Andrea Bargnani Begins New Chapter with Toronto Raptors

When Andrea Bargnani entered the NBA draft in 2006, critics highlighted substantial flaws in the Italian's game which they stated would hinder his success on the NBA level.

For at least one season, their criticism seemed to be put on the back-burner. However, it certainly shouldn't have been.

Even as a rookie, Bargnani rarely lived up to the numbers or role of a traditional number-one pick. What fans got were glimpses of hope and fragments of greatness. Whether it was a brilliant pass or a game-winning shot he hit, Andrea kept people dreaming of a day when the rare glimpses would eventually materialize into something more.

Last year, those glimpses seemed to die as quickly as they were born. Perhaps it was a result of high expectations being compared to what was actually happening. Perhaps it was the fact that after showing so much promise in the preseason, he almost fell out of the rotation as the months went on.

It may have been his inconsistent performances and lack of dependability, which had Raptors coach Sam Mitchell wondering if he was going to get twenty-eight points, or two.

Maybe it was just the constant comparisons to his draft class, as Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Rudy Gay all became leaders of their respective teams. It certainly didn't help that for a seven-foot centre, he was allergic to rebounding and shot-blocking.

Whatever happened last season, it was a step back for Bargnani, and a step back for the Raptors, who saw their previous win total of forty-seven fall to forty-one.

Needless to say, everything the critics originally said about him being soft, undetermined, a poor rebounder, a poor defender, and a bust seemed to be relevant again.

Il Mago simply disappeared. If he wasn't getting into foul trouble, or getting called for his third traveling violation of the night, you may simply have forgotten that he was even in the game.

After the first few games of the regular season last year, Bargnani looked great. In the first game of the season, he scored twenty points in just twenty-two minutes, while grabbing five rebounds, getting to the line five times, and blocking two shots. In his second game, he scored twenty-one points, got to the line four times, and grabbed six rebounds in just under thirty minutes.

Over his first five games, he averaged over fourteen points, and  six rebounds in just twenty-seven minutes of playing time. If you were to assume that he would have played a normal thirty-five minutes, he may already have been a near twenty-points, eight rebounds guy last year.

Instead, he lost his starting position, as the team lost three straight games and mastermind Sam Mitchell decided it was time to pull some strings. 

Mitchell wanted Radoslav Nesterovic.  In Bargnani's place, Rasho posted zero points in a scoreless effort. To his credit, he did gobble up a ton of rebounds, and allowed Bosh to get his game back on track after a few off games.

The end result for Mitchell was all that mattered. The Raptors went on to win two straight games, and Kapono and Bargnani were replaced by Moon and Nesterovic. It seemed that once again, much like in his rookie season, Andrea was in Mitchell's doghouse.

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