Toronto Raptors: Underdogs ready to surprise in the 2012-13
NBA season - Opinion (Part 1)
With the free agency in the books and the final rosters of the teams taking shape quickly as we move to the end of training camps, there are many interesting possibilities cropping up.
While there are teams like the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics, which continues to live upto their championship contender status, there are some franchises which have
gone major improvements and are set to embark on a successful season campaign. In this piece we will highlight these teams, ones which have been considered underdogs for so long;
Toronto Raptors
Following Chris Bosh’s move to Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors struggled to cope up in the 2010-11 season. They were weak on the defense and had no clear strategy up front as well. However all that changed last season when the franchise
hired Dwane Casey as their head coach. A hard task master and a man who prioritizes defense, Casey quickly made the Raps a formidable defensive unit, and it was because of that mentality that the team started showing positive results last season.
Their efforts were however not enough to make a playoffs cut. That partly had to do with a lots of close losses and mainly because the Raptors offense was still light. However, the scenario has changed drastically in the off season
and the reason for that are Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry.
Valanciunas has been finally bought out by the Raptors and his inclusion opens up a lot of possibilities for Andreas Bargnani, the man who has been an underachiever for so long. The Italian forward showed good progress under Casey
last season and if the injury woes stay away, 2012-13 might just prove to be a breakout season for Bargnani. The presence of Valanciunas will add more assurity to the Raptors front court and will also enhance its offensive punch.
Lowry for his part is also an All-Star level player. He was the starting one guard back in Houston Rockets, but differences with the coach led to his trade this summer. The player can add some significant speed to the lineup and
with players like Landry Fields, Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan and John Lucas III also manning the back court, the Raptors do look deep.
For them, it’s just a matter of creating a belief that they can win, and if Casey can inculcate this feel, his side seems ready to take the big leap.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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