I understand that when Colangelo first came to Toronto he was considered to be the messiah. But lets face it this messiah we know as Bryan Colangelo has never won a championship and has never led the Raptors past the first round in the playoffs, so I think it’s time we start raising some eyebrows. Especially after the disastrous season we just finished and quite frankly the terrible second half we had the previous season leading into the playoffs.
9. Toronto Raptors- DeMar DeRozan, SG, USC
The Raptors have a need at the two guard and DeRozan would be a good fit. The Raptors big men like to hang out on the perimeter and the ability of DeRozan to drive to the basket would compliment them. DeRozan struggled early on in the season but really turned it on once conference play started. DeRozan has great athleticism and has enormous potential but was inconsistent at times in college.
#9 TORONTO RAPTORS
Right now, I’m projecting Jordan Hill to be available at #9 and if so, there’s a good chance that Toronto will draft him. He’s raw, but he’s a good rebounder and defender, and has a lot of upside. The Raptors might see the departure of Chris Bosh on the horizon and draft Hill as his replacement. They also need a shooting guard, but it would be tough to pass on Hill here.
Pick: Hill, PF
O’Neal may have done more for this team than originally thought, even though his play on the court wasn’t all that great in a Raptors uniform. His work with Bargnani, specifically how to play defense as a big man, went a long way in helping Bargnani progress as a player and if it wasn’t for O’Neal getting hurt than Bargnani probably would’ve never been forced into the starting center role.
One man’s loss is another man’s gain.
You can say that he was lucky O’Neal got injured, but the man still performed remarkably well for someone who most fans had written off as one of the worst number one picks in NBA history.
10 Raps
Thanks for this. How much JO helped Bargs is a question they should ask Triano and Bargnani. My guess is this thing is overblown just so somebody can say something good came out of that trade.
J.O.:
I loved J.O. in Toronto. When he was here, the lane was not open for business. Simple as that. Coangelo’s plan of short skirts and no undies free flowing zero defense basketball is not viable. O’Neal made people take jumpers, gave hard fouls, played excellent position and one on one defense and blocked shots. Also, he was a legitimate low post threat, one who could make a bucket with his back to the basket.
Toronto has this horrible habit, since the Vince “I’m such a soft piece that I streak the bowl when I go down” Carter, of not passing the ball to the big guys when they are open. Quick shots early in the clock are how you become, well, like the Raptors really. Forget the 2 teams in the last 10 years to succeed with that template ( Sacto and Phoenix). Remember all the crappy teams that failed with the same template (Toronto, for one ).
If the raps want to run and gun, how about doing it with defense? Start with a team of athletes. Bench anyone who won’t play defense. Shut the lane down with a shotblocker and make opposing teams chuck up horrible shots deep in the clock, from deep. Get the board back. Run like the wind. Everybody’s happy.
Hmmm?
Actually, slow’neal made our defense worse. He also made our defensive rebounding worse. He had the odd highlight reel defensive sequence here and there but overall Bargnani and especially Rasho were much more effective and our greatly improved team defensive/rebounding stats reflected this.
I don’t know about that. Dribble penetration forcing the big men to come out and help combined with missed rotations is the reason why our defensive rebounding sucked. Our rebounders were out of position too often and our guards/SF weren’t good enough to compensate.
Our defensive rebounding with O’Neal was near the bottom of the league. With Rasho, it was near the top. This season, with Bargnani in (when O’Neal was out with injuries) it again took a substantial jump. I would attribute this to Bargnani’s greater emphasis on boxing out, and the fact he wouldn’t go for the block attempt every single time as O’Neal would, most of time with limited success, leaving the offensive boards wide open and the rotation scrambling to cover his man.
Exactly. Well said, Brasky.
Much like early Jamario, O’Neal was all about looking for a block and leaving men wide open.
Hater!
Rasho had a quick TJ Ford and a healthy Calderon to guard the perimeter, JO had a one-legged Jose. You don’t think that makes a difference?
Jose is a weak defender on 2 legs. TJ was hurt or throwing a hissy fit for a good part of the time he was here.
For a guy that was trumpeted as being a guy to lock down our low post, O’Neal failed. Miserably.
I don’t think defense was the problem, nobody’s complaining about that. I was a big fan of his block shots and positional defense, it’s what he was doing at the other end that was the issue. He couldn’t finish around the rim and missed his short jumpers which wasted possessions. He was getting too many touches and his PER48 scoring wasn’t that great which is what we needed it to be if he was to be a real upgrade over Rasho.
J.O. brought toughness and testosterone into the raptor’s meek and complacent lives..I’m gratefull for it. Also Bargnani gained 25lbs as a result of working out with him.