Why does everyone underestimate the Toronto Raptors?

Whether it be a critic or a basketball fan the top of the east has always been depicted like so(in no particular order) Detroit Boston Cleveland Chicago Miami and to an extent New Jersey. Critics acclaim the Atlantic to end like this Boston>New Jersey>Toronto. This is really weird considering everyone is singling out the team that finished 3rd and won the Atlantic division on their "rookie" year.

I'm saying rookie because man look at the roster, about 50% of the roster have played 3 years or less in professional basketball and about 90% have played 4 years or less. They can only get better with experience,not to mention they'v picked up Jason Kapono (3 point allstar shootout champion) and with leader Bosh (yes i know he has a minor injury) and number 1 draft pick overall Andrea Bargnarni, I can really see this team winning the Atlantic and even coming in the top 3.

Raps will live and die by their outside shooting, they're very good and I think they'll make the playoffs easily along with Boston and New Jersey from the Atlantic. But I don't think they're a finished product - hell I like their backup PG more than their starter

Maybe because every torontro raptor fan praised them last year liek they were a team made by god and then they got owned by the team they were apparently 100% better then(NETS)NetYankEagle

[QUOTE="NetYankEagle"]Maybe because every torontro raptor fan praised them last year liek they were a team made by god and then they got owned by the team they were apparently 100% better then(NETS)duh555

[QUOTE="duh555"][QUOTE="NetYankEagle"]Maybe because every torontro raptor fan praised them last year liek they were a team made by god and then they got owned by the team they were apparently 100% better then(NETS)NetYankEagle

[QUOTE="NetYankEagle"][QUOTE="duh555"][QUOTE="NetYankEagle"]Maybe because every torontro raptor fan praised them last year liek they were a team made by god and then they got owned by the team they were apparently 100% better then(NETS)Sports-Fan

They have two of the best teams in the EC with NJ and Boston (imo), so of course they're going to be overlooked which also isn't a bad thing.

I can understand people choosing Boston over Toronto but I can't understand for the life of me why people are choosing NJ over Toronto as well. Granted NJ did beat Toronto in the playoffs, but Toronto is a young team on the rise and it seems like every time someone mentions NJ we hear about how Kidd and Carter are getting older and how they have a weak bench. With their depth and shooting ability Toronto is going to be a very tough team to beat, I don't see why everyone is already counting them out.PBSnipes

shall we compare....

PG:Kidd vs. Ford

Edge: Kidd, he is still amazing at his old age. He is a triple double machine.

SG: Carter vs. Anthony Parker

Edge: Carter, this isn't even close.

SF: Jefferson vs. Kapono

Edge: They both play different games and have different strengths, but Jefferson is definitely the better overall player.

PF: Bosh vs. Collins

Edge: Again, another one that is not even close, Bosh.

C: Nenad Krstic vs. Andrea Bargnani

Edge: This is a close one. Both are very good players. I'll give the slight edge to Bargnani.

Bench:

For the Raptors, Calderon is a very good backup PG, but so is Marcus Williams. Carlos Delfino was a nice pickup from the Pistons, but with the way Antoine Wright played last night, Wright has the edge. Then you have Nachbar who has turned into a very nice player. He can drive to the basket and can shoot the 3 pretty well. Then I'll give a tie to the last two bench backup spots with Josh Boone tying Jorge Garbajosa and Rasho Nesterovic tying Jamaal Magloire.

Just by looking at this, you can see why many believe the Nets are better than the Raptors. They are an experienced team and a lot of these guys have been together now for a while.

Aright. Here we go.

The Nets MIGHT be better then NJ. The only reason they might be is because Jason Kidd is still a monster. I wrote him off last year but he showed me up in the playoffs. As soon as he slows down NJ is done. Boston I think we can beat. THey have no bench and we match up decently with their starting 5. Back to New Jersey for a sec. Whoever did the comparison has to be smoking something serious

Kidd>Ford

Carter>Parker

RJ>Kapono

Bosh>Kristic

Bargnani>Collins

however Toronto's bench is entirely better then NJ. Marcus is no where near Jose's level. Wright had ONE game lets get serious here. He's not going anywhere. Delfino, Garbajosa, Rasho are all better then NJ's reserves. If there was a rematch I think Toronto takes it. Boston i'm really unsure about. Best starting lineup but the bench is terrible.

106-69. 8)

One quick note to debate fellas: has the Atlantic not made a truly magnificent jump in quality the last 2 years, and especially this year? The one time dominant division of the NBA is finally finding its way out of the cellar... I'd say the Southeast has taken over the crown of cellar dweller this year for the NBA...

...and for an on topic comment, I'll give you that the Raptors are a good team with a great future... too bad they just happen to be growing up at a point when the East is finally starting to gain some steam in the theoretical race against the West...

how about that Toronto beats New Jersey by 37. and to the guy that said New Jersey has a better bench than Toronto all I have to say to you is HA!vinsanity4

Man, the Raptors definitely put a wooping on the Nets in the SECOND GAME OF THE SEASON. That obviously means they are the better team by a long shot. The Nets have absolutely no chance now that they lost to the raptors in the second game of the season. Lets let the season play out first guys and see who can stay consistent and healthy. BTW, for whoever said it before, there definitely has been a dramatic improvement in the Atlantic Division between last year and this year. It should be a fun division race to watch.

I think the raptors should relocate to pittsburg, cincinnati, or st louisSegArgyle

I think the raptors should relocate to pittsburg, cincinnati, or st louisSegArgyle

Toronto looks realy realy bad coached :? Barnani and Bosh need way more touches, and need to get Bosh inside the paint more...mgreener_34

It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...tryfe_lyn

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...RR88

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

If the Bucks beat us, then yes...they are the better team that night...what's wrong with you...just accept the fact that the Raps got pwned in their own arena...barely losing is STILL losing and that 30 some odd percent shooting was due to Boston's defense....but I don't hate...Bosh is a beast and needs to step it up...Bargnani needs to getbig and play like a true 7 footer...I can't stand big men that live on the arc...your place is on the block...

Raps looked solid - they crawled back into it and played some great defense against the C's, better than I expected. Forced a lot of shot clock violations, and Ford was killing Rondo off the dribble nearly every time in the second half. Didn't see too much out of their much vaulted depth, it didn't really give them an advantage in that game though I do like Delfino a bunch.

Lots of flopping around though, that I did not like to see. As great as Ford was I couldn't help but feel he wasn't doing his job as PG putting up all those numbers while the rest of his team stayed ice cold. Then again if it wasn't for Ford the game could have been a blowout.

Obviously they didn't play close to their best ball, and neither did Boston. Only so much you can take away from a game like that. Very much looking forward to the rematch, and hopefully Toronto will be repping the Atlantic with us at the top of the East standings all year :)

[QUOTE="RR88"]

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...tryfe_lyn

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

If the Bucks beat us, then yes...they are the better team that night...what's wrong with you...just accept the fact that the Raps got pwned in their own arena...barely losing is STILL losing and that 30 some odd percent shooting was due to Boston's defense....but I don't hate...Bosh is a beast and needs to step it up...Bargnani needs to getbig and play like a true 7 footer...I can't stand big men that live on the arc...your place is on the block...

[QUOTE="RR88"]

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...tryfe_lyn

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

If the Bucks beat us, then yes...they are the better team that night...what's wrong with you...just accept the fact that the Raps got pwned in their own arena...barely losing is STILL losing and that 30 some odd percent shooting was due to Boston's defense....but I don't hate...Bosh is a beast and needs to step it up...Bargnani needs to getbig and play like a true 7 footer...I can't stand big men that live on the arc...your place is on the block...

You do know that Bargenani's style of playing is quite similar to Garnett except Garnett doesn't shoot threes...

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"][QUOTE="RR88"]

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...dkhw

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

If the Bucks beat us, then yes...they are the better team that night...what's wrong with you...just accept the fact that the Raps got pwned in their own arena...barely losing is STILL losing and that 30 some odd percent shooting was due to Boston's defense....but I don't hate...Bosh is a beast and needs to step it up...Bargnani needs to getbig and play like a true 7 footer...I can't stand big men that live on the arc...your place is on the block...

You do know that Bargenani's style of playing is quite similar to Garnett except Garnett doesn't shoot threes...

You say it as if Bargnani plays like Garnett with 3pt range. I must have missed that.

The difference is KG is our power forward, while Bargs is playing Center for the Raps. KG can operate however he feels comfortable because we have Perkins clearing space and doing the dirty work in the low post. Bosh and Bargs are not that kind of big man, which can be a matchup nightmare or a liablility depending on who you're playing.

Aside from Bosh and TJ Ford, the Raptors are weak and in a weak division...Boston got an upgrade and NJ has Kidd, Vince and RJ...forget about the Knicks and 76ers...tryfe_lyn

That makes no sense

Without LEbron the cavs would be weak

Without Dirk and Howard the mavs would be weak

Without Nash and Stoudemire the suns would be weak

you can say that about any team and the Atlantic Divison is now one of the harder divisions in the league and especially in the East.

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]Aside from Bosh and TJ Ford, the Raptors are weak and in a weak division...Boston got an upgrade and NJ has Kidd, Vince and RJ...forget about the Knicks and 76ers...VinnWaran16

That makes no sense

Without LEbron the cavs would be weak

Without Dirk and Howard the mavs would be weak

Without Nash and Stoudemire the suns would be weak

you can say that about any team and the Atlantic Divison is now one of the harder divisions in the league and especially in the East.

Lots of ignorant people. Go look at last year when Bosh was injured for many games and his comments were "i hope when i come back we can continue to play as well as we have". THey did amazing with out him.

[QUOTE="dkhw"][QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"][QUOTE="RR88"]

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...viberooni

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

If the Bucks beat us, then yes...they are the better team that night...what's wrong with you...just accept the fact that the Raps got pwned in their own arena...barely losing is STILL losing and that 30 some odd percent shooting was due to Boston's defense....but I don't hate...Bosh is a beast and needs to step it up...Bargnani needs to getbig and play like a true 7 footer...I can't stand big men that live on the arc...your place is on the block...

You do know that Bargenani's style of playing is quite similar to Garnett except Garnett doesn't shoot threes...

You say it as if Bargnani plays like Garnett with 3pt range. I must have missed that.

The difference is KG is our power forward, while Bargs is playing Center for the Raps. KG can operate however he feels comfortable because we have Perkins clearing space and doing the dirty work in the low post. Bosh and Bargs are not that kind of big man, which can be a matchup nightmare or a liablility depending on who you're playing.

What I meant was that the way they score is quite similiar although Garnett is obviously more skilled and excutes those shots much better. Turn-around jump-shot while posted up and beautiful two point range and ability to score down low (obviously Garnett own Bargs in this area majorly).

[QUOTE="viberooni"][QUOTE="dkhw"][QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"][QUOTE="RR88"]

[QUOTE="tryfe_lyn"]It was a close game, but the better team came out on top....maybe next time...dkhw

This guy thinks a 3 at the buzzer to win it against a team shooting 30 some odd percent means Boston kicked our a** lol

If the Bucks beat us, then yes...they are the better team that night...what's wrong with you...just accept the fact that the Raps got pwned in their own arena...barely losing is STILL losing and that 30 some odd percent shooting was due to Boston's defense....but I don't hate...Bosh is a beast and needs to step it up...Bargnani needs to getbig and play like a true 7 footer...I can't stand big men that live on the arc...your place is on the block...

You do know that Bargenani's style of playing is quite similar to Garnett except Garnett doesn't shoot threes...

You say it as if Bargnani plays like Garnett with 3pt range. I must have missed that.

The difference is KG is our power forward, while Bargs is playing Center for the Raps. KG can operate however he feels comfortable because we have Perkins clearing space and doing the dirty work in the low post. Bosh and Bargs are not that kind of big man, which can be a matchup nightmare or a liablility depending on who you're playing.

What I meant was that the way they score is quite similiar although Garnett is obviously more skilled and excutes those shots much better. Turn-around jump-shot while posted up and beautiful two point range and ability to score down low (obviously Garnett own Bargs in this area majorly).

You're right, and I do really like Bargnani's game. I just think the Raps could use a stronger, meaner PF/C in ther arsenal to give the team a different look. It would compliment him well.