Raptors’ head coach Jay Triano is likely in for a long year in Toronto. Chris Bosh left the coop for Miami over the summer and the Raptors didn’t being in a very impressive array of new talent. The Raptors would probably give Triano a nice contract extension if he can repeat the 40-42 record the Raptors had last year. Triano is now 65-82 (44.2%) in parts of two years as the Raptors’ head coach. He will have to be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to win 30+ games with the talent on hand this year.

24-year old Andrea Bargnani might have to score more this year and I’m sure he won’t have a problem with that. Bargnani played in 80 games (all starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 35.0 minutes, 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 301 games (194 starts) in his first four years with the Raptors and he has averaged 29.0 minutes, 13.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Bargnani is the rare center who can nail three pointers as he has hit 37.6% of them so far in his NBA career.

30-year old David Andersen will be Bargnani’s back up this year. He played in 63 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Rockets last season and he averaged 14.1 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. The Raptors will be happy with Andersen if he can give Bargnani a break for 10-15 minutes per night.

24-year old Patrick O’Bryant will likely be #3 in line for minutes at center when the season starts. He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 4.6 minutes, 1.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.1 assists per game. O’Bryant has now played in 90 games (3 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 5.8 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Don’t expect O’Bryant to get much P.T. this year.

22-year old Solomon Alabi was acquired from the Mavericks in a draft day deal. He played in 32 games for Florida State last season and he averaged 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. Alabi played in 77 games in his three years in college and he averaged 9.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. The Raptors are going to bring Alabi around slowly this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAPTORS CENTERS IN 2010-11: B

23-year old Amir Johnson is likely to get the starting gig here when the season starts. Johnson played in 82 games (5 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 17.7 minutes, 6.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 217 games (29 starts) in his first five years in the NBA and he has averaged 15.2 minutes, 4.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Johnson still has a big upside so he might surprise a lot of people this year.

30-year old Reggie Evans will also get some P.T. here. He played in 28 games (1 start) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Evans has now played in 542 games (271 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 19.1 minutes, 4.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Evans is a great rebounder but he is not much of an offensive player. Evans also has huge problems at the free throw line as he has only made 52.2% of his shots from there in his career.

21-year old first round pick Ed Davis is a thin, tall guy who looks a lot like Chris Bosh. The Raptors are going to likely bring him along slowly this year. Davis played in 23 games for North Carolina last season and he averaged 27.9 minutes, 13.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 2.8 blocked shots per game. Davis played in 61 games in his two years with the Tar Heels and he averaged 22.2 minutes, 9.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAPTORS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C-

25-year old Linas Kleiza played in Greece last season. He last played in the NBA in 2008-09 with the Nuggets. Kleiza has played in 301 games (36 starts) in his first four years in his NFL career and he has averaged 19.0 minutes, 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Kleiza is a good offensive player who should excel in the Raptors’ wide open running offense.

24-year old Sonny Weems will be a swing man this year for the Raptors as he can also handle shooting guard. Weems played in 69 games (19 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 81 games (19 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 17.6 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Weems should add scoring punch off the bench for the Raptors again this year.

23-year old Julian Wright was acquired in a deal with the Hornets over the summer. Wright was a former first round pick but he was in the Dog House most of his time in the Big Easy. A change in scenery might give him the spark he needs to realize his potential. Wright played in 68 games (14 starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He has now played in 179 games (34 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has averaged 12.8 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAPTORS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C-

The Raptors hope that 21-year old DeMar DeRozan takes his game to a higher level in 2010-11. He played in 77 games (65 starts) as a rookie for the Raptors last season and he averaged 21.6 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. The Raptors hope that DeRozan will improve his long range shooting as he only hit 25% from three point range as a rookie. But he did hit 49.8% of his shots from the floor last season so he takes good shots.

27-year old Leandro Barbosa is a perfect fit for the Raptors’ running style of offense. Barbosa played in 44 games (5 starts) for the Suns last season and he averaged 17.9 minutes, 9.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 466 games (109 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.1 minutes, 12.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Barbosa is also a much better long range shooter than DeRozan is as he has hit 39.8% of his shots from three point range in his NBA career so far.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAPTORS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: C+