Hollinger: No clue how Raps will perform

[supersub15]

Insider: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/ ... ast-090810

Toronto: The Euraptors spent a ton of money this summer, but whether it was well-spent is a question open for debate. For starters, spending a combined $100 million for Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani would make a lot more sense if basketball had a DH rule. Jarrett Jack at $20 million was excessive as well, and if the Euraps don't commit to paying a luxury tax down the road, these deals are going to give them a lot of problems.

But hey, it's not my money, and it might all work out brilliantly. They're committed to a floor-spacing, sweet-shooting outfit reminiscent of Bryan Colangelo's old Suns teams in a final crack at convincing Chris Bosh to stay beyond this season. Either that or they're trying to convince Bosh he's really living in Geneva; somebody needs to check to see if they aren't setting all the clocks six hours ahead up there.

While Toronto spent freely, there were some value moves beneath the surface: They got Rasho Nesterovic for a song and Marco Belinelli for less than that, and while I'm not high on DeMar DeRozan, a lot of folks whom I respect are.

I guess what I'm saying is I have no idea how this will work out, which is how they ended up in the mystery meat section. It's easy to split the difference and say they'll be a .500-ish team, but I don't think that will be the outcome. I'm expecting either a brilliant success or a spectacular failure, and I'm really not sure which.

[cbosh4mvp]

Brilliant success

[k1mochi]

"...and while I'm not high on DeMar DeRozan, a lot of folks whom I respect are."

DD will make u wet your pants Hollinger, DD will shineee aite?

either a brilliant success or a spectacular failure? I see no failure in the raps for I only smell brilliant success, BRILLANT SUCCESS!!!

[LetsNBArasho]

We'll show them all!

[[SJJ]]

Brilliant Success it shall be... We can't fail - we have rasho!

[RomaniaLuvTR]

Brilliant Success it shall be... We can't fail - we have rasho!

no one can stop us while we have RASHO ...

[rarefind]

let the good times roll... brilliant success it is, i think he kinda likes us.

[J-Roc]

Makes sense what he says. Half this board thinks it'll work out, half aren't convinced. When it all shakes down, all the I-told-you-so''s will come out.

[Darkseid]

We are going to jack three's.

[DG88]

Is he trying to insult us by calling us the Euraptors?

[photoWILD]

What Hollinger failed to factor into his equation is the affect the coaching staff will have. A fully endorsed Triano with a brand new contract and more experience with Basketball USA has to have a positive influence. And the addition of Iarvoni to the staff can't hurt either. I'm expecting big things from the Rators this year after all the sweet moves during the offseason!

[power works]

It's very easy to feel insecure this upcoming season as a Raptor fan.

We were a lottery team last season and everybody south of the border pretty much predicts our best player is a goner after this season.

Bryan Colangelo, is a brilliant GM, but he is by no means infallible. We've seen that last year.

There’s always the possibility that the team may not have enough defence and rebounding. The coach may be a little over his head. The Bosh pending free agency may inevitably be a distraction.

Too many things may go wrong.

So, to prevent the possibility of over-analyzing or over-thinking, I try to simply things.

IMO, if Hedo starts to play very well, and there’s no real reason why he shouldn’t since he’s got a proven track record, the ripple effect throughout the team will be extremely positive.

Hedo is the one that can have the most significant impact in how they play if you compare to last year.

After that, the other additions like Jack, DeRozan, Bellinelli and Evans will all fall into place.

Cautiously optimistic is the word.

[Kevin Willis]

Last year was a disaster.

Bosh didn't play well - or broke down - for most of the middle part of the season. JO was hurt and didn't play well with Bosh. Kapono under played. Calderon was hurt.

BC gave Smitch his type of "players" - JO, no TJ, shortened rotation - but JT didn't have a group he can work with. Coaching change and change in coaching philosophy which may be more important. Major trade mid-season. No suitable back-up PG. Tough early schedule when things were all jacked up. Whe JT is forced to give the green light to Kapono to shoot whenever he likes - and Kapono starts shooting like crap - something is off.

Last year was a blip. If the same unit came back from last year the Raptors would be better playing for a coach they like. But they have better players too with a deeper bench. I'm not saying they'll win the east but they're not going to win 33 games.

Also - San Antonio had a bad year for them last year, but I don't hear that questioning of how good they'll be this year. I understand they have TD, Parker and Gino but still Hollinger likes to take shots at the Raptors.

[Spartan13]

Once again i dont really agree with Hollinger. Barring injuries i doubt the Raptors will be a failure this year, but i also dont think there upside is that big, atleast not until there young wings develop more. Unless Hollinger thinks a 45 win team is a brilliant success, I think well have a decent, not great or terrible, year.

[Jatt]

[BigShotBob13]

While I hope for brilliant success, why write this drivel and call it insider information?? I can't believe SS had to pay for this!!

Thanks for absolutely nothing Hollinger, instead of giving us a statistical breakdown of the team, where weaknesses were addressed and moves were made to make the team stronger, you spent the whole article spouting "EuroRap" BS. Does it matter? Does it matter who we have on the court? 4/5 of our starters would be welcome additions to any NBA team, irregardless of their nationality. DD is an unknown and that's fair enough.

[Kevin Willis]

While I hope for brilliant success, why write this drivel and call it insider information?? I can't believe SS had to pay for this!!

Thanks for absolutely nothing Hollinger, instead of giving us a statistical breakdown of the team, where weaknesses were addressed and moves were made to make the team stronger, you spent the whole article spouting "EuroRap" BS. Does it matter? Does it matter who we have on the court? 4/5 of our starters would be welcome additions to any NBA team, irregardless of their nationality. DD is an unknown and that's fair enough.

+1

[Coach Ray]

While I understand the reasoning behind being cautious about this upcoming season, the moves BC has made has raised the excitement level and has given us something to look forward to. And that is a BIG step up from last years failure. There are 82 exciting games to be played and pending playoffs, maybe more. And as fans, it is a lot easier to be opptimistic rather than being a negative.

[Yuri Vaultin]

One thing is for certain this season, that was definitely not last year; when in crunch time and nursing a lead we now have the depth to give starters a rest and have players with a higher defensive b-ball IQ than a grapefruit.

[DG88]

One thing is for certain this season, that was definitely not last year; when in crunch time and nursing a lead we now have the depth to give starters a rest and have players with a higher defensive b-ball IQ than a grapefruit.

+10000000