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Oct 31, 2007
Five Keys To Toronto's 2007-2008 Season

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Five Keys To Toronto's 2007-2008 Season

Authored by Anas Ahmed - October 31, 2007 - 7:46 pm

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With the Atlantic division getting a major makeover this summer, many people are looking past last year’s champions. So for those of you who are still itching to see how the Raptors will do this season, here are five things to look for throughout their year.

1. The emergence of Andrea Bargnani: Last season’s number one pick is coming off a successful rookie campaign where he finished as the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting. The big man from Rome played for Italy’s national team in the summer and the Raptors will count on him to put his international experience to work.

2. The continued dominance of Chris Bosh: After being voted in as the Eastern Conference’s starting power forward last season, Bosh will have to elevate his game even further if he hopes to keep that spot. Now that the East is equipped with KG, Bosh will have to claw his way through him to retain that starting role. Bosh will also look to make the NBA’s All First Team after making the Second Team last season. Look for Bosh to play much better in the playoffs after being a virtual non-factor against the Nets in last year’s postseason dance.

3. The one-two punch at the point: Last year, T.J Ford and Jose Calderon showed the league that they are a force to be reckoned with at the one spot. The Raptors are perhaps the one team in the league that doesn’t get hurt when their starting point is replaced by his backup. Ford has improved his jump shot in the off-season so look for the speedy guard to knock down a few more Js.

4. The fight for small forward: The Raptors will look to move Jorge Garbajosa back to his natural power forward position which in turn opens up a spot at the starting small forward slot. Mitchell has said it’s Jason Kapono’s spot to lose after the swingman lead the league in three point percentage last season but don’t count Argentine forward, Carlos Delfino out just yet.

5. Lots of threes, lots of points. Little defense and too few rebounds: The Raptors now have three of the NBA’s best three point shooters in their starting lineup in Bargnani, Parker and Kapono. Their ability to spread the floor along with Ford and Bosh’s offensive abilities should make for one of the league’s highest offensive outputs. However the Raptors didn’t do much to help themselves grab more rebounds this off-season and they still lack a legitimate low-post stopper.

Comments? Anas Ahmed can be contacted at anas-ahmed@hotmail.com