Raptor Line-Up Thoughts

Point - Guard

(I am splitting this post into 6 parts, a post for each position and one final one on how the starters will mesh and what is expected from the bench and .... my predictions for the upcoming year!)

The raptors enter this season with more questions on the roster than ever before. Are all the new players going to gel? Will Chris Bosh translate winning in the Olympics to winning in the NBA? Will we make it to the second round? These are all legitimate questions and hopefully by looking at the potential starting line-up we may be able to get some answers. Today we start with the man at the top, the point guards

The Point Guard Poisition.

Starter: Jose Calderon
Second Man: Will Solomon
Scrub / Rook: Roko Ukic

Jose Calderon is the man, the unquestioned point guard of the Raptors this upcoming season. We traded TJ Ford and gave the Spaniard a fat 8 mil/year contract as a sign that this was now Calderon's team at the point. Calderon plays a style of conservative basketball with the emphasis on not turning the ball over and passing to the hot hand. He rarely, if ever, pushes the ball on a fast break which leads us to sometimes forgo easy transition buckets in expense for not turning over the ball cheaply. Calderon has steadily improved as a shooter. In his first year, opposing teams were daring him to shoot but now they must respect the shot. Last year he shot .519 from the field and .429 from 3 point land which is very good. Calderon's defense is an aspect that can be improved as he continually got beat at the perimeter leading to easy points for the other team. He needs to stay ahead of his man and contest his shot. With O'Neal lurking,, he may be a bit more aggresive playing the shot. He is entering the prime of his career and is widely considered on of the second-tier point guards of the NBA.

projected stats: 30.0 mpg, .480 fg%, .435 3pt%, .900 ft%, 2.6 rpg, 9 asg, 0.4 spg, 2 tpg, 15 ppg

Against popular thought, I think Solomon will be the de facto second pg off the bench for the raps this year. He has only one year of experience in the NBA, but has gathered much wisdom playing abroad in Europe. He seems like an okay defender on the perimeter, but from this youtube clip, he likes to block from the perimeter meaning he leaves his feet quickly and probably will get beat by better guards. He looks like an alright shooter and passer, but may have difficulty at first adapting to the speed of the NBA.

projected stats: 10.0 mpg, .430 fg%, .355 3pt%, .780 ft%, 3.4 rpg, 3 asg, 1.0 spg, 2 tpg, 5 ppg

Roko Ukic is coming over for his first season in the NBA. Similarily to Calderon, he has played a few years professionally in Europe and comes here as the back-up to learn the ropes. From watching the Olympics (i know ridiculously small sample size) he looks like a slasher and more of a scorer than distributor. This would be a nice change of pace from Calderon. He will probably need to work on his shooting and making the right decisions.

projected stats: 7.5 mpg, .420 fg%, .335 3pt%, .740 ft%, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 asg, 0.5 spg, 2 tpg, 3 ppg

Overall we have a great first option in Calderon and back-ups long on potential and short on experience. We need one of Ukic or Solomon emerge as a solid back-up to give Calderon some rest and keep him fresh throughout the year. Overall this position would be considered below to just average compared to the majority of NBA teams. Lets hope the two back-ups can help make this a strength for the dinos.

Props to NBA.com for last year's stats for Calderon on fg% and 3 point %