By Chris Cates, TalentedMrRoto.com
September 29, 2006 - 10:16 a.m.

2005-06 OVERVIEW

32.9 percent. The Toronto Raptors won 32.9 percent of their games last season. They ranked 29th out of 30 teams in points allowed per game. Opponents shot 49.1 percent from the floor against them, placing them dead last in the league. Rebounds per game…they were 29th out of 30. The list goes on. This was not a good team last year, to say the least. And when things don’t go well, change is generally brought about in some capacity. Consider it brought.

The Raptors have revamped their roster with Chris Bosh as the centerpiece. (Streeter Lacka/NBAE/Getty Images)

With a combined 18 players either leaving or joining the team, to say this team won’t look the same would be a gross understatement. Sixty percent of the players on the 2006-07 roster weren’t on the 2005-06 roster. 60 percent! When the percentage of new players is almost twice that of your winning percentage from the previous season, you know something is up.

As you may have noticed, Charlie Villanueva and Mike James are no longer Raptors. All reports indicate that the Raptors are moving to a faster-paced, Suns-like offense; Villanueva didn’t fit in, James didn’t fit in, and T.J. Ford fit in very nicely – hence, the series of moves. Add in European sensation Andrea Bargnani and Euroleague standouts Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa, and you’ve got pieces in place for the fast-paced offense you desire. They say this Chris Bosh guy can play, too.

The 2005-06 Raptors had four legitimate fantasy options. This year's team has seven or more that could be fantasy studs by season’s end. This year’s team is deeper, younger and more athletic – all attributes that fit the aforementioned change in the style of play. The 2006-07 Raptors will look nothing like last year’s team, and while it’s hard to predict what will happen when almost every face is new, there’s definitely enough firepower here to create a viable fantasy-friendly team.

ADDITIONS:
Rasho Nesterovic, C
Andrea Bargnani, F
T.J. Ford, G
Kris Humphries, F
Anthony Parker, G/F
Uros Slokar, F
P.J. Tucker, G/F
Fred Jones, G
Jorge Garbajosa, F

LOSSES:
Mike James, G
Charlie Villanueva, F
Matt Bonner, F
Antonio Davis, F
Eric Williams, F
Loren Woods, F
Rafael Araujo, C
Alvin Williams, G
Andre Barrett, G

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
C – Rasho Nesterovic
PF – Chris Bosh
SF – Morris Peterson
SG – Anthony Parker
PG – T.J. Ford

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2006

Imagine reading two books by the same author, both of which are very similar in nature. One day, that author has 60 percent of his brain removed. You are then asked what you think his next book will consist of….hard to know, eh? Such is the case with the Raptors this year. It’s hard to know what to expect when 60 percent of the previous season’s roster is gone, and the team in question is employing a new style of play to boot. And yes, I realize the author example was a bit sketchy.

Here’s what we know for sure: Chris Bosh is a beast. Not just any beast, either. He’s the kind of beast that improves annually until he reaches his peak. Chris Bosh hasn’t yet reached his peak and will improve once again this season. We also know that the Raptors now have a pass-first point guard (T.J. Ford) and not a shoot-first point guard (Mike James). This could be a blessing if the Raptors do, indeed, run a Suns-like offense as they’ve talked about. Steve Nash is a pass-first point guard (one of the few left of what is now a dying breed) just like Ford and runs a similar offense to the one the Raptors hope to employ this season. Having a guy that can (and will) dish to a scorer like Morris Peterson and a big man like Chris Bosh on a consistent basis is a key change that could lead to fantasy success. With five Euroleague standouts on the roster (four of which are new to the team), you can expect the change of play you were accustomed to seeing. They are better fits for a fast-paced attack, and all have track records in Europe (in the case of Parker and Garbajosa, outstanding track records). Rasho Nesterovic could be run off the floor at times in favor of a smaller lineup. Although it won’t have much impact on fantasy value, look for P.J. Tucker and Garbajosa to challenge Joey Graham for minutes at SG/SF.

I’m a believer that this Raptors team will improve on last season. That won’t be difficult to accomplish considering just how bad they were, but everything seems to be new and fresh heading into this season (even the uniforms are updated). Plus, there’s plenty of talent here to be competitive game in and game out. Don’t get me wrong, this team won’t be a force. They won’t be a juggernaut. But this team has a plan. They did everything they could to bring in players that could put that plan into action. And with many more high-upside, fantasy-friendly players filling the depth chart this season, there’ll be more value here than last year.

KEY BENCH POSITIONS / POSITION BATTLES

Andrea Bargnani – Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said that he wasn’t sure if Bargnani would start or come off the bench when the season begins on November 1. Personally, I expect him to sit: he’s got too much to learn too quickly, he’s listed as a PF, and at 6-10, it’d be tough to see him anywhere else. Bargnani appeared very raw (as you’d expect) and outmatched at times in summer league action, and it’s going to be tough for him to beat out the current competition for a starting job.

The Euroleague players – I’m talking about Anthony Parker, Jorge Garbajosa, Uros Slokar, Jose Calderon and the aforementioned Bargnani. All but Calderon played in the Euroleague last season, and Calderon himself participated two years ago. Parker is actually 31 years old and has several unexciting NBA seasons under his belt. Yet after winning the Euroleague MVP award in consecutive seasons, he has apparently stepped straight into a starting role. Why would he start Parker and not Bargnani if both came from the Euroleague and Bargnani was just the first pick in the draft? Because Parker has experience (both in the NBA and Euroleague) unmatched by Bargnani and has an easier road to starting at his spot in the lineup (just Fred Jones if he ends up playing two guard as is expected). As for the other three – Garbajosa is coming off a season in which he finished top 15 in the Euroleague in both points (14.9) and rebounds (6.6) per game; he’s apparently a great shooter and one that could take minutes away from the average-at-best Rasho Nesterovic if the Raps go small. Slokar likely won’t make an impact this season as he projects to be buried on the depth chart. Calderon showed flashes of brilliance last season and averaged 4.5 assists per game – amazing considering he was a rookie who often received limited minutes. T.J. Ford has not exactly shown he can stay healthy, so a late round selection with Calderon in deeper leagues could be worth it in the long run. Overall, these Euroleague players present skills especially valuable in a fast-paced style of play the Raptors plan to run this season, and all but Slokar hold some fantasy value at this point. Keep an eye on how the playing time shakes out in the early going as any of the five could do damage if given the opportunity.

PLAYERS WE LOVE

Chris Bosh – What’s not to love? Percentages? Check. Points? Check. Boards? Check. The man does it all, and does it all well. He’s improved his numbers every season that he’s been in the league (especially last season) and has played at least 70 games in each of his first three seasons. Even more, he’s got a supporting cast that’s glowing with potential. There are less stars on this roster (see departure of James and Villanueva), and that fact coupled with a pass-first point guard in T.J. Ford almost guarantees improvements across the board, in addition to the improvements that would come naturally as he improves with age. It’ll take a very early pick to land Chris Bosh, but if he’s there at any point in the second round, he’s worth it.

Anthony Parker – The more I hear about this guy, the more I like him. Parker is a swingman that will gain SG and SF eligibility before too long. He’s projected as a starter despite being out of the NBA since the 1999-00 season, a fact that says a lot about how much he must have improved playing over in Europe. Despite being new to the league for our purposes (hasn’t played in so long his stats in previous seasons are irrelevant), he’s a seasoned veteran with experience and was considered by many to be the best player outside of the NBA until his signing with the Raptors. Scouting reports say Parker can shoot, finish and play solid defense (among other things), all qualities that should allow him to prosper with the Raptors.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Rasho Nesterovic – He’s an average-at-best fantasy center, and one that I wouldn’t touch unless I absolutely had to. If the Raptors do end up running up and down the court at a fast pace, Nesterovic’s already-low value will become nonexistent as he’ll see very little action. Just not much to like here.

Andrea Bargnani – I don’t necessarily not like him this season, it’s just that there are a couple of factors leading to the fact that you won’t find him on one of my teams. He was the first pick in the draft, and some people will draft him higher than he should be drafted on that basis alone. He’s a raw talent, and even though there’s word he could potentially start in the season opener, he didn’t show as much as you’d expect a number one draft pick to in summer league. Then there’s the playing time issue: he’s not enough of a rebounder to start at center, he’s got Chris Bosh ahead of him at power forward, and if the Raptors decide to play with a big lineup and put him at the three on occasion, it would change their whole game plan and the fast-paced Suns-like style of play would be out of the question. Let someone else draft him this year.

BOTTOM LINE

This off-season was Extreme Makeover: Raptors Edition in Toronto. The early returns are positive. It can’t get much worse than it was last season, but with two of the top three fantasy options from last year gone and an entirely new group of athletic players with high ceilings coming in, things could get very interesting from a fantasy perspective. Employing a new style of play and acquiring a group of new players to effectively enforce that style of play, onlookers likely won’t recognize the Raptors this year.

With Chris Bosh anchoring the team and likely making even more strides in 2006-07, the fate of the Raptors reality and fantasy value lies in the hands of the new guys, of whom there are plenty. If this group can gel and find a rotation that works, the results could be very surprising to many. If not, this could be another ugly season in Raptor Town. Don’t be afraid to take chances on guys like Anthony Parker, Fred Jones, Joey Graham and Jorge Garbajosa, are all players that could flourish in this system if given a chance.

The views expressed by TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT: Player Rankings | Depth Charts | Other Team Previews