Colangelo believes 50 wins is realistic

[headliner]

"And that means probably putting yourself in a position (to be) the fourth or fifth seed (in the Eastern Conference)," the always-dapper GM said, while adding that the Raptors likely will have to win more games than the previous club record of 47 to accomplish that goal. "Are (we) shooting for a target of 50 games? Yeah, I think that's what we should be realistically looking at."

 

Colangelo's optimism is based on the reconstruction job he pulled off in the off-season, the adding of some excellent new parts (Reggie Evans, Hedo Turkoglu, etc.) while retaining his big three of Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani.

 

However, and this is a big however, Colangelo also realizes that if the great experiment fails, his franchise player, Bosh, probably will walk at the end of the season. And the GM, if he's back, will have to start from the beginning. Perhaps blow up the team again.

 

Toronto Sun

 

Do you think Colangelo is shooting too high or do you think he has finally lost it?

[Poe]

I've said from the beginning that Toronto can manage 50 wins. It looks like the GM agrees. Let's see it happen.

[Doc]

For me thats the highest the raptors could go.I just feel like the raptors will go through their usual rough path, then out of no where, play well. I think the raptors' ceiling is 4th, while the lowest is 7th.

[headliner]

I not sure if the Raptors will win 50 games but 47 games is the number I’m looking at. It just depends how well this team gels with each other and if they can become a tough defensive team.

[Check my Stats]

I am pretty confident we will not win 50 games this year, unless Bargnani somehow has turned into an all-star.

[MainEv3nt]

of course its ''possible''

[Real Deal]

I think it depends on how the offense is ran more than anything else. Defensively, the Raptors were 22nd in points allowed per 100. Offensively, we know they weren't good either.

 

Thing is, with Hedo factored in, my biggest question is how much he'll actually facilitate the offense, because Calderon is still hanging around.

 

If Hedo plays more like a point forward, and tries to form that inside/outside duo with Bosh, and then those two feed their teammates off of their offensive work, then the Raptors can win 50. But to me, that's a stretch, because you're going to have the Celtics in their division, an up-and-coming Sixers team that may have a healthy Brand this time around, and a few Eastern Conference beasts in Orlando and Cleveland that have the scoring down low to abuse Bosh all night long.

 

Bosh added the weight, but that doesn't automatically mean he improved his defense. Maybe that's the case, though, and maybe his post defense will see improvement, as his slender frame only helped him recover a bit quicker, yet gave teams an advantage posting him up with the likes of true big men.

[headliner]

I think it depends on how the offense is ran more than anything else. Defensively, the Raptors were 22nd in points allowed per 100. Offensively, we know they weren't good either.

 

The raptors weren’t that bad offensively. They ranked 16th overall scoring 99 points per game and their field goal was 45.77. The raptors issues were health and their lack of defence.

 

Thing is, with Hedo factored in, my biggest question is how much he'll actually facilitate the offense, because Calderon is still hanging around.

 

If Hedo plays more like a point forward, and tries to form that inside/outside duo with Bosh, and then those two feed their teammates off of their offensive work, then the Raptors can win 50. But to me, that's a stretch, because you're going to have the Celtics in their division, an up-and-coming Sixers team that may have a healthy Brand this time around, and a few Eastern Conference beasts in Orlando and Cleveland that have the scoring down low to abuse Bosh all night long.

 

 

Jay has already said he is giving his players the freedom to bring up the ball which means Calderon won’t always have to create for the team. It gives Hedo sufficient opportunity to facilitate the offense after grabbing the defensive rebound. Jay wants Hedo to facilitate the raptors offence which is the main reason Hedo was brought in.

I don’t understand why people think the Sixers will truly be competitive this season. They lost a solid pg in Miller and they didn’t add any significant piece to improve form last season. They are counting on two young pgs to run the show and we all know that point guard play is crucial to every team. The Sixers are also hoping that Brand can finally fit in with this team.

 

Celtic aren’t unbeatable I’m sure the Raptors are capable of pulling out a game or two against the Celtics. Every season the Raptors manage to split the season series with the Magic and in my mind the Sixers aren’t that big of a threat.

 

Bosh added the weight, but that doesn't automatically mean he improved his defense. Maybe that's the case, though, and maybe his post defense will see improvement, as his slender frame only helped him recover a bit quicker, yet gave teams an advantage posting him up with the likes of true big men.

 

Defence in the post means you have to be able to absorb contact and Bosh wasn’t able to absorb contact on a consistent base. In my mind I think he was afraid to get dirty and he played tired last season. I think the added muscles will make him more durable and allow him to play big especially on the defensive end.