The ultimate Toronto Raptors fan favourite bracket: Round of 16

The OG Bracket

(1) Jerome Williams vs (8) Matt Bonner

1) Jerome Williams:

The number one seed of not only the bracket but of the entire tournament, it will be nearly impossible to take down the “Junk Yard Dog.”

I mean, the name says it all. Who doesn’t want to love the pitbull forward who’s willing to scrap and fight for every loose ball and rebound? Matt Bonner was liked by fans, but he can’t handle the toughness and ruggedness of the JYD?

8) Matt Bonner: 

An inspiration to redheads everywhere, Matt Bonner wasn’t as many would say “good”, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t loved. The best way to pull off an upset in the NCAA tournament is to get hot from the outside. Bonner has shown he can do that if nothing else.

Matt Bonner played his first two seasons in Toronto before being traded to the San Antonio Spurs. There, he played 10 more full seasons before retiring. Can Bonner really win the Raptors fan tourney despite being largely remembered as a Spur? The odds are against him.

(4) TJ Ford vs (5) Jorge Garbajosa

4) T.J. Ford

Believe it or not, the Raptors were originally highly criticized when trading for T.J. Ford. Ford — who missed the entire previous season with a spine injury — cost the team young forward Charlie Villanueva and was viewed as a significant injury risk.

Those criticisms quickly went away as fans watched an absolute speed demon race up and down the sideline. Watching Ford was like watching a purple blur, constantly pushing and racing in transition.

Ford was remembered for clutch play, blazing speed, and unfortunately, injuries. If it weren’t for an injury which cost him his starting spot (to fellow fan favorite Jose Calderon),  he might never have left the Raps. However, as it stands, we only had two years of T.J. Ford.

Experience is perhaps the only thing working against him. Luckily, his opponent has even less.

5) Jorge Garbajosa

TJ Ford’s career might have been brief for the Raptors, but there was no flash in the pan quite like Jorge Garbajosa. Garbajosa played just 74 total games for the Raptors; during that time, he made a tremendous impact on the fans.

A 29-year-old rookie, Garbajosa came to Toronto following a prolific European career.  He offered shooting, he provided some solid passing, and most of all, he had a tremendous nickname in “The Garbage Man”.

After the departure of Carter, Garbajosa was the first player to wear the #15. And while he certainly didn’t offer anything similar in terms of playing style to Carter, Garbajosa did help the fans move on. The All-Rookie selection was a fun story until injuries took him away from us.