(Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)

Well, I can honestly say I did not expect to see this happen this season. Yes, the franchise player took his talents to a warmer climate but with the moves the Raptors made in the offseason and during the draft I still figured the Raptors could put together a 30+ win season and potentially fight for the 8th spot in the East if things went really well. Call me an optimist, but I felt the talent on the Raptors roster was enough to be competitive. It seems that was just a pipe dream, and practically an impossibility now.

The Toronto Raptors fought the early February weather and managed to arrive in Atlanta, Georgia this morning in time for shootaround but when it was game time the Raptors were unable to turn their fortunes around and the losing streak continued at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks with a 100-87 loss.

All 5 Raptors starters ended up with double digit points tonight and they managed to keep the score close for the first half, which essentially has been the case all season. But what has also been the case all season is the Raptors' 'tale of 2 halves' where a poor third quarter ends up putting them behind too much to be able to rally with effectiveness down the stretch in the fourth quarter.

I'm not saying anything that Raptors fans aren't already aware of, but the rash of injuries have played a major role in the Raptors' inability to win games. The Raptors are currently without the services of Reggie Evans, Leandro Barbosa, and Linas Kleiza, not to mention various players in and out of the roster so far this season - Jerryd Bayless, Sonny Weems, Ed Davis, and Jose Calderon. Other than financial benefits, I don't know if the Jarrett Jack/David Andersen trade has helped the Raptors thus far this season. I guess I should just resign to the fact that the trade was made with financial flexibility and a potential (and likely) NBA lockout in mind.

I'm extremely interested in seeing what, if any, moves Bryan Colangelo makes leading up to the trade deadline, which is now 3 weeks away. The Raptors have the rest of the Bosh trade exception to use by July, some expiring contracts, and some cleared cap room through buyouts (Peja Stojakovic). I know the talk of tanking always heats up any time a team is in the basement, but I think that strategy & mentality is more hype than anything else. Let's face it, many years there is not a consensus #1 overall pick leading up to the NBA Draft (I don't see this year being an exception), the NBA Draft itself is a lottery really, not just the slotting of the top 14 picks.

But what should the Raptors do this offseason? Court another 'name' or 'names' like they did with Hedo last summer? Or continue to build? Obviously things have to change, but what exactly? Will players come to Toronto and want to stay? As a follower of the franchise since it's inception, I am starting to become leary (and somewhat jaded) about the reasons and factors that play into the Raptors best players eventually leaving the franchise, with the Raptors practically getting nothing in return. This could all be a moot point depending on what happens with the timing and results of the NBA labour discussions, but management still has to work toward building a competitive team despite all of the other unanswered questions.

Jeff Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com reached out to us to do a collaborated pre-game Q&A to give his Spurs fan readership an idea of what the Raptors season has provided (and not provided) thus far:

-raptors-gameday-qaa-with-hoop-heads-north.html">http://www.projectspurs.com/2011-articles/january/san-antonio-spurs-vs-toronto-raptors-gameday-qaa-with-hoop-heads-north.html

Feel free to let me know if you agree with my assessment of the Raptors season and what they have to do going forward, not only for the rest of this season - but beyond.

We'll be returning the favour in the coming weeks when we feature ProjectSpurs.com to talk about the San Antonio Spurs' season and future before the Raptors face the Spurs for the 2nd and final time of the regular season on February 9th.

Thanks again for the opportunity Jeff!

Our friend and Hoop Heads North contributor, Payal Doshi, has a chance to travel to London, England to see the Toronto Raptors face the New Jersey Nets for both games in March!

How can we help, you ask? It's as simple as this:

1) Visit this link: http://www.nba.com/raptors/lgfanbassador

2) Click on the video for 'Payal D'

3) VOTE! :-) (You only get one vote – so make it count!)

PLUS you have a chance to win a 55" LG LED HDTV just for voting when you register!

Be sure to cast your vote by January 25th!

Good luck Payal!

The NBA is all about small sample sizes. With 82 games a year, and 48 minutes a night, a player can be ice cold one week, and red hot the next. 

This past week has been all about DeMar DeRozan. The super-sophomore put up 37 and 27 in back-to-back games against Houston and Boston. While the Raptors have been struggling with injuries, hence the expanded role for the California native, many fans were hoping to see such an emergence from DeRozan at some point this year. 

The most appealing players in the draft in recent years have been the long, athletic players who do not fit a certain position or role. Many combo guards and multi talented front court players have been drafted high based on their raw athletic skills, rather then their basketball ability. Some say that point guards are taking over the league, with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Tyreke Evans changing the face of the position. But they are simply extremely gifted athletes that do not fall into the mould of a typical point guard. Instead of facilitating the offence like a true point guard, this new generation of guards attacks the bucket and knocks down jumpers. 

no comments

After a tough 114-105 road loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday due to a lethargic 2nd quarter where the Raptors were outscored 42-21 in that span, the Toronto Raptors are hoping to start off fresh in 2011 as they are back at home in the Air Canada Centre tonight to face the, also injury plagued, Boston Celtics.

DeMar DeRozan will be looking to keep the momentum going after scoring a career high 37 points in Friday's loss to the Rockets. He attempted 14 free throws and made 13 of them. It marked the 6th time this season he has attempted more than 10 free throws in a game. Attacking the rim and looking to get to the line consistently is definitely an element that the Toronto Raptors need to do more of as the hunt for the playoffs heats up.

Toronto was able to get a 102-101 home win over the Boston Celtics the last time the C's visited Toronto in November, but the Celtics evened the score with a 110-101 win of their own in Boston just several days later. With injuries mounting for both teams, there will be key players out of each team's line up along with some possible game time decisions. The Raptors are likely to be without Andrea Bargnani once again who would miss his 4th game in a row, and 6 of the last 8, due to a strained left calf. Reggie Evans is still out with a broken bone in his foot, and Sonny Weems has been battling back spasms forcing him to miss the last 6 games. The Celtics' Rajon Rondo is day-to-day with a sprained ankle, and Kevin Garnett is likely to miss up to two weeks with a strained right calf. They're all trying to get healthy enough to return to action, but the NBA season is a marathon not a sprint, so it seems each team will be without some of their star players and key contributors for today's match up.

Despite the injuries, this game will still be a huge test for the Raptors as the second half of the season unfolds. The Raptors are currently sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and only 2.5 games behind the 8th place Milwaukee Bucks. Playoffs are still very much a possibility for this young Raptors squad, provided they continue to put forth the effort each game.

Speaking of effort, our friend Payal Doshi is still hard at work providing her thoughts and insight after each Toronto Raptors game. Here are her latest 2 videos which, once again, don't disappoint! You gotta love a die hard fan who just tells it the way it is. Keep up the great work Payal.

Many Raptors fans have begun to look ahead to the 2011 Draft in hopes that the brass will be able to find the point guard of the future. The dinos have not had a true star running the team since Damon left town, and with two first round picks in this years draft, it seems like an obvious move to make. 

That is unless the point guard of the future is already on the Raptors roster.

When news broke that Colangelo not only got rid of the contracts of Jack and Banks, but that he got a young guard and huge expiring contract in return, many fans were impressed. But the recent injury to Calderon has given Bayless a chance to run the team, and he has been nothing short of impressive.

In the most recent game, where the Raptors came back from 25 points down to beat the mighty Pistons 120-116, Bayless shot a ridiculous 10 for 12 from the floor, and finished several times at the rim with his left hand. He added five boards and seven dimes in one of the most impressive games of his young career. 


There are however skeptics that will say that as a score first guard, Bayless cannot effectively run the team for years to come. But the nature of point guards in the Association is changing. Russell Westbrook. Derrick Rose. Tyreke Evans. John Wall. These are slashing, scoring, driving point guards who are not afraid to take the ball to the rim. There are relatively few true point guards in the game, and even fewer that excel in the high intensity league.

Kyrie Irving is without question the top guard in this years draft class, and despite a toe injury that will keep him out of action for Duke for an indefinite period of time, he did enough in his few games with the Blue Devils to impress scouts. He too is score first and is not afraid to slash to the rim. Similarly to Bayless, Irving came out of a state that is not known for its elite hoops prospects and burst onto the national scene.

The other top guard prospects in this years class are Brandon Knight out of Kentucky and Kemba Walker out of UConn. We all know what kind of point guards Coach Cal produces at Kentucky, and Walker has already set the college ranks ablaze with his scoring, rather than his passing.

The pass first point guard is dead, and Colangelo found himself the perfect player to take the team into the next generation. Bayless is just 22 years old, but is already in his third full season in the league after spending just one year as an Arizona Wildcat. He learnt how to play perimeter D in Portland, and he is the best thing for the Raptors to succeed right now.

With the amount of wing players that are on the current roster, especially athletic ones, the team does not need slow moving half court sets to win games. They need to ball pushed up the court and passed to them on the break. DeMar, Sonny, Julian Wright, Amir, Ed Davis. They all excel in transition. Andrea does prefer to slow it down and get the odd kick out for deep long balls, but he gets his touches to matter who is running the show.

In 10 games for the Raptors so far, Bayless has put up 12.3 points per, 4 dimes and 3 boards. He has done all of this in just 21 minutes per game, and while shooting 45% from the field and an astounding 50% from downtown.

Whenever Jose gets injured, is is nearly impossible to pinpoint when he will return to action, so Bayless could be at the helm for the forseeable future. After Bayless struggled in his first start against the Nuggets, Triano told him to stick to his game and focus on getting to the rim and finishing. Jerryd thought that he had to be the floor general now that he was starting, and he got out of his groove. But you could tell from the tip against the Pistons that his mentality had changed. He was going to be aggressive and take it at whoever was guarding him.

The Raptors currently are struggling much more with their inside presence then they are on the wings and guard positions. This years draft is up in the air with a potential lockout looming, but if by some fate of god there is no lockout and the draft proceeds as normal, there are several big bodies that the Raptors could sorely use inside.

Enes Kanter, he who committed to Kentucky but was deemed ineligible is likely the top overall big man prospect in this years class, but it is unknown how his stock will fare after not playing this year. 

Whoever the Raptors decide to go after in the draft is many months away, but lets hope that Bayless continues to impress or the rest of the season and he is handed over the full time reigns to the team next year. 

Reggie Evans inspired beards, Jay Triano's new found love of cursing on live TV, the J.A.H.O.W of the week, and a dedication to all the 'Mo's in the NBA as 'Movember' drew to a close, can all be found here! 

What's a J.A.H.O.W you ask? Check out the video below to find out, in our comedic spin on the latest happenings across Raptors Nation:

"The Hip Hoop Junkies and Hoop Heads North fam recently got together and decided to start our own hoops audio podcast entitled "RAPS TALK".  Raps Talk is a roundtable discussion based on the Toronto Raptors.  This is where we'll talk about how terrible the Raps are (or how good they are), what curse word Jay Triano used in the latest press conference  and what else has been happening around the NBA. We're a panel of four dudes based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia and we plan to bring the podcast on a weekly basis.

Click here to access Episode 2, where we talk about the Raps recent winning (and losing) streak, our thoughts on the recent lineup changes, what we thought of Stojakovic and Bayless' Raptors debut and we also bounce around the NBA and talk some Lebron and ROY predictions."

You can subscribe to our feed on iTunes, here's how:

1. Open up iTunes
2. Go to ADVANCED>Subscribe to Podcast...
3. Enter the following URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/RapsTalk
4. Hit OK and you're set!

Please let us know what you think of the podcast in the comments section below.

Hoop Heads North & Hip Hoop Junkies welcome a new member, Ryan Dickison, to this week's vlog to discuss the Raptors' 3 wins over the 76ers, Rockets, and Celtics, the recent trade between the Hornets & Raptors, and Ed Davis' conditioning stint with the Erie Bayhawks.

Word is that Colangelo has pulled off another trade. This time around he has acquired Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless from the Hornets for Jarrett Jack, David Andersen and Marcus Banks. 

What does this trade do for the Raptors this season and in the future? Well for starters it breaks up the tandem of Jose and Jarrett at the point, and brings in another scoring point guard in Bayless. BC surely would have preferred to get rid of Jose, but word is that Jack and Hornets point guard Chris Paul are close friends, so Jack and his cheaper contract were involved instead.

It is too bad that Jack's time in Toronto came to such an abrupt end. He was originally brought in before last season as a close friends to CB4, but we all now know that this friendship was not enough to keep Bosh in Toronto. So now Jarrett has a chance to play for a winning team and he will surely provide some backcourt stability behind Paul. The Hornets seem to have had enough of Marcus Thornton for some reason, so Jack is now the presumptive main backup point.

Marcus Banks will not be missed by Raptors fans, as they have been waiting for him to be packaged in a trade ever since he arrived with Marion a few seasons back.

David Andersen is a serviceable big man with some range, but his short lived Raptors career was filled with forced jumpers and greasy hair.

So let's have a look at the new pieces coming to Toronto.
 

Peja Stojakovic was one of the top shooters in the world at one point, but he was come back to earth significantly since his days in Sacramento. He is now simply another bargaining chip in Colangelo's arsenal. Peja's massive $14.26 million contract expires at the end of the season, so BC could flip him at the deadline to a team looking for cap room. 

In the meantime it is unclear what role Peja will have on the Raptors for the time that he does spend here. He has been playing just over 14 minutes a game off the bench for the Hornets, and it is unclear if his body can manage much more at this point in his career. He will continue to launch from behind the arc as much as he possibly can, but not much beyond that.
Jerryd Bayless. This is where it might get interesting.

After spending just one year at the University of Arizona, Bayless declared for the Draft and was selected 11th overall by the Pacers. He was eventually traded to the Blazers on draft night, and spent his first two seasons in the Pacific Northwest.

Bayless has never been given extended playing time, as he was stuck behind Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum and others in Portland. He was traded to the Hornets before this season started, and was stuck behind Paul, Marco Belinelli and was battling with Thornton for end of the bench minutes.

If there is one thing that Bayless can do, it is score. He put up 37.9 ppg as a junior in high school, and put up 19.7 per as a freshmen at Arizona. He is a prototypical combo guard, but if given the opportunity he could impress Raptors fans. 

He can attack off the dribble as well as launch from distance. Last year for the Blazers he put up 8.5 a game in just 17 minutes. So if he can get 25+ minutes for Triano, it is possible that he could pour in 12+ a game.

The problem is that he has a game that is fairly similar to that of Barbosa, another pure scoring guard. It will be interesting to see who gets the most playing time with the revamped lineup. Jay has had very little consistency in his rotations this season, so it is possible that Bayless comes in and gets a shot to prove himself.

Raptors fans who have been watching the train wreck that has been this season so far are already looking ahead to next season, and with good reason. One of the main targets that has come up in conversation has been freshmen Duke guard Kyrie Irving. He was one of the top players in this this years recruiting class, and he has a chance to win a national championship with Coach K this year.

While you would be lucky to find someone in the city of Toronto that thinks that Bayless could be a part of Colangelo's long-term plan, it just might happen. If that is the case, then Irving might not be the man to focus on in the college game this season as a future Raptor. The Dino's are surely headed for the lottery, but perhaps they will go after one of the big men that will be dominating the college game this season. Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes or Jared Sullinger. 

What is Colangelo's plan? Well I think we would all like to know that. But the one thing about him is that he is never afraid to make moves. Many of them often have no purpose, but he makes them for the sake of it.

He still has the trade exception from the Heat in his back pocket, so this move with the Hornets could be a warm up for a much bigger move to come later this season.