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NBA CIRCLE - Cleveland Cavaliers Vs Orlando Magic Highlights Feb 03, 2012 Game Recap

2012 Toronto Raptors Overview

After losing All-Star power forward Chris Bosh to the Heat last year, the Raptors were left with a whole lot of srole players without a star to keep the squad going. The Raptors finished the season with a 22-60 record and only three games shy of the worst record in the East that the Cavs possessed.

After the season, they made a decision to make a coaching change and got rid of Jay Triano in favor of previous Mavericks Assistant Dwane Casey. Casey played a key role in the Mavs title run with his man-zone hybrid defensive system. It will be engaging to see what he can do with the squad that he inherited in Toronto.

Toronto ended up with the 5th pick and spent it on 19 year old 7 foot center Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas has an opportunity to be something special in the league, but he is currently playing in the Lithuanian League and would possibly not be able to play for Toronto in the coming years.

Toronto has been fairly occupied so far this offseason, signing veteran free agents Gary Forbes, Rasual Butler, Anthony Carter, Aaron Gray, and Jamaal Magloire, while keeping their main players from last season in place.

This squad is built around a core of center Andrea Bargnani, shooting guard Demar Derozan, point guard Jose Calderon and 6th man Leandro Barbosa. This group was able to supply an explosive and exciting offense. Bargnani was the team's leading scorer with 21.4 points/game although only played in 66 games. Derozan produced 17.2 points/game, Barbosa came of the bench to score 13.3 points/game, and point guard Jose Calderon almost averaged a double-double of 9.8 points and 8.9 assists.

Amir Johnson started in 54 games for Toronto last season and contributed a career high 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. It looks like he will once again be the starting power forward. JaJuan Johnson is the player they got from Chicago last year that they're especially happy about. In 25 starts for the Raptors last season, small forward JaJuan Johnson put up 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3 assists/game.

The Raptors also have a returning Linaz Kleiza and Jerrd Bayless in its rotation. With all of the free agent pickup, it's hard to see who Casey will use in his rotation. The Raptors bench is filled with guys who used to be great once upon a time, but now not so much.

Pick: 5th Eastern Conference Atlantic Division - With our NBA predictions we have got the Raptors on the outside looking in as the Atlantic division have gotten a lot more competitive in recent years. Boston remains the team the beat, New York is all of a sudden looking like a legitimate team with Anthony and Stoudemire in the fold, and New Jersey brought in Deron Williams and probably Dwight Howard. As of right now, Toronto will have a difficult time attempting to battle for division seeding and a spot in the postseason. They could have an outsiders opportunity to sneak in the playoffs, but they have to play well to have a chance.

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