Tonight is the second night of NBA season and there are 13 games schedule for tonight. I’m not going to make any predictions except my Raps will beat the Knicks tonight and Amare will probably score 40 points.
We have seen Triano made a lot of line up changes during the pre-season but hopefully tonight he will go with this staring line-up: Jarrett Jack, Sonny Weems, Linas Kleiza, Amir Johnson and Andrea Bargnani.
Here is my take on the players by position:
Point Guard:
Raps have been using a combo point guard play for years but I think the staff needs to set one free from the other. Who will be the team leader on the floor?
I like the way Jarrett Jack play with the young gunz, he should get the starting position. He can run well with an athletic team in Toronto's up-tempo offense. I expect him to score more this season and from what I have seen in the preseason he has improved on his outside shooting. Jose Calderon can give you "25 minute" have good basketball - close to a double-double. Jose can help a playoff team win a championship. With Bosh out the picture it’s clear that the Raps direction as shifted. Triano have to give Jose minutes in order for his trade value to stay up. Raps are preaching defense this year and Jack can defend this position better.
Shooting Guard:
Sonny Weems has the potential to be "most improve player". He just needs to work on his shot selection. He has the ability to score big numbers - from what I’ve seen at the end of last year and the preseason. If he focus on defends and let the offense come to him he can take up a lot of the Raptors scoring in Sonny Weems with Bosh out the picture.
Leondro Barbosa will be best off the bench. He is instant offense. I can see him averaging 18 points this season with the second unit - "6 man of the year" yep it’s possible.
Small Forward:
DeMar DeRozan still have some physical growth to do, maybe another year and he can become a star in this league. He has the most hype coming into the season with all the Vince Carter comparison its up to him to prove it this year. He has shown that he his now focus on attacking the paint and as worked on his jumpshot over the summer. If he can knock down free throws consistently he should get major minutes backing up Linas Kleiza.
Coming off an impressive performance at the 2010 FIBA World Championship with the Lithuanian national team this summer leading his team to win bronze - averaging 19.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg. Kleiza's game as improved since his days in Denver. If you watched him played with the Nuggets then you know this guy can play. The Raptors got the best under the radar player this season. He will challenge Andrea as the raptors scoring leader. Because of his ability to rebound at 6'8" he can also play some minutes as a small power forward.
Power Forward:
Amir Johnson and Reggie Evans have similarity to their game. Amir is a better all around player and should be starting power forward. He is capable of knocking down mid range shots, staying out of "fouling trouble" is the key for Amir Johnson. Reggie Evans brings toughness those players like Amir can gain good experience from. Reggie has always been one of the league's best rebounder per minutes played.
Ed Davis is the Raps lottery pick - I'm not sure what he can do but he as lots of similarity to Chris Bosh and we all know what he can do. Both left handed and I believe Ed said on draft night that Bosh was is favourite player. How ironic.
Center:
I think the Raps need help at this position the most. They need a natural center. I'm not sure if Andrea Bargnani can be as effective banging with centers all season. I think Bargnani is a big small forward and would be better at the power forward position. Bargnani needs to be a beast this year. If he can average 17 pts with Bosh there he should be able to add another 5 points at the least with Bosh gone.
As for the other players not mentioned - Joey Dorsey, Julian Wright, David Anderson, Marcus Banks, Solomon Alabi and Ronald Dupree haven't proven that they deserve regular minutes in the rotation. All I can say is David Anderson got game, a 7 footer that can shoot the ball and isn't afraid of contact.
#LetsGoRaptors
