| Reasons For Optimism Authored by Nolan Hand - September 13, 2005 - 5:22 pm
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In 2004-2005, the franchise lost its face and personality when a disgruntled Vince Carter was shipped to New Jersey. In three seasons, the Raptors have lost over 156 games. That’s 156 long, quiet trips home or to another city; 156 times die-hard fans wandered to the fridge to find something in which to drown the most recent loss, 156 TV remote controls I’ve broken. Among all the losses, though, are some reasons to keep our collective chin up. I bring to you, ladies and gentlemen, reasons for optimism:
The Rooks: Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham, the 7th and 16th picks, respectively, of the 2005 NBA draft are both signed with the Raptors and bring entirely different but solid games to the table. Graham is a worker, hard-nosed, with a shooting touch. At 6’7” and 225lbs and touted as the most refined athlete in the draft, he gives the Raptors another backcourt post presence (along with Jalen Rose). He’s known as a strong finisher and plays with a defensive tenacity that was rare last season, but is also infectious. Villanueva was a surprise pick at #7, projected to go somewhere in the 10-15 range. It was never contended by scouts that Chuck could play – it was his willingness to play and practice hard that was questioned. When GM Rob Babcock drafted Villanueva, the Raptors immediately inherited a 6’11”, 240lbs with great ball-handling skills, a knack for hauling in rebounds, and a deft (if not sometimes vicious) finishing touch. Although it may take the Raptors newest draft picks some time to adjust to the NBA game, they are both solid ball players with bright futures who should be contributing on a regular basis by the end of ‘06. The rate at which they develop brings me to my next point: coach Sam Mitchell.
The Coach: I’ve liked Sam Mitchell since the day he was hired. He was and is exactly what the Raptors need at this point: a young coach, not far removed from playing (only a few years), who has no reservations about telling players what they’re doing wrong or what they’re doing right. He has an offensive system that’s quick and exciting to watch, and he demands that all his players work on defense. He understands that all successful teams must run an efficient offense that is rooted in its defense. Granted, neither his offense nor his defense were run consistently last season, but obstacles are to be expected when dealing with a coach in his first year, especially a rookie coach running a team that is trying to re-establish an identity. I have every bit of confidence that Mitchell will not only develop himself as a coach, but he will also get the best out of Chris Bosh and our rookies. That, and he’s not Kevin O’Neill. I got tired of watching O’Neill drink Diet Coke while the Milt Palacio dribbled on the spot for 20 of their 24 seconds.
The Pape: Okay, so there’s not much to say here that hasn’t already been said. Actually, there’s nothing to say at all. He’s a great athlete with an impressive desire to improve. He wants to be a defensive stalwart and, judging by summer league play and reports from the inside, he’s developing at least a serviceable offensive game. He may not turn into the Raptors own version of Ben Wallace like many have hoped, but he may very well be a defensively solid, hard-working PF/C who can take more pressure off of Chris Bosh, and that’s always a good thing. I look forward to improvement from Pape Sow and fully expect to see some massive Pape Sow putbacks from Pape Sow. I also like saying Pape Sow.
The Mo: In the early stages of the 2004-2005 season, it looked as though Raptors fans could expect a typical MoPete season: moments of solid offensive play, even offensive brilliance, overshadowed by inconsistency. The way he ended the season, however, gave us some hope. It took Larry Hughes six seasons to even tap in to some of the potential he had, and another season to go beyond even that. In his fifth NBA season, Mo averaged 12ppg, 4rpg, 2apg and 1spg. He was still relegated to the bench at the beginning of the season (with Carter still around), and it took him some time to become accustomed to starting. In the last 20 games of the season, Mo averaged 15-6-3-2, a marked improvement in every statistical category. His numbers in the last 10 games of the season improved beyond that (18-7-3.5-2). Heading into the season as the expected starting shooting guard, Mo can be comfortable in his role and hopefully continue to improve his production. Maybe it would be easier, though, if the Raps just played 82 games at home.
The question mark: Perhaps the most famous of Rob Babcock’s supposed GMing “blemishes” is the drafting of Rafael Araujo (Hoffa) at number 8 in the 2004 NBA Draft. Though Hoffa may never live up to the standards set by Raptors fans (few players ever do), and though it may be easy to conjure up thoughts of his foul-prone game and the deer-in-the-headlights look we sometimes saw during defensive rotations, most fans haven’t taken the time to look at what Hoffa brings to the table. When Hoffa was drafted, we had a fragile superstar in Vince Carter, and a rail-thin superstar-in-the-making in Chris Bosh, whose durability we had no concept of. Drafting a massive centre with a mean streak made logical sense, especially one who also happened to have a good (I said good – not great) jump shot and excellent passing skills (for a player his size). Hoffa’s biggest problems came from his physical play – he often found himself in early foul trouble and therefore was limited in minutes. Anyone who plays sports knows that it often takes some time to find your flow, your groove, to get your game on the right track. However you want to phrase it, it’s true. I decided to comb through Hoffa’s stats from this past season and find games where he played at least 18 minutes (18 was a completely arbitrary number; 15 seemed too little and 20 wouldn’t have provided a good sampling of games) and look at what his rebounds per 48 minutes would be. Hoffa played at least 18 minutes in 10 games last season; through those 10 games, Hoffa averaged 7 rebounds in just under 21 minutes – that comes out to 16 rebounds per 48 minutes, which puts him 7th in the league, right above Tim Duncan and right below Ben Wallace. I’m not saying Hoffa will be turning into either of those players anytime in his career, but, when he keeps his fouls down and establishes himself in the game, he becomes an effective rebounder, which is exactly what the Raptors need. Does anyone else love the fierce putbacks as much as I do? I hope so, because otherwise they’d just be wasted. Worthy of a number 8 pick? Likely not, but don’t write off the Brazilian Beast just yet.
The Bosh: The future of Chris Bosh deserves its own article. In one of his articles some time ago, Bill Simmons (ESPN’s Sports Guy) gave Chris Bosh the “Shareef Abdur-Rahim Award,” an award given to the NBA player who everyone thinks will get so much better, but has probably come close to hitting his ceiling already. Of course, this was before the awesome display Bosh between January and April of 2005. Like I said, though, there’s so much to this kid that he deserves his own article (and much, much more).
Amid all the negative spin turned on to every article written across the country, there are sincere reasons for fans to be optimistic. There is a definite commitment to future improvement rather than token quick-fixes, and for that reason, Raptors fans have plenty to look forward to in the years to come. |
