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A couple of caveats here
1. No one on the Raptors is going to be able to match up with KD. This is a given.
2. I am looking at this come next Feb - March when Davis has some NBA experience
3. Assume that Johnson can stay on the court for 30 plus minutes. Yea all Johnson fans can continue to dream Well it is off-season so why not.
PF - Johnson vs J. Green - Two young athletic guys who can run the court and defend. Green relies a lot on the three point shot for his offense. Johnson relies more on the pick and roll and post up game for his offense - Slight edge to the Johnson because he is a lot more efficient on offense
C - Davis vs N. Krstic - Nasty mean SOB European - Not much talent - Only still starting by default. Will Ubaka replace him as a starter before the end of 10-11? Davis- Unknown what he will do once the real season begins in October - However, we do know that he run, jump, is long. He can also defend, block shots and has a very nice developing mid range game beside what he can do around the rim on offense. - Edge Davis though not by much if we are talking Ubaka and not Krstic. If Krstic or even Mullins big edge Davis
SF - Wright vs KD - If anyone on the Raptors would have a chance to at least slow down KD a bit it is Wright - Big Edge KD obviously
SG - DeRozan vs Hardin - When DeRozan went up against Hardin in the NCAA; i.e. Trojans vs Sun Devils teams split the two games. DeRozan outscored Hardin 41 - 23 total in those two games. By next February if not even Nov - Edge DeRozan.
PG - Jack vs Westbrook - Westbrook is an excellent defender, extremely quick off of the dribble and can dish out the dimes. His mid and long range games are still a work in progress. Jack started one game last season vs the Thunder. Westbrook outscored him 14 - 11. Westbrook also had 10 dimes vs only 2 for Jack and doubled Jack's steal total of two - Big edge Westbrook
Off of the face of it it looks like a big good sized edge to the Thunder because of KD and Westbrook. Nothing new here.
However what I do find interesting is that I think Johnson, if he solves his foul problem, will become better than Green, DeRozan could become a lot better than Hardin and Davis will for sure become better than Krstic and probably even Ubaka to say nothing of that Mullins guy. So it looks like going forward that the Raptors could have the Thunder beaten by a good collective margin at three of the five starting positions.
Can Wright can develop into a decent scorer and a lock down defender at the #3? From what we have read coming out of New Orleans right now he plays fairly decently at the #4 and not so good at the #3. We will clearly know more about this by next spring. I am not looking for him to become a big time scorer but with his athleticism and the Raptors playing an up tempo type offense he become become decent enough on offense at the #3 especially if he can reach his potential as a lock down defender. If there is one position in the NBA where you want a lock down defender or close to it, it is the #3.
That leaves the PG position - We all know that the Raptors need to upgrade this position something awful. This by far is their current biggest need player personnel wise. Hopefully BC knows this and is trying to address it.
If there was a way to move Bargnani and or Calderon for a young top 10 NBA point guard I would do it in a second. If a trade can't be made to acquire the PG that the Raptors need to become a playoff team over the next 5 seasons then maybe BC can find one in the June 2011 draft.
1. No one on the Raptors is going to be able to match up with KD. This is a given.
2. I am looking at this come next Feb - March when Davis has some NBA experience
3. Assume that Johnson can stay on the court for 30 plus minutes. Yea all Johnson fans can continue to dream
Well it is off-season so why not.PF - Johnson vs J. Green - Two young athletic guys who can run the court and defend. Green relies a lot on the three point shot for his offense. Johnson relies more on the pick and roll and post up game for his offense - Slight edge to the Johnson because he is a lot more efficient on offense
C - Davis vs N. Krstic - Nasty mean SOB European - Not much talent - Only still starting by default. Will Ubaka replace him as a starter before the end of 10-11? Davis- Unknown what he will do once the real season begins in October - However, we do know that he run, jump, is long. He can also defend, block shots and has a very nice developing mid range game beside what he can do around the rim on offense. - Edge Davis though not by much if we are talking Ubaka and not Krstic. If Krstic or even Mullins big edge Davis
SF - Wright vs KD - If anyone on the Raptors would have a chance to at least slow down KD a bit it is Wright - Big Edge KD obviously
SG - DeRozan vs Hardin - When DeRozan went up against Hardin in the NCAA; i.e. Trojans vs Sun Devils teams split the two games. DeRozan outscored Hardin 41 - 23 total in those two games. By next February if not even Nov - Edge DeRozan.
PG - Jack vs Westbrook - Westbrook is an excellent defender, extremely quick off of the dribble and can dish out the dimes. His mid and long range games are still a work in progress. Jack started one game last season vs the Thunder. Westbrook outscored him 14 - 11. Westbrook also had 10 dimes vs only 2 for Jack and doubled Jack's steal total of two - Big edge Westbrook
Off of the face of it it looks like a big good sized edge to the Thunder because of KD and Westbrook. Nothing new here.
However what I do find interesting is that I think Johnson, if he solves his foul problem, will become better than Green, DeRozan could become a lot better than Hardin and Davis will for sure become better than Krstic and probably even Ubaka to say nothing of that Mullins guy. So it looks like going forward that the Raptors could have the Thunder beaten by a good collective margin at three of the five starting positions.
Can Wright can develop into a decent scorer and a lock down defender at the #3? From what we have read coming out of New Orleans right now he plays fairly decently at the #4 and not so good at the #3. We will clearly know more about this by next spring. I am not looking for him to become a big time scorer but with his athleticism and the Raptors playing an up tempo type offense he become become decent enough on offense at the #3 especially if he can reach his potential as a lock down defender. If there is one position in the NBA where you want a lock down defender or close to it, it is the #3.
That leaves the PG position - We all know that the Raptors need to upgrade this position something awful. This by far is their current biggest need player personnel wise. Hopefully BC knows this and is trying to address it.
If there was a way to move Bargnani and or Calderon for a young top 10 NBA point guard I would do it in a second.
If a trade can't be made to acquire the PG that the Raptors need to become a playoff team over the next 5 seasons then maybe BC can find one in the June 2011 draft.
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