The Toronto Raptors enter the NBA’s All-star break on a roll! After going 10-5 in the month of January, the Raptors have won two straight and six of their last 7. With an overall record of 29-24, the Dino’s have opened up a 4.5 game lead in the Atlantic Division and proving to the NBA that they are true playoff contenders.In a city that needs a winner in other sports than Lacrosse and Canadian Football, the Raptors haven’t given their fans much to cheer in the past 4 seasons. With all-star forward Chris Bosh leading the way, the Raptors have shown that scoring by association is sure way to win in the NBA. With arguably the best bench in the Eastern conference, the Raptors have taken an unselfish approach in what can be a selfish sport.
When Bryan Colangelo took over last season as the new president and general manager in late February, the former NBA Executive of the Year knew it wouldn’t be easy to bring success to a franchise that hadn’t hosted a playoff game in four seasons. It has been a year since Colangelo took over and he is making the fans of Toronto forget the drafting blunders of his two predecessors. Colangelo’s off season acquisitions of proven winners Jorge Garbajosa, Anthony Parker, and Rasho Nesterovic are paying immediate dividends in the starting lineup. First overall pick Andrea Bargnani is adapting well to the North American style game, and point guard TJ Ford has given his team a true floor general. As for returning Raptors, Chris Bosh is putting up career numbers that have the ACC faithful chanting “MVP! MVP!” and guards Morris Peterson and Jose Calderon have accepted roles and provided the team with great bench scoring and defense, which is something the Raptors have lacked the past 4 seasons.
The Raptors have a lot of confidence going into the stretch and if they can keep up their “Phoenix North” type offence and still shut down secondary scoring, I think you’ll see the Dino’s atop of the Atlantic Division and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Technorati Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Jorge Garbajosa, Anthony Parker, Rasho Nesterovic, TJ Ford, Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Morris Peterson, Andrea Bargnani
February 19th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Based on record, the Raptors are the 4th seed in the East. I think it is noteworthy, due to the fact that winning the Atlantic doesn’t necessarily mean you are a week team. When the Nets get healthy, they can make a run for a playoff spot, and I think they will. I don’t want to see either Indiana or Chicago in the first round…however, I do feel the Raptors are a dark horse of sorts, even if they do win the Atlantic. Both Indian and Chicago are high profile teams, with more pressur to win. Could be interesting.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:35 am
It should also be noted that the lowly Raptors would be a playoff team in the West as well. How about that?
February 19th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I agree with you about the Raptors being a dark horse and the pressure for teams like Chicago and Indiana to win. I think that is what makes the Raptors so exciting is that they arent suppose to be doing this well and if you look at season previews from earlier this year the raps have more wins now then “experts” were predicting. As for the Nets, they are getting healthy, but there is a lot of rumours about shipping off Carter because it doesnt look like he’ll be back in the swamp next year. Kidd’s name has been mentioned around the league, but I read a quote that someone is Nets management sees Kidd as the “face of the franchise.”