After helping the Orlando Magic make it to the NBA Finals last season, the Toronto Raptors signed the free-agent Hedo Turkoglu in the off-season in hopes that he could help take their team to the next level.  Well, Turkoglu has not looked very comfortable with the Raptors this season and his numbers are all down this year.  After averaging 19.5 points in 2007-’08 and 16.8 points last season with the Magic, Turkoglu is down to 12.5 points this season and is shooting only 40% from the field.  He is also averaging 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 39% from three, so he is not having a horrible season for the Raptors.  Its just that they expected more from Turkoglu this year after signing him to a 5-year $50 million contract.  The Raptors have hovered around .500 this season and they will likely not make it out of the first round of the playoffs unless Turkoglu really steps it up and helps out Chris Bosh more with some of the scoring.

Point guard Jose Calderon is being a great sport for the Raptors as he is playing behind Jarrett Jack. But, instead of pouting Calderon has come back more focused and he is helping the team big time off the bench. Calderon has played in 31 games (22 starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. He is also shooting pretty darn well from everywhere on the court hittting 51.5% of his shots from the floor, 40.8% from three point range and 82.3% from the free throw line. A lot of players could learn from Jose Calderon who is putting the team first over his own playing time and stats.

22-year old power forward Amir Johnson has really played well off the bench for the Raptors this season. He has played in 39 games (0 starts) for the Raptors so far this season and he is averaging 16.6 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Johnson is shooting 56.7% from the floor as most of his shots are coming from close range. He has a nice upside for the future.

Andrea Bargnani is turning into a very solid #2 option on offense behind Chris Bosh for the Raptors. He has played in 36 games (all starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 34.1 minutes, 17.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Raptors need Bargnani to keep playing well and they need his outside shot to stay sharp which opens up the basket for Bosh inside.

The Raptors are taking it slow with shooting guard DeMar DeRozan as they are watching his minutes despite starting him. DeRozan has played in 36 games (all starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 20.0 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. DeRozan will likely be a player the Raptors build around in the future but they don’t want to overwhelm him as a rookie while giving him enough experience to learn on the job.