Turkoglu: Raptors As Good As Anyone

[Sun Tzu]

Raptors forward Hedo Turkoglu believes that the team is as good as any in the NBA this season.

 

"We are as good as anybody out there right now," Turkoglu told the Toronto Sun. "We don't get a lot of credit, even to make the playoffs. But we really don't care. I'm very confident about myself and my teammates."

 

Most analysts pick the Raptors to finish anywhere from fifth to eighth in the Eastern Conference. However, Chris Bosh sees potential in the retooled team as well.

 

"I see a lot of potential. We can be either good or bad, it depends on us," Bosh said. "I think we're going to be good. But we're only going to be as good as we want to be. We have to believe in ourselves, first and foremost. But we have to put in the work to be good."

 

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/62395/20091028/turkoglu_raptors_as_good_as_anyone/

 

Do you guys think that the Raptors could possibly be the 4th best team in the East?

[Warren2ThaG]

Yeah they might be 4th best, but the separation from 3rd to 4th is big.

[Sun Tzu]

Yeah they might be 4th best, but the separation from 3rd to 4th is big.

 

I definitely agree with that. I don't think the Raptors would be able to make it past the second round anyways. I don't see the Celtics, Magic or Cavs losing to the Raptors in the second round if the Raptors do get past the first round of the playoffs. But still, that's far ahead.

[Poe]

The Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Raptors, and Heat are going to be battling it out this year, and maybe the Bulls, too. I expect all of their records to be a bit close. The Eastern conference is going to start looking a little like the Western did the last couple of years.

[Real Deal]

The Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Raptors, and Heat are going to be battling it out this year, and maybe the Bulls, too. I expect all of their records to be a bit close. The Eastern conference is going to start looking a little like the Western did the last couple of years.

Cleveland, Boston and Orlando all can win 60 games. Nobody else in the East will touch that win total.

 

1) Boston

2) Orlando

3) Cleveland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4-8) Washington, Toronto, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago (no particular order)

[Force]

Still a bit too early to tell..who knows if Andrea can keep up that level of play he showcased last night. Toronto is a momentuem team though..hopefully this W can spark up something..

[Check my Stats]

We are definitely going to be a streaky team, that runs hot and cold. We are going to rely a lot on our jumpshooting.

 

But I think we are capable of playing with just about anyone on any given night, it depends a lot on matchups. We create a lot of mismatches because of all the unconventional guys we have, Hedo the 6'10 SF and two 7 foot big men who play on the perimeter. Bosh and Bargnani just have to make opposing teams pay when they go small on us by taking it inside. But conventional bigs, like Shaq for example, are going to get torched night in night out by Bargs or Bosh.

 

We gave up a lot of wide open threes last night though. I am looking forward to Evans coming back, he will bring a lot of grit and toughness and will be a good guy in terms of keeping the opponents off the offensive glass, which I still foresee as a problem for this team moving forward.

 

But anywhere between 4-8 is where we would probably wind up, no chance we are winning 57+ games to get in the top 3 lol. Our season really hinges on Bargnani though, if he can be the 19-7 guy he was in the 2nd half of last year we will be a very good team, we have 3 guys who can go off any night in Hedo-Bosh-Bargs. I am just feeling really optimistic about this team right now, and I hope Andrea finally blossoms into the consistent offensive number 2 option we have lacked for the entire time Bosh has been a star. Bosh has never had a legitimate 2nd option beside him, but now he could have two (Bargnani and Hedo). It is a good time to be a Raptors fan with probably our best team ever on paper, hopefully we have a great year.

 

If Bosh leaves after this year I will be rattled to [expletive].

[HornyWetPenguin]

Really surprised Toronto beat the Cavs yesterday. No way Raptors will 60 unless Bargnani all of a sudden is playing exactly like Dirk everygame.

[Poe]

I never said that Toronto will win 60. I just said that their record will be at least somewhat close to that of the top teams in the East this year. The only team I actually expect to win 60 games are the Celtics. The Cavs, Magic, Heat, and Raptors should all be at around the 50 win margin. You are not going to see overinflated win numbers by the top 3 teams because the talent level among all teams are starting to even out. Plus, I don't expect the Cavs and Magic to actually improve with the moves they made in the offseason, although the emergence of Ryan Anderson might be the difference maker and keep the Magic as a top 2 or 3 team.

 

If Ryan keeps up this level of play, and if the Cavs don't figure out how to make things work well with Shaq, by the end of the season I expect the order to be: Celtics, Magic, Heat, Cavs, Raptors.

 

The reason I'm putting the Raptors at the bottom of this group is because of two things: 1) they are still familiarizing themselves with one another. Other than Calderon, Bargs, and Bosh, it's pretty much a brand new team, and it may take some time to really start winning consistently. 2) Because they will be a jump shooting team, they are probably going to be very streaky. I'm expecting long win-streaks and losing streaks throughout the season.

 

I've already talked enough about how underrated the Heat are, and I'm not overrating them because I'm a fan. Jermaine, Beasley, Chalmers, and Cook will all emerge this season. I was hoping Dorell would be amongst the mix, but I guess he's going to be pushed to the side like always, unfortunately. D Wade has more than enough "help" this year.

[Check my Stats]

The thing is most the time we have all 5 guys on the court capable of hitting jumpers, so while a couple guys might be cold, more often then not someone else will be hot. It won't be often our entire team will be cold, though it will happen. That is why it is up to Bosh to get to the line a lot and Bargs take advantage of smaller defenders on him.

 

Heat will not be top 3, Cavs and Magic will both win 55+ and Raptors and Heat along with the other teams like Wizards etc will be in a dog fight for that last home court spot. Wade will have to be a one man team again, I don't know why you think they will all of a sudden be 3rd seed with the same team as last year. Hawks are ahead of the Heat and Raptors if you ask me.

 

The Cavs will figure it out, Shaq should come off the bench this year Z is more effective for what they need.

 

The Magic and Celtics are the teams to beat in the East, the Magic have the 2nd most overall amount talent in the entire NBA behind the Lakers.

[Built Ford Tough]

I agree with travesy 100%.

 

The Raptors can play with anybody on any given night because of their offensive talent. If their shots are falling they can play with anybody on any night and, yes, that includes the Celtics, Lakers and Magic. With the offensive talent of players like Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon, Turkoglu and Belinelli the Raptors can beat anybody when their shots are falling. They have 3 players in Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu that are all capable of going off for 25-30 points a night, they have guys like Calderon and Bellineli who are capable of going off for 15-20 on any given night and then they have guys like Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright and DeMar DeRozan that are capable of pitching in with 10 points or so. When this team is clicking offensively, they can beat anybody.

 

Another thing that they have going for them is that their frontcourt creates so many mismatches. They have three players 6'10 or taller that are capable of stepping outside and knocking shots down, posting up smaller defenders and Bosh and Turkoglu are both adept at creating their own offense (Bargnani is getting there). The Raptors are going to create plenty of mismatches with their size, skill and versatility up front and this will be a crucial part or their success all season long.

 

However, the opposite is true as well. During games that their shots aren't falling and they are struggling offensively, they can lose to any team on any night. The Raptors defense is going to be a question mark all season long and they are going to be hard pressed to win games when their shots aren't falling and just generally having an off night offensively. The Raptors can't hang their hat on their defense on nights when they are struggling offensively.

 

The Raptors are going to be a very hot and cold team all season long. It makes them very tough to judge.

[Poe]

^ This is why I think they will be a streaky team. Their gameplan is almost entirely relied on whether their jumpshots are falling or not as a team. They have many options and many mismatched players. They have a good offensive gameplan overall.

 

Wade will have to be a one man team again

 

Unfortunately, this is the type of thinking most people have for some reason, even last year. Wade did do a heck of a lot, but one man can't win a game, let alone bring a team to the playoffs. I agree that him being healthy was probably the biggest part, but you have to give credit to the coaching staff and the players around him. Chalmers playing a solid 82 games providing good defense and some shooting, Beasley providing some scoring off the bench, Marion bringing defense and team play, and Haslem with his intensity and leadership. The only thing missing was a legit center, and Riley made the trade. Moon and Jermaine fit right in, although Moon wasn't quite the player Marion was, and Jermaine was still playing on one leg. With the youth and the 2nd best player playing like the 4th, this was only good enough for a 5th seed and a first round exit in a 7 game series of lopsided games.

 

This year being the same team as last is actually a good thing. You don't have to change the team in order for it to get better. You can make improvements with the players you have, and the Heat have some good, young, hard-working players.

 

I watched the Knicks game yesterday, and everything I had predicted for the season came true. Everything. Chalmers is maturing, Cook is adding more weapons to his offensive game, O'Neal is back (not just by the stats, but if you were watching the game you could actually see there was an extra spring to his step.. like he was his young self again), and Beasley actually surprised me. I could not believe the improvements, this dude was hustling on both ends of the court. Blocking shots, getting steals, making plays. There was one play where he poked the ball loose from one player, chased after the ball past half court, the ball got knocked towards the sideline, and Beasley dived for it and hit it off another Knick's leg out of bounds. Heat ball. That should have been the play of the game right there.

 

The only thing missing was the emergence of Dorell Wright, yet he was benched instead. It's not the end of the season, yet there is always a chance, though. I still think he has All Star potential if he ever clicks between the ears.

 

Still, yesterday, the Heat would have won by 20 even without Dwayne Wade. That's how good they are. They were winning by nearly double digits at half time with Wade missing 9 of his first 14 shots, if I remember correctly. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little there. I still think the Heat have what it takes to be a top 3 team by the end of the season if key players remain healthy.

 

The Cavs will figure it out, Shaq should come off the bench this year Z is more effective for what they need.

Although that would be most effective, Shaq has WAY too big of an ego to EVER agree to come off the bench. His motto is "win a ring for the King", yet that is nowhere near the truth. The reason he came to Cleveland is entirely self-interested. He wants to be known as the very reason LeBron got his first championship, and he wants to end his career on that note, instead of his last two teams being total failures. He brings a winning mentality, but he will never accept a bench role, and I doubt Mike Brown has the balls to ask such a thing to one of the greatest centers of all time.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Poe