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.
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