Toronto Raptors 2010 Preview & Predictions

Toronto Raptors 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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Toronto Raptors 2009-2010 NBA Record: 40-42, 2nd in Atlantic Division

Toronto Raptors Betting Trends & Betting Angles:
• UNDER is 16-4 past 20 on road at NJ
• 13-2 SU past 15 at home to Knicks
• OVER is 7-1 past 8 at home to 76ers
• OVER is 9-1 past 10 vs Southeast Div
• Played 10 straight OVERs when dog of 8+ pts
• 6-14 ATS past 20 games on no rest
• OVER is 7-2-1 past 10 Dec road games

Toronto Raptors 2010 Preview & Prediction

It’s safe to say that this isn’t how Bryan Colangelo envisioned things would play out when he took over as the Raptors’ president and GM four years ago. The team has missed the playoffs the past two seasons; the face of the franchise, Chris Bosh, has just fled to South Beach; and the franchise’s biggest free agent signee (although he technically was acquired via a sign-and-trade) in its history, HedoTurkoglu, forced a trade out of town after only one disgruntled season up north. And if that weren’t enough, neither the big trade (with Charlotte) nor the free agent signing (Matt Barnes) Colangelo lined up for the summer came to fruition. It appears that this winter in Toronto will feel especially cold for the former Phoenix resident. These are not heady days in Raptorland, to be sure. But is there any hope amid the darkness? Well, at least the Raptors will be young; five of the team’s rotation players are 25 or younger. Other than youth, however, there isn’t much to be excited about. The team has no “star” player, no standout defenders or rebounders, no inside presence, no de facto NO.1 point guard, not even a designated leader or face of the franchise. Life A.B. (After Bosh) looks like it will be the Dark Ages for the Raptors.

Toronto Raptors Coach: Jay Triano (3rd season)

Toronto Raptors Projected Starters: PG Jose Calderon, SG Jose Calderon, SF Linas Kleiza, PF Amir Johnson, C Andrea Bargnani.

Toronto Raptors Key Additions: G Leandro Barbosa, C David Andersen.

Toronto Raptors Key Losses: F Chris Bosh, F Hedo Turkoglu.

2010 Toronto Raptors Point Guards:

Any discussion on why the Raptors failed to build a consistent playoff team around Chris Bosh should start at point guard. For two seasons, from 2007-09, Jose Calderon averaged close to 9 assists per game, shot 50 percent from the field and was one of the best free-throw shooters in NBA history. So why didn’t a creator like Calderon create a few more wins? One popular answer is defense, but the Raptors were subpar defensively at several positions. Calderon’s numbers dropped to 10.3 points and 5.9 assists last season. He even shot 79.8 percent from the foul line, down from an NBA-record 98.1 percent the previous year. His minutes decreased due to the addition of Jarrett Jack and might fall even further with Leandro Barbosa on hoard. Jack, signed as a free agent from Indiana a year ago, is the logical alternative to Calderon. Shooting accuracy was a weakness early in his career, but Jack posted career highs in both overall field-goal percentage (.481) and three-point percentage (.412), while dishing out 5 assists per game for the Raptors. Marcus Banks’ long, bewildering contract finally comes to an end after this season. He’s played in just 22 games each of the last two years.

2010 Toronto Raptors Off Guards:

Filling this spot has been a challenge since Vince Carter forced his way out of Ontario. But the Raptors may have struck gold with former second-round draft pick Sonny Weems. At the predraft camp two years ago, Weems was incredible in the athletic tests and put some of that potential to work late last season. In 19 games as a starter, the former Arkansas star averaged 11.7 points while shooting 56 percent from the field. He scored at least 18 points in four of the season’s last five games. Long-range shooting isn’t his forte, but Weems’ speed makes him a tough matchup for any defender. Speaking of foot speed, new arrival Leandro Barbosa was appropriately nicknamed the “Brazilian Blur” when he first arrived in the NBA. At age 27, he shouldn’t be slowing down, but Barbosa is corning off a disappointing season for the Suns. Barbosa had surgery to remove a cyst on his wrist in late January and ended up missing 38 games. Since producing 18.1 points and 4.0 assists in 2006-07, Barbosa’s numbers have fallen every year. Marco Belinelli put on a crazy three-point 51-lOoting display during a summer league game for Golden State before his rookie year. Now heading into his fourth season, Bellinelli hasn’t shown much consistency as a shooter, connecting on 38 percent of his long-range attempts last year.

2010 Toronto Raptors Small Forwards:

DeMar DeRozan started 65 games as a rookie and improved as the season progressed, though he did tend to run hot and cold. During the Raptors’ final West Coast trip in March, DeRozan averaged 13.8 points and shot 63 percent from the field over four garnes, then returned home and scored 19 against Atlanta. In the season fmale against New York, he posted 24 points and 9 rebounds. DeRozan and Sonny Weems give the Raptors a couple of impressive athletes at the wing positions. But those players combined to knock down all of six baskets from three point range last season. That’s one reason the Raptors tracked down former Denver sharp shooter Linas KIeiza. After logging four seasons with the Nuggets, KIeiza spent last season playing for Olympiacos in Greece. He averaged 17.1 points and teamed with ex-Hawks forward Josh Childress to lead Olympiacos to the Euroleague title game before losing to Batcelona. Still a restricted free agent in the NBA, the Raptors signed Kleiza to an offer sheet that Denver did not match. Keep in mind, even though Kleiza was a high-volume three-point shooter in Denver, his career percentage from long range is .342.

2010 Toronto Raptors Power Forwards:

Between all the drama created by Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, it was easy to forget that former No.1 draft pick Andrea Bargnani played well last season, averaging 17.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, with a career high field-goal percentage of .470. There’s little doubt Bargnani is an offensive weapon. The question is where he makes sense defensively. He’s not really a small forward or center, so power forward appears to be his spot. The Raptors showed faith in Johnson by offering a five-year conrract, even though he produced just 6.2 points and 4.8 rebounds last season. Johnson is 23 years old and heading inro his sixth NBA season. If he could stop being so foul-prone, he should get consistent minutes. Reggie Evans was supposed to bring toughness to the Raptors, but didn’t even see the court until February because of a foot injury.

2010 Toronto Raptors Centers:

The Raptors spent the summer collecting possibilities at the center spot. First-round draft pick Ed Davis is one. He tested well athletically at the predraft camp, but didn’t see a great deal of action during two years at North Carolina. He was a reserve on the national title team of 2009, then missed 13 games last season due to a broken wrist. Second-round pick Solomon Alabi has an interesting story, coming from meager beginnings in Nigeria to play college basketball at Florida State. He’s not the most mobile big man around, but has the size. Toronto also acquired D-League star Dwayne Jones from Phoenix and landed Australian David Andersen from Houston in a salary dump.

Toronto Raptors 2010 Season Predictions

We predict that the Toronto Raptors will finish 5th in the NBA Atlantic Division .

Toronto Raptors Betting

Toronto Raptors NBA Championship Odds: +20000

Toronto Raptors Eastern Conference Odds: +10000

Toronto Raptors 2009-2010 Betting Stats

Toronto Raptors Straight Up: 40-42
Toronto Raptors ATS: 39-43
Toronto Raptors Home ATS: 19-22
Toronto Raptors Away ATS: 20-21
Toronto Raptors Record As Favorite: 25-8
Toronto Raptors Record As Dog: 13-34
Toronto Raptors Over/Under: 45-35-2

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