Raptors Look To Defend Division Title: Atlantic Preview
Posted October 31, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Raptors were the 2006-07 Atlantic Division champions. Whether they will repeat as such in 2007-08, well, that sort of depends on who you ask.
The Raps will begin their quest for a second-straight title and playoff run Wednesday night when they host the Philadelphia 76ers at the Air Canada Centre, but with 82 games on the schedule, they’ll have four other teams in the Atlantic to worry about, which is saying nothing of the other 25 teams.
But for now we here at CityNews.ca will focus on our backyard, and with T.O.’s first three games against Atlantic Division foes, the backyard is ultimately where the season will be made or broken.
NBA Atlantic Division 2007-08
2006-07 Record: 47-35
Coach: Sam Mitchell
Returning Players: Pretty much everyone for last year’s Raps — which won a team-record tying 47 contests — is back in the fold, including reigning Coach of the Year Mitchell.
The starting lineup should also be more of the same, with T.J. Ford, Anthony Parker, Chris Bosh all resuming their normal positions. Second-year big man Andrea Bargnani will begin the season as the starting centre and newcomer Jason Kapono will step in at small forward. Also: Kris Humphries, Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa, Rasho Nesterovic, Darrick Martin, Juan Dixon, Joey Graham.
Newcomers: Kapono, Carlos Delfino, Maceo Baston, Jamario Moon.
Strength: The Raptors strength, besides having all of a pretty good team coming back, is chemistry. Toronto plays together, and they play fast. They have great depth and lots of solid pros.
Weakness: Star power. Other than all-star Chris Bosh, there’s no one on Toronto that really, really frightens opposition players in a one-on-one situation. The Raps live as a team, and they’ll die that way too. Rebounding could also be a concern as the season wears on.
2006-07 Record: 41-41
Coach: Lawrence Frank
Returning Players: Most of the important ones. New Jersey lost Mikki Moore — a big part of their playoff run — to Sacramento, but their trio of Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson are all healthy. Those three will be flanked by big man Nenad Kristic, whose returning from an injury that cut last season in half, and the oafish Jason Collins, who’s a role player at best.
Newcomers: Toronto native Jamaal Magloire, rookie big man Sean Williams, David Wesley, Darrell Armstrong and Malik Allen. Basically some front-court depth and a little help at the guard spot via a trade for Wesley.
Strength: Three bonafide all-stars. If Carter, Kidd and Jefferson are all healthy and getting along, that’s probably 40 wins right there. They also benefit from having three or four legitimate big men to run out there, which few Eastern Conference teams can boast.
Weakness: If the Big 3 don’t click or aren’t playing, they can lose a lot of games in a hurry.
2006-07 Record: 33-49
Coach: Isiah Thomas
Returning Players: Eddy Curry, Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, David Lee, Nate Robinson, Renaldo Balkman, Malik Rose, Jerome James, Jared Jefferies, Mardy Collins. Basically everyone from last year’s team, which was a complete disaster before GM and coach Isiah Thomas lost a sexual harassment suit.
Newcomers: Zach Randolph. Big name, big frame, but can also be a big headache, which describes a sizeable portion of this team.
Strength: Well, as per usual they’ve got a lot of talent. What they do with it, and whether Curry and Randolph can co-exist in the starting lineup with Marbury and Crawford, is another story. With all that beef in the front court they could give a team like the Raptors trouble.
Weakness: Egos. It’s the same story with Isiah’s Knicks teams every year. They typically perform better in video games than in the actual NBA. Also defence. Just as they might give the Raps trouble at the offensive end, they’ll have to get back and guard somebody, which no one except Balkman does with much ferocity.
2006-07 Record: 35-47
Coach: Maurice Cheeks
Returning Players: Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert, Kevin Ollie, Willie Green, Kyle Korver, Shavlik Randolph. The core group returns here as well, which in this case isn’t the best news for Philly fans. They have some pieces, some steady performers, but might lack the firepower to blow anybody out of the water. And by might, we mean will.
Newcomers: Reggie Evans, Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith. The latter two are rookies, the former one of the league’s top bangers who’s good for little else.
Strength: This team’s strength, if it has one, is probably that people around the league and teams they play will underestimate them wildly. They promise to struggle, but have enough pros in their prime to at the very least catch a few clubs napping. Iguodala is an explosive player on the cusp of becoming a perennial all-star.
Weakness: Young is just that, Evans is one-dimensional and so are Miller and Korver. Dalembert is good, not great. This team doesn’t have anywhere near the versatility or depth to be a contender.
2006-07 Record: 24-58
Coach: Doc Rivers
Returning Players: Not many. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine. There’s not much left here, primarily because the team was blown up to allow for the acquisitions of…
Newcomers: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Eddie House, Scott Pollard, Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt. Two all-stars come to Beantown and bring with them a world of hype and expectaitions to a team that was as bad as any team in the league last year.
Strengths: Uh, Garnett. Pierce. Allen. If these three are healthy, Boston should waltz into the playoffs, just as every other season preview predicted they will. A championship can’t be won by three players alone, but with this trio Boston can get pretty close if the scrubs around them just play average ball.
Weaknesses: The scrubs around them. There’s so much hype surrounding Boston’s Big 3, but trading away more than half a dozen players to bring in Allen and Garnett left a pretty big talent gap at the bottom of the roster. This Celtics are a couple of key ankle twists away from being not much better than they were last year, which was really, really bad.
Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon high five during a break in play against the New Jersey Nets in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2007 NBA Playoffs on May 4, 2007 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
