Toronto Raptors

Reggie Evans has really helped the Toronto Raptors lately

alleyoop — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:54:57 +0000

Power forward Reggie Evans missed the first half of the year due to injury. But he has really brought toughness, rebounding and defense off the bench for the Raptors lately. Evans has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Raptors so far this season and he is averaging 12.5 minutes, 4.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Evans was voted by the players as the dirtiest player in the league and the Raptors need a guy like him as they are considered a pretty soft basketball team.

Houston Rockets 116, Toronto Raptors 92

alleyoop — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:45:31 +0000

The Raptors really laid a egg in Houston last night. The Rockets shot 51.3% from the floor last night and they were leading this game 97-65 heading into the 4th quarter before calling off the dogs. Marcus Banks led the way for the Raptors last night with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in 24 minutes last night which should tell you a lot about the team last night. Andrea Bargnani only shot 6 of 17 from the floor last night as he finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. He is the player whose game is most affected by not having Chris Bosh on the court. Antoine Wright (13 points, 2 rebounds), Reggie Evans (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Marco Belinelli (11 points) had decent efforts off the bench for the Raptors last night. The Raptors are now 31-28 on the year.

DeMar DeRozan has been solid for the Toronto Raptors

alleyoop — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:31:11 +0000

So much for bringing along rookie shooting guard DeMar DeRozan slowly as he has been in the Raptors’ starting lineup since day #1. DeRozan has played in 50 games (all starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 21.2 minutes, 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He is also shooting 47.7% from the floor this season as he does not seem intimidated by his surroundings. Look for the Raptors to take the training wheels off of DeRozan next year.

Andrea Bargnani has been solid all season for the Toronto Raptors

Andrew — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:08:42 +0000

Toronto Raptors’ center Andrea Bargnani is having the best season of his four-year career and has been one of the Raptors most consistent scorers. Bargnani is 7′0″ and 250-pounds, but he is far from a low-post, back to the basket type of guy. Bargnani is the epitome of a big European player, as the Italian native has a great stroke and loves to shoot the three. This season Bargnani is shooting 47% from the field (career-high) and 36% from three. He is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and blocks with averages of 17.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 assists. Bargnani is turning out to be a very good player and worth the number one pick in the 2006 draft when many thought he may turn into another bust like Darko Milicic. Each year his numbers have improved and he could turn out to be an All-Star in a few years.

Jarrett Jack has been a solid player for the Toronto Raptors this season

alleyoop — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:10:16 +0000

When the Raptors signed Jarrett Jack they weren’t sure where or how much he was going to play. But, he has turned into probably the most important guard on the team. When Jose Calderon got injured Jack stepped right in at point guard and the Raptors didn’t miss a beat. Jack has played in 39 games (22 starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. It never hurts to have a lot of good guards on your team and that’s exactly what the Raptors have right now.

Sonny Weems is stepping up for the Toronto Raptors lately

alleyoop — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:49:59 +0000

23-year old shooting guard Sonny Weems has been stepping up lately. Weems is averaging 25.4 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his last five contests. Weems has now played in 38 games (5 starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 16.2 minutes, 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. The Raptors will likely keep giving Weems decent minutes as long as he keeps earning them.

Antoine Wright is the most likely Toronto Raptors player to be dealt

alleyoop — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:05:44 +0000

Forget all of the Chris Bosh trade rumors because he isn’t going anywhere. Especially with the Celtics starting to fade back in the standings. The most likely player to be moved by the Raptors will be SG/SF Antoine Wright. Wright has played in 38 games (2 starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 17.3 minutes, 5.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. The reason it might be hard to move Wright is that he has not shot well from anywhere on the floor this season. He has hit 40.3% of his shots from the floor, 36.4% from the three point line and 64.5% from the free throw line this year. A contending team like the Grizzlies could use a player like Wright as their bench is pretty weak.

Chris Bosh has been a beast for the Toronto Raptors

Andrew — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:50:50 +0000

Chris Bosh has been playing at an MVP level for the Toronto Raptors this season, leading them to a 26-22 record and 7 wins in their last 10 games. On the season Bosh is averaging 24.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 blocks, and a 52% FG percentage. Bosh has been nothing but outstanding ever since they took him 4th in the 2003 draft, but his days in Toronto are likely numbered with Bosh becoming an unrestricted free-agent after this season. In his career with the Raptors Bosh has played in 487 games, averaging 20.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, 0.8 steals, and has shot 49% from the field. This may be Toronto’s best shot at making a run in the playoffs for years to come, as Bosh will likely be gone next year. They are starting to play very good basketball, and with Bosh doing his thing the Raptors could make some major noise once the postseason rolls around.

Hedo Turkoglu has been pretty quiet for the Toronto Raptors this year

Andrew — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:57:58 +0000

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.

Jose Calderon is a good team player for the Toronto Raptors

alleyoop — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:20:54 +0000

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.