Today’s Toronto Raptors player review focuses upon the club’s third-string point guard Marcus Banks. To most Raptors fans Marcus is known as the overpaid and underused guard that was thrown into the deal with the Miami Heat to get the contract of Jermaine O’Neal off of the Raptors books prior to the 2009-10 season. Marcus for the most part, rode the pine for the Toronto Raptors, but did find himself thrust into the back-up role when Jose Calderon went down to injury -and stood as much more steady back-up than Raptors fans probably expected. Let’s take a look at Marcus’ limited stats over the course of the year:

Marcus Banks – Point Guard – 2009-10 Stats

Games Played: 22 (0)
Minutes Per Game: 11.1 (+2.1)
Points Per Game: 5 (+2.4)
Rebounds Per Game: 1 (+0.1)
Assists Per Game: 1.2 (-0.2)

Offense

As the Raptors third-stringer, there was not much expected of Banks coming into this season aside from being a solid man-to-man player on the practice courts that would elevate the playing level of both Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack. However, when Jose first went down to injury Marcus was giving a string of opportunities, in which he showed Raptor fans a glimpse of why the Heat did at one point sign him to the deal they did. Marcus stood as a solid filler for Jose, both distributing the ball and making some open looks somewhat effectively.  Unfortunately, Marcus also very often fell victim to taking way too many ill-advised shots, which one would have to attribute to him trying to impress as much as possible to earn extra minutes. Marcus filled in nicely, but his offense play was nowhere near somewhere that it could possibly be considered good.

Grade: D+

Defense

When Marcus was on the court, he was arguably the best of the three Raptors point guards on the defensive end. He knew how to keep his man in front of him and was also rather effective at consistently contesting the shot of the man he was expected to cover. His defensive play was considered by some to be so impressive, that many fans wondered why he was not brought into use when Jose’s defense had become almost unbearable to deal with. With only one year left on his deal, I’d expect the Raptors brass to finally try and move Marcus Banks as an extra piece in a deal to alleviate themselves of his heavily overpaid contract -with his defensive ability probably being their main selling point.

Grade: B-

Highlight of the Season – Marcus Banks

The best of Marcus Banks 2009-10 came in a losing effort on March 1st, when the Raptors were simply destroyed by the Houston Rockets.  The only bright spot in the contest was the play of Banks who put up 15 points in 24 minutes of action, and managed to get to the line for 5 shots.  Marcus was inserted into such a prominent role with both Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh out for the Raptors at the time.

Contractual Status: Signed through the end of the season.
2010-11 Earnings: $4,752,000 (+$288,000)

Today’s feature is focused upon another new acquisition for the Raptors in 2009-10, point guard Jarrett Jack, who signed as a free agent with the Raptors after spending some time with the Indiana Pacers. Jack was brought on with the intention of being a solid back-up to Jose Calderon, that would provide the Raptors some leadership and scoring punch off of the bench, something they lacked the previous year in Roko Ukic. Another factor that drew Jarrett to Toronto was the year he spent together with Raptors all-star Chris Bosh at Georgia Tech -a camaraderie that many organizations love to have whenever possible.

Jarrett Jack – Point Guard – 2009-10 Stats

Games Played: 82 (0)
Minutes Per Game: 27.4 (-5.7)
Points Per Game: 11.4 (-1.7)
Rebounds Per Game: 2.7 (-0.7)
Assists Per Game: 5 (+0.9)

(The numbers in the brackets indicate the increase or decrease over the number produced in the 2008-09 season)

Offense

On the offensive end, Jarrett Jack quickly established himself as one of the few Raptors not afraid to put his head down, invite contact and head to the basket on a consistent basis. It was his willingness to do so, in conjunction with slight improvements in his playmaking abilities that helped to earn him a spot in the starting line-up over Jose Calderon at points throughout the season -although that was also partially Calderon’s doing, either by injury or poor play. Despite seeing a dip in almost every offensive category, Jarrett was a vital part to the Raptors offense particularly in the 4th quarter, and even more so when Chris Bosh was down near the end of the season.  Unfortunately for Jarrett, he was a lot more turnover prone that he and Raptor fans would like, and he was also susceptible to numerous games where he was near invisible from the scoresheet.

Grade: B-

Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, Jarrett was definitely the better of the two options at the point guard position for the Raptors.  Although, he was better than Jose, Jarrett too struggled to keep many of the leagues quicker guards in front of him and often got exposed on screens and cuts to the basket. One of Jarrett’s stronger suits was in transition, as he often found himself able to get back to take a charge, or was able to turn a defensive turnover into an easy bucket opportunity. Assuming no acquisitions are made, I would definitely expect to see Jarrett in the starting 5 more consistently come next season.

Grade: C

Highlight of the Season – Jarrett Jack

In my opinion, Jarrett’s high point of the season came on January 22nd, when the Raptors took on the Milwaukee Bucks in the second game of a home-and-home between the two clubs. In the starting line-up Jarrett Jack put up 27 points, 11 of which he got from the charity stripe, helping the Raptors to at the time what was a pivotal 101-96 victory.

Contractual Status: Signed through 2012-13.
2010-11 Earnings: $4,860,000 (+$360,000)

With the 2009-2010 Toronto Raptors season in the books, I have decided to dedicate the next portion of my blogging duties towards a player-by-player analysis -in numerical order -of the Raptors roster. Today’s feature is the smaller of Toronto’s Italian stallions, Marco Bellinelli, who decided to dawn the number 0 in hopes of symbolizing a fresh start north of the border -after being dealt to the Raptors from the Golden State Warriors for Devean George. In coming to Toronto, both Marco and the Raptors brass hoped to find a consistent point producer off of the bench, with a touch of play-making skills -both of which were overshadowed by his limited use under Don Nelson’s system in Golden State. Let’s take a look at how he did:

Marco Bellinelli – Shooting Guard – 2009-10 Stats

Games Played: 66 (+24)
Minutes Per Game: 17 (-4)
Points Per Game: 7.1 (-1.8)
Rebounds Per Game: 1.4 (-0.3)
Assists Per Game: 1.3 (-0.8)

(The numbers in brackets represent the increase or decrease from his productivity in the 2008-09 season)

Offense

After a blazing debut in Raptors white and red on opening night, Marco Bellinelli began another roller coaster of a season on the offensive end, failing to ever find any consistency in his jump shot and overall point production. When he was on, Marco was a powerful weapon off of the bench, draining both three-pointers and faders at will, while at times penetrating to the heart of the defense for an easy lay-up.  However, when he was off, Marco was taking and missing ill-advised shots that quickly earned him a seat on the bench. Despite seeing action in significantly more games in 2009-10, many of Marco’s final appearances came at times often labelled as ‘garbage minutes’ a leading cause as to why his numbers dipped in every other catagory.

Grade: C+

Defense

The Raptors never acquired Marco for his defensive capabilities, and in 2009-10 he reminded us why. Marco, much like Jose Calderon, struggled to keep his man in front of him or to offer any form of true contestion on a consistent basis. For a man of his speed, Marco needs to find a way to improve upon his man-to-man defense if he hopes to find any type of consistency in use in the upcoming season.

Grade: D

Highlight of the Season – Marco Bellinelli

As eluded to earlier, Marco’s highest point came extremely early in the season -on opening night to be exact. In 19 minutes, Marco was a spark plug off of the bench putting up 10 points in a 101-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.  The performance earned Marco the exercising of the team option the Toronto Raptors held on the Italian for both the 2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.

Contractual Status: Signed thru 2010-11, with qualifying offer in place for 2011-12
2010-11 Earnings: $2.38 million (+$0.883)

With the Toronto Raptors 2009-2010 campaign coming to a much earlier halt than I had expected, I am now given the honor of reviewing what exactly transpired over the course of the season rather then pumping you up for a first-round playoff series. This entry will be focused on the team as a whole, something that only seems fitting to do the day after official locker clean-out. Just incase you haven’t seen the interviews yet, be sure to stop by the Raptors official website for full-length interviews from Bosh, Bargnani, Jack, Calderon, Turkoglu, and Triano -all of which seemed to re-iterate the same ‘clueless’ mindset towards both what went wrong, and what comes next.

So let’s start with some basic stats:

Season Record: 40 – 42 (+7)
Standing: 2nd Atlantic (+2), 9th Eastern Conference (+4)
Home Record: 25-16 (+7)
Road Record: 15-26 (0)

On the outset, these numbers look to show great improvement over the team we were forced to watch in the 2008-09 season. Unfortunately for the Raptors, they weren’t a young team developing, they were instead a team that underwent a 9 player overhaul -that made them on paper EASILY the 5th or 6th best team in the Eastern Conference.

So why did the Raptors underperform? The answer is clearly shown on one-side of the floor:

Toronto Offensive PPG: 104.07 (5th in the NBA)
Opponents PPG: 105.85 (27th in the NBA)

The Raptors definitely did not have any problems putting points on the board this year, the problem was in there inability to stop their opponents from putting up more than them. Of the 16 ball clubs tasting post-season play, only the Phoenix Suns ended the season within striking distance of how poorly the Raptors played defense -and unlike the Raptors, that is the style of ball Steve Nash and the Suns aim to play. Of the Raptors current roster, only Antoine Wright, Reggie Evans, and by some Chris Bosh are considered to be above-average defenders. Unfortunately for Raptors fans, both Bosh and Wright are free-agents, while Evans failed to show at any point during the regular season the tenacity he became famous for in Philadelphia.

This fact suggests once again that a roster overhaul may be imminent for this Raptors squad. Unfortunately however, they do not feature the same financial flexibility they held just one year ago -as they are particularly crippled by the lengthy contracts of Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, and most prominently Hedo Turkoglu. I find it funny that the greatest financial and time commitment rests in quite possibly 3 of the biggest defensive liabilities the Raptors currently boast. Calderon at times showed he was incapable of preventing even a pylon from blowing by him, Bargnani preferred to stay on the perimeter rather than fight for an offensive board, and Turkoglu was well…let’s put it as lightly as we can, Turkoglu sucked in his first year as a Raptor -on both ends of the floor. The Turkish sensation missed looks he became famous for making, and picked up fouls so easily that he made Reggie Evans look like a humanitarian.

Bryan Colangelo, or whoever is at the helm of this squad come decision time, needs to focus their primary attention on moving either Calderon or Turkoglu, or if at all possible both.  I say this as a priority before attempting to re-sign Chris Bosh. Why? Because the removal of one of them is the only thing that may help to sell Bosh on the defensive direction this team is aiming to take.

I am definitely not pointing fingers at either Jose Calderon or Hedo Turkoglu. In fact Jose will forever be one of my favorite Raptors of all-time, and Turkoglu plain and simple just did not work in our system.  So if the problem is defense & money, the attempt to move the two guys that seem to be the primary cause to that, seems the only logical choice.

The Toronto Raptors 2009-2010 campaign officially came to an end on Wednesday night with an astounding 131 – 113 victory over the New York Knicks. The win meant that Toronto did their part of the equation to make their final push for the playoffs, unfortunately the Bobcats failed to chip in their half.  The Raptors finish the season with a 40-42 record, 1 game back of the 8th and final playoff spot in the associations Eastern Conference. This result is definitely one that will leave all Raptors fans shell-shocked until a new season tip’s off, especially considering the Raptors firmly held the 5th seed at February’s all-star break.

In tonight’s game, the Raptors were led by 24 from two guys that will play a prominent role in the Raptors future, Andrea Bargnani and Demar DeRozan, both of which are financially locked up for quite some time. The Raptors big off-season acquisition Hedo Turkoglu finished the game with only 5 points -while battling foul troubles -to bring to an end a tumultuous first season north of the border.  The losing Knicks were led by the surprising Bill Walker who poured in 28, including an impressive 6 field goals from beyond the arc.

One surprising moment in this evening’s contest was the initiative orchestrated by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment during the 1st quarter break.  It was at this time, that all members of the ACC’s sold out audience cheered while raising a sign that stated ‘We Want More, CB4.’  This surprisingly pleasant moment may not serve any purpose in keeping Bosh in Raptor red, but at the very least it does bring a warm ending to a Raptor who truly deserves a lot of praise and appreciation for his tenured work with the club. Bosh is amongst several big name players that will be available to the entire association this off-season, all of which will be discussed in great detail, particularly once the post-season comes to an end.

With the season coming to an end, I will be taking tomorrow off from blogging about our beloved Raptors.  But come Friday I will begin a summary of the 2009-2010 season overall, and then player by player, in numerical order. Beginning with Marco Bellinelli, #0, on April 18th.  Thanks for the support all season long Raptors fans, be sure to stay posted to Raptors Rapture throughout the offseason for tons of analysis and prep for 2010-2011.

With the Raptors season being a roller coaster ride thus far, it only seems fitting that the playoff fate of the beloved red, white, and black will be decided on the final night of the regular season.  This is the case as a result of the Chicago Bulls passing their test on Tuesday night, dropping the Celtics 101-93, re-increasing their lead to 1 full game over the idle Raptors. For the Raptors to claim the 8th and final playoff spot, they will require both a win versus the New York Knicks and Bulls road loss to the 7th seeded Charlotte Bobcats.

For the Raptors, neither Chris Bosh or Antoine Wright are expected to return from injury in what might be the Raptors final game of the 2009-2010 campaign. However, luckily for the Raptors, Sonny Weems is expected to be available something that became a concern when Weems went down with a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter against the Pistons. The Knicks will be coming to Toronto to bring to an end another very disappointing year for the squad with no shortage of fan support.  With a surprise W the Knicks would be able to grab their 30th win of the season, and go into what they hope will be the busiest offseason for them in quite some time, on a high note.

Tip-off is at 8PM EST. Notice the start time. Be sure to check back on Raptors Rapture for what hopefully will not be the final post-game wrap of the year. Go Raps Go! Go Bobcats Go! (for the next 24 hours or so)

It came one night later than they had hoped for, but the Toronto Raptors played a high-quality of basketball for a full 48 minutes on Monday night against the Detroit Pistons. The final as a result of it, was a 111-97 victory moving the Raptors to a mark of 39-42.  With the win the Raptors pull to within a half-game of the Chicago Bulls who they handed the eighth seed to just last night. The Bulls were idle on Monday, but face the tough task of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in what will be the first game of a back-to-back for the Chicago Cocky Bastards -oops I mean Bulls. I’m sorry for the hostility but Derrick Rose’s playoff guarantee in conjunction with the locker room party the Bulls decided to throw last night after the game has really put them in my dislike books.

In tonight’s game, the Raptors were led by 33 from Andrea Bargnani, who shot 5 for 6 from behind the arc, a huge bounce back after having gone 4 for 23 in the last 4 contests combined.  Bargnani was also strongly supported by a career-high 26 from Amir Johnson who was playing against his former squad. The Raptors as a team also managed to collect an astonishing 37 assists on 45 made field goals -with Jack and Calderon collecting 12 and 11 respectfully. The losing Pistons, who have now dropped to 26-55, were led by 24 from Ben Gordon.

The Raptors next play on Wednesday in the regular season finale against the New York Knicks at the Air Canada Centre.  Be sure to check back on Raptors Rapture for the final pre-game tee-up of the season -unless of course I get the honour of teeing up the first round of the playoffs.

Raptors Player of the Game

Andrea Bargnani – 33 points, 7 rebounds

Fans Perspective

Despite it possibly being too little, too late, it definitely was nice to see the Toronto Raptors play a dominant 48-minute effort against the much worse Detroit Pistons.  Hopefully the Celtics can do us a favor and re-put the fate of the Raptors in our own hands. Go Raps Go! And just for the next 24 hours or so, Go Celtics Go!

With yesterday’s loss, the Toronto Raptors officially let the fate of their season slip out of their hands and into the hands of Vinny Del Negro and the underachieving Chicago Bulls.  The least the Raptors can do at this point is secure victories in their final two contests and just hope that the Bulls slip up at least once against either the Celtics or Bobcats. Toronto’s first test is tonight in Detroit, where Amir Johnson will lead his squad into his second homecoming since coming to the Raptors.

If there is one team who has managed to make the Raptors inability to meet expectations look fantastic, it is tonight’s opponent, the Detroit Pistons who enter tonight’s contest with a miserable 26-54 record, which includes being 6 games under .500 at home. This outcome is simply unacceptable for a club who dipped into the free agent market as much as the Pistons did this offseason, bringing in both Ben Gordon and former Raptor Charlie Villaneuva. Like the Raptors, tonight marks the second last game of the season for the Pistons who will try to further worsen the Raptors chances of grabbing that date with a first round exit.

No word is out on whether any changes will be made to the Raptors starting 5, and if Antoine Wright will return from injury, with Chris Bosh as you all know still being down and out. Tip-off is at 7:30PM.  At least if this one turns ugly, we will all have the option to switch over to the Jays home opener. 5-1 Baby! Go Jays Go! Oops, I mean Go Raps Go!

Coming in, it was undoubtedly the biggest game of the season for the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately their effort level throughout did not dictate that and it cost the Raptors big time in a 104-88 home loss to the Chicago Bulls. With the loss the Raptors fall out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, one game back of the Bulls with both teams still having two games to play.

In the disheartening contest, the Raptors were led by a mediocre 18 from both Bargnani and Weems, who both took far too many shots to accumulate those totals. The victorious Bulls were led by undoubtedly the most talented player on the court today, Derrick Rose who put up 26 while accumulating 7 assists.  Two other stand out statistics were the rebounding totals by both Joakim Noah, and surprisingly Hedo Turkoglu, who both managed to pull now an incredible 19 boards.

The now desperate Raptors are right back in action tomorrow night on the road, as they take on the brutal Detroit Pistons.  Be sure to check back on Raptors Rapture for a pre-game tee-up to that contest.

Raptors Player of the Game

Marcus Banks – 9 points, 4 of 4 from the field in 7 minutes

(I would have credited Turkoglu for the 19 boards but the 2 for 12 shooting killed his chances and definitely did not help the team)

Fans Perspective

I am crushed in so many ways. (1) I still cannot believe that a team that was seeded 5th at the all-star break is now most likely going to miss the playoffs. (2) Simply pathetic effort by a group of guys capable of a lot more than they showed. (3) I am still taking in that, that bloody floor scene will most likely be the last I see of Chris Bosh in a Raptors uniform. None the less, I’ll stick by my duties as Raptors blogger and simply say. Go Raps Go!

This is what it all comes down to – David versus Goliath. Or in this case it would probably be more accurate to label this one as the inconsistent injured guys versus the cocky yet pathetic ones.  Yes, I am referring to the Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls, who face off on Sunday evening in a game that will more than likely dictate which of these two clubs qualifies for the 8th and final playoff spot in the eastern conference.  Both teams come into this one with identical 38-41 records, with the Raptors holding the tiebreaker after having won both of their two previous meetings.

Due to uncertainty -primarily because of injury -one can only speculate on the starting 5 of both teams -particularly the Raptors -but here is who is expected to be on the court come tip-off:

Toronto
Jose Calderon, Sonny Weems, Hedo Turkoglu, Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani

Chicago
Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah

If the wounded Raptors can manage to pull this one off, I feel more than confident in saying that it should finally guarantee them a seat in the quest for 16 wins. Why so sure? Let’s take a look at the remaining schedules for each club:

Toronto
vs. Chicago (38-41) , at Detroit (26-54), vs. New York (28-51)

Chicago
at Toronto (38-41), vs Boston (50-30), at Charlotte (43-37)

Even though they are without Chris Bosh, I am pretty sure the Raptors would be more than capable of taking at least 1 of 2 from the Pistons and Knicks, which is all they would require if they are able to secure a W on Sunday.

Tip-off is at 6PM EST. Be sure to check back on Raptors Rapture for post-game analysis of the biggest game of the year. Go Raps Go!