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Andrea Bargnani, the Toronto Raptors former No. 1 overall pick from the 2006 draft has had his detractors since the day he was drafted.á Singled out for being a soft European player who canÆt rebound or guard his position, Bargnani has had as much a fight for respect from the Raptors coaching staff as with the media and fans. But Bryan Colangelo has continued to back his big-man pick and when ...

Certain players always seem to play better in certain venues and the reasons are not always obvious, if they exist at all. On Friday night, Jose Calderon returned to some very friendly surroundings in New Orleans, not that there is any reason for the Spanish national to find a city in Louisiana a comfortable place to play. But perhaps surprisingly, the Toronto Raptors have enjoyed their trips to New Orleans in recent ...

Last season as the Raptors were sliding out of playoff contention, our enthusiastic Raptors TV announcer Matt Devlin turned the phrase ôThe Killer Bs.ö The phrase was referencing the emergence of Andrea Bargnani as a legitimate 20-point per game player alongside of the other "B" scoring 20 ppg, CB4. While it was a fair assessment of the Bosh and Bargnani combination exceeding 40 points on most nights as being unstoppable offensively. The unfortunate ...

For those who have watched RaptorsÆ head coach Jay Triano in the recent Raptors TV programming and in post game interviews it should have become clear that the teamÆs defensive game plan is to protect the paint first.á And for the most part, the Raptors are doing that. The second half of this plan is to run out on shooters.á But Triano has stated that getting the second stage of this ...

In a game that could only be described as an ugly early season display of poor play and bad defense by the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies, everything came down to the last five minutes of the game and TorontoÆs substitutions were found lacking. In no way can this 107-115 loss be blamed on the play of any one individual and the lack of cohesion on both ends of the ...

On most teams when a player expected to average 12 to 18 minutes per game is lost due to injury, it isnÆt considered to be a big deal.á There is almost always another player who can play additional minutes for a few games without a noticeable drop off in the teamÆs success. The loss of Reggie Evans may not fall into that category. In the Toronto RaptorsÆ home opener they face last ...

Following the latest embarrassment in Minnesota, the Raptors ended the preseason with just two wins and six losses. Worse, Hedo Turkoglu left the game early after tweaking an ankle and the RaptorsÆ abysmal three-point shooting continued. After an exciting offseason of change brought in nine new players, many Raptors fans are now beginning to fear the worst. Some current quotes: ôExpect 2-8 out of the gate.ö ôàthis team will start the year 2-10.? Even: ôRaptors ...

The Toronto Raptors finished the preseason with another loss, 90-98. This time to the lowly and under-manned Minnesota Timberwolves. There will be signs of panic from some corners as the Raptors finished the preseason with only two wins in eight tries, however it is important to remember these games didn’t count. Fortunately these preseason scrimmages have accomplished one thing, Chris Bosh is officially ready to start playing for real. Bosh played ...

While almost everyone would agree that Jose CalderonÆs 2008-09 season was a disappointment, if one only looks at his statistics, last season was just another step forward in his NBA career. But this year, Jose Calderon has slipped below the radar of many NBA analysts and, sadly, many Toronto RaptorsÆ fans.á Sometimes we need to be reminded that each season Toronto fans have witnessed the development of one of the better ...

Hidayet ôHedoö Turkoglu, still stuck with the Turkish Michael Jordan tag, was acquired by the Toronto Raptors on July 9, 2009 in a free agent turned complicated sign and trade deal. Having just turned 30 years old in March, the 6Æ 10,ö 220 lb Turkoglu is coming off his best two seasons in the NBA, including a Most Improved Player award in 2008. áPreviously his accolades were mostly restricted to being ...