The Toronto Raptors will be the 2008 - 2009 Eastern Conference Champions.
My hope is this opening line won't resonate with the fans this upcoming season. I can vouch for the team on the basis that with the acquisition of Jermaine O' Neal this team is much improved on the inside, which means players such as Kapono should find the open shots inside and outside the paint more often.
Jamario Moon should be an improvement from last year; the guy, in my opinion, is an absolute steal. Calderon is the now the point supremo, Ukic, the Croatian coming over from Spain, is Calderon's new backup, and Il Mago should benefit more from coming off the bench.
Speaking of the bench, well, what can I say?
A couple of new inside men, a new guard coming over from Israel, and a new swing man to compete with Kapono, Parker, and the underachieving Graham would make things in Toronto more intriguing this October.
My hope is that with a thirteen man roster Bryan Colangelo has figured it out. We wouldn't want to find ourselves next April wondering what if.
If the Raptors want to avoid that, perhaps a playoff victory or two down the road might actually propel fans and skeptics alike that the Raptors are a team to be reckoned with, and that Sam Mitchell can finally lay claim that his Coach of the Year award is not a fluke.
Either way that remains to be seen.
5 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Danny Smiths 11 months ago
I believe the Raptor's sucess depends very much on the shoulders of Jamario Moon and Jasaon Kapono. If Kapono takes more 3pt shots rather than averaging 1 attempt per game, and if Moon can slash to the net and improve on his confidence, this team could be dangerous.
Whether they win the East or not is quite farfetched. I have hope, and so does many Raptor fan.
Edit Comment Cancel
Captain Fanatic 11 months ago
Could be....could be!!
TOsports.ca
Edit Comment Cancel
Scott Quinn 11 months ago
If they even make the ECF this year I'll be ecstatic. I'm not sure they can win the East yet, but it's not impossible.
Edit Comment Cancel
Brandon Walsh 11 months ago
You might want to get past the 1st round before you start proclaiming yourselves the next Eastern Conference champs. You do realize the defending champion Boston Celtics, who finished 25 games ahead of you, are still in the Eastern Conference, don't you?
Edit Comment Cancel
bruce dizon 11 months ago
Raptors have a good chance as Boston,Detroit,Cleveland,Orlando and Philadelphia to win in the Eastern Conference. The duo of Bosh and O'Neal reminds coach Sam Mitchelle about the 1999 and 2003 San Antonio Spurs team when David Robinson and Tim Duncan played together. This is going to be a big challenge for Boston to defend its crown as the Eastern Conference Champions and the Nba Champions.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.