What's with the Toronto Raptors?

In the Toronto media, prior to the start of the year, most of the brainiacs in the city were debating how many wins the Raptors would have in 2007-2008 and many, if not most, were betting on them winning at least 50 games. I was more negative predicting 44, but even that looks optimistic with the Raps having won 41 games with one game left.

What went wrong?

To begin with, there is no doubt in my mind that the Raptors overachieved last year and were never as good as they appeared, so the 47 wins that they achieved were not a proper indicator of the talent of this team. They caught many teams by surprise and got exceptional performances from the new faces including, TJ Ford, Anthony Parker, Andrea Bargnani and Jorge Garbajosa. In addition, Jose Calderon broke through to become a very good backup guard. Sam Mitchell mixed the parts well and the players responded with a terrific year, although ending in disappointment with a first round loss to the New Jersey Nets and No. 1 enemy Vince Carter.

Without a draft pick in the 2007 draft, the Raps went into this year with the same team (more or less). They were hoping that the experience gained from their division championship would enable them to advance even farther in the playoffs this year.

They didn't bank on the loss of Jorge Garbajosa, who fractured his leg against the Celtics near the end of the regular season last year, and, despite advice to the contrary, played in the World Championships for his country in the summer of 2007. As a result of not undergoing the surgery that the Raptors thought he required in the summer, he was sidelined all year undergoing surgery. All of a sudden, a team sorely lacking in toughness, defense and rebounding lost the one guy on the team who brought these traits to the arena each and every night. Don't get me wrong, Garbajosa is not an All-star, but on a team that is generally thought to be "soft" he is the one component that cannot be replaced. The loss of Garbajosa made a soft team, mushy.

Prior to Christmas, TJ Ford went down with an injury, and while he was able to recover and return to the lineup in the new year, a new controversy developed.

Who was the starting point guard?

Calderon played like a starter and the team responded with him leading the team. TJ responded poorly, believing that he shouldn't be knocked from the starting lineup as a result of an injury, and his play since that time has been of a pouting non-starter, who believes that he should be No. 1. He has forced the offensive game to the extent of failing to get others involved and his defense, always suspect because of his size, has continued to be a detriment to a poor defensive team. Lately, he has played better and the guard position may again be in good hands as the Raptors face the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs, but my guess is that TJ has been pampered so as to showcase him for a trade this summer.

The biggest disappointment for the Raptors has been the play of Andrea Bargnani. He started off the year learning the center position, but never got a handle on the position. He was never a strong rebounder, to begin with, nor a good "help defender." The idea that he would be too quick for opposing centers was tempered by the fact that he had trouble defending the position. What was even more disappointing was his inability to shoot the ball, from any distance. While he has tried to be more effective by putting it on the floor, his effectiveness has been limited by the fact that teams are not respecting his shooting ability since he's shot so poorly this year. I still believe he's a good shooter, but some major work needs to be done this summer in building up his strength and confidence if he is to be the player that the Raps thought he would be.

A lot of the disappointment revolves around the failure of the coaching staff to deal with some of these issues. Sam Mitchell has not reined in TJ Ford, which is surprising given Mitchell's long time relationship with Ford. Either he is Ford's biggest fan (a possibility) or he really is trying to show the rest of the league that the guy is holding up so that his trade value is at its highest. He has shown the toughness with Bargnani, yanking him every time any mistake was made, a factor which undoubtedly led to Il Mago's loss of confidence. Mitchell has to find the middle ground with both these guys, because if the Raps are to play well in the playoffs, both Ford and Bargnani will have to produce.

And a first round win against Orlando, might just be the tonic needed to get Toronto fans to forget the disappointment of the regular season.