Toronto Raptors Weekly, No. 1
Weekly Recap
Toronto Raptors at Charlotte Bobcats
The Toronto Raptors started their journey to the 2005-06 season by opening play in preseason action. Their preseason opener featured the Charlotte Bobcats hosting the Raptors at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena in North Carolina. Before the game, head coach Sam Mitchell said his main goal for the first preseason game was to give a lot of different players playing time. This held true as ten players played in double-figure minutes. Although the Raptors lost their first preseason game to the Bobcats, 71-87, the Raptors were able to see what each player is able to bring to the table in the preseason opener. Four players were able to score in double-figures; Alston with 13, Villanueva with 12, Rose with 11, and Chris Bosh with 10 points. Charlie Villanueva impressed the coaching staff by also grabbing 7 rebounds in what was in the past known as a weakness for the team.
Washington Wizards at Toronto Raptors
Unlike in the first preseason game where head coach Sam Mitchell gave a lot of playing time to veterans and youngsters alike, the game versus the Wizards saw a complete youth movement for the Raptors. Veterans Morris Peterson and Jalen Rose received the game off in order to give the organization efficient time to evaluate the skills of some of the younger players. Rookies Joey Graham and Charlie Villanueva both started the game and finished with six and four points respectively. Chris Bosh, playing the small forward position, was able to score a game-high 18 points and notch down 9 rebounds in the 75-91 Raptors loss. The coaching staff was particularly impressed with Spanish rookie point guard Jose Caledron, who in 26 minutes of play scored 13 points (high scorer off the bench).
Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors
In a sold-out Air Canada Centre and the Raptors sporting the Canadian-red jersey, Sam Mitchell elected to play his best players in an effort to win the first preseason game after dropping the first two. After switching the starting centre position in the first two games, Sam Mitchell decided to go with second-year Brazilian Rafael Araujo. This paid dividends as Araujo scored 11 points and 6 rebounds and showed plenty of improvements from his disappointing rookie season. Jalen Rose had the game-high 30 points in an impressive and exciting 95-87 win.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Toronto Raptors
After an electrifying win against the Lakers, the Raptors hosted Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second preseason sellout at the Air Canada Centre. Although Minnesota elected to play their young players throughout most of the game, in the time that Kevin Garnett was in the game he was undoubtedly outplayed by Raptors star Chris Bosh. In 32 minutes of play, Chris Bosh scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his first double-double of the preseason. Rookie Joey Graham, in his second start, chipped in with 14 points and for the first time solidified his identity with the team. The Raptors went on to with the game easily 96-76 after holding the lead throughout the contest.
RAPTOR OF THE WEEK
Chris Bosh: 20.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.5 APG
Battle of the Bulls – Who will start at the centre position?
Last year the Raptors were not known as one of the “big” teams around the league. Sure they had CB4 and Araujo to work with but Chris is more of a power forward (even a small forward) while Araujo never really materialized into a powerhouse player that was expected of him.
Now enter the 2005-06 campaign. The Raptors have plenty of big men to work with, but the question now is which one of these players will step up and ultimately earn to start at the centre position in the upcoming season.
Let's take a look at the big men at the Raptors training camp:
Rafael Araujo
After being picked early in the first round by the Toronto Raptors last season, there were a lot of expectations from the young Brazilian centre. After starting a few games early in the season, Araujo never really came to be the player that was expected of him. Call it what you want, rookie slump or not being able to adjust to the team chemistry, Araujo really never showed anything impressive in 2004-05 after only averaging 3.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG.
So what can we expect from him this season?
After training hard in the offseason with the Brazilian National Team, Araujo looks ready and determined to take his spot back as the starting centre of the Raptors. Although he will have some competition for the job, Araujo's experience from the previous season might just be enough to get him that job. So far in the preseason his numbers look more impressive than last season, averaging 6.8 PPG and 4.8 RPG.
Pape Sow
Good ol' Pape barely has any on-the-court NBA experience. He only played in 27 games with the Raptors while averaging just over 2 points and rebounds. Although he doesn't have much experience on the court, from what we've seen so far, the kid can jump and dunk the basketball with lots of power. With his talented leaping ability also comes rebounding, and this is something that the Raptors coaching staff hopes he can do for the upcoming season.
Although not the ideal candidate for the starting centre position, Pape has put up reasonable numbers in the preseason and will challenge to be the number two guy off the bench at the centre. In the four preseason games Pape Sow was able to score an average of 2.8 PPG and bring down an impressive 4.0 RPG.
Charlie Villanueva
Charlie is the most likely candidate to start at centre for the season opener; although there are a few negatives to that such as inexperience and not being big enough to match up against some of the NBA's biggest centres. Since he is a rook we cannot compare any NBA stats from the past, but in the four preseason games (staring in three of those games) he was able to score 7.3 PPG and take down 6.0 RPG.
Charlie is an interesting player at the 5 because he brings speed to the team, none of which the other players can match, and is able to easily create his own shot in the paint. So far he is the favorite to start at the 5 by the coaching staff but shouldn't take it too lightly as he has two other bulls staring him right in the face: Pop Sow, and more importantly 2-year centre Rafael Araujo.
Other players to note
The Raptors also will have veterans Aaron Williams and Loren Woods to work with when the season opens. These two players are both out right now with injuries; Williams with back spasms and Woods with knee problems. However, neither should challenge for the starting centre position and will be more contributors off the bench.
Who does Raptors Weekly like at the 5?
Although Charlie V has all the potential in the world to become a solid player, we wouldn't just yet insert him at the 5. Araujo has a year in his belt and should use that to his advantage in order not to make the same mistakes he did last season. The coaching staff has to build on what Araujo learned in the past and allowing him sufficient time to take his game to the next level, whereas Villanueva has to learn the NBA game first in order to build a solid foundation at the 5. By brining Charlie V off the bench the Raps will allow him more time to score while Chris Bosh is resting and give him the freedom to take down as many boards as he wants.
Raptors Weekly likes Rafael Araujo at the 5 and Charlie Villanueva coming off the bench for solid minutes backing both Chris Bosh and Araujo. Pop Sow, Aaron Williams, and Loren Woods will have to battle it out for the other minutes of the game that Sam Mitchell gives out.
Raptors add Junior Harrington to the roster
Just prior to the training camp starting, the Raptors announced the signing of point guard Junior Harrington. In the past few seasons Harrington played with both the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Hornets where he averaged career numbers of 5.2 PPG and 1.0 APG.
Junior will by no means be a major starter in the Raptors' lineup but should provide solid veteran leadership off the bench and help rookie Jose Manuel Calderon.
Rolling into training camp, Toronto will now come in with 4 point guards but more realistically 3 of whom will be able to play while Alvin Williams recovers from a 2-year injury. It is expected that Rafer Alston will start the majority of games for the Raptors while rookie Jose Calderon and Junior Harrington battle it out for off-the-bench minutes.
In the next issue...
- We'll take a look and analyze the performances and expectations of the Raptors rookie class of 2005.
- What can veteran forward Eric Williams bring to the Raptors in the upcoming season?
- All the weekly recaps, news, and notes.
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