will be interesting to see what he is able to do with the roster he has to work with in Toronto.
The Raptors poor finish last year, ended up getting them the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft. The Raptors used that pick on 19-year-old 7-foot center Jonas Valanciunas, who has the potential to be a star in the NBA. The problem is, he plays in the Lithuanian League, and who knows when he will join NBA.
Toronto has been pretty busy so far this offseason. The Raptors have signed free agents Gary Forbes, Rasual Butler, Anthony Carter, Aaron Gray, and Jamaal Magloire, while keeping their core of players from last year in place.
The team is built around center Andrea Barganani, small guard DeMar DeRozan, point guard Jose Calderon, and key reserve guard Leandro Barbosa. This group helped the Raptors send out of the more explosive offenses in the league. Barganani led the team with 21.4 ppg, but only played in 66 games. DeRozan added 17.2 ppg, Barbosa came off the bench to score 13.3 ppg, while Calderon nearly averaged a double-double with 9.8 points and 8.9 assists.
Amir Johnson started 54 games for the Raptors last year, and it looks like he will open the season as the starting power forward. Last year he averaged a career-high 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. The other player the Raptors are excited about is small forward James Johnson, who was acquired from the Bulls in a trade last season. Johnson started all 25 games he played with Toronto, averaging 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists a game.
The Raptors also return small forward Linas Kleiza, and point guard Jerryd Bayless. With all the free agent pickup its hard telling exactly who Casey will use in his rotation. The Raptors bench is full of players who have started but never amounted to much.
Prediction: 5th Eastern Conference Atlantic Division - Things have got a whole lot more competitive in the Atlantic over the last couple seasons. It use to be Boston and a bunch of mediocre teams. New York is now rolling with Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthing, Philadelphia is loaded with talented young players, New Jersey added Deron Williams (possibly might add Dwight Howard), and Boston still has the “Big Four” of Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo. As of right now, I can’t see Toronto finishing ahead of any of those teams. It’s going to take a little bit for Casey to get the right players in place and for the players to learn his style of play. It has the making of a very long season in Toronto, who I have little to no chance of making the playoffs.
Find out where we have all 30 NBA teams finishing in our 2011-12 NBA Predictions article.
If you are looking to make some money this NBA season, be sure to check out what Steve Janus has to offer. Steve finished No. 7 overall in the NBA last year, thanks in large part to a 37-17 run towards the end of last season!
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