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Sports InsiderEarly Exits: Toronto Raptors
April 29th 2008 18:13
The '08 playoffs has seen its first two exits when the Magic defeated the Raptors in 5 and Lakers sweep the Nuggets in 4. I did not expect the LA-Nuggets series to last very long but I sincerely thought the Raps-Magic series would go to six games. If someone told me that the Hawks-Celtics series would be 2-2 and the Raps would be out of the playoffs in 5, I'd think they were crazy. But just when we think something is a sure thing, we see teams like the 76ers dominate the Pistons in a couple games to make it a 2-2 series. That's the NBA for ya... where impossible (or near impossible) happens.
Now, back to the task at hand. The Raptors lost for a few obvious reasons. Bosh is the only consistent scorer on that team. He has no secondary scorer that can win the team a game. They have a few guys who can win a game once in a while, but no all-star or perennial all-star who can take control when control needs to be taken, other than Bosh of course. During this series, I saw Bosh settling for mid-range jumpers early in the shot clock when he couldn't get inside position on Howard. A good slasher, which the Raps lack, could draw Howard's attention and then dish out to Bosh when he is in better position. This is why the Raptors need an above average player at either the 2 or 3 spot. My advice? Get rid of Delfino and Anthony Parker and hope you can get someone to play that SG position a lot better than they did. Moon and Kapono are very good role-players and can battle over who gets most of the minutes at the 3-spot.
If the whole SG situation does not work out, the next best solution would be to get a decent guy man up front who can draw some attention away from Bosh. This could possibly create easier match-ups for CB4 and give him better position, which will lead to higher percentage baskets. It wouldn't hurt if this big-man could also pull down rebounds and play some good post defense. It's a very hard position to fill, so acquiring such a player is more of a dream than a necessity. I'll mention this even though it doesn't have much to do with the Raps losing. The Raptors need to figure out their PG situation. I think Calderon needs to be starting, which would leave TJ as trade bait. Package him for a good SG or post player. There, that will solve at least one of your problems. Now you can't say I never helped the team out.
If the whole SG situation does not work out, the next best solution would be to get a decent guy man up front who can draw some attention away from Bosh. This could possibly create easier match-ups for CB4 and give him better position, which will lead to higher percentage baskets. It wouldn't hurt if this big-man could also pull down rebounds and play some good post defense. It's a very hard position to fill, so acquiring such a player is more of a dream than a necessity. I'll mention this even though it doesn't have much to do with the Raps losing. The Raptors need to figure out their PG situation. I think Calderon needs to be starting, which would leave TJ as trade bait. Package him for a good SG or post player. There, that will solve at least one of your problems. Now you can't say I never helped the team out.
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