Fantasy Basketball Preview: Toronto Raptors

Categorized as: Author: Erik, Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide 2010, Toronto Raptors
Posted on: September 22nd, 2010

I like the Toronto Raptors this year. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t like them from a fan’s point of view and am hoping they’ll win lots of games, which by the way is unlikely to happen, I like them from a fantasy basketball standpoint.

Sorry Toronto fans, but ever since these two guys left, things are looking like an uphill battle as far as collecting those sought after W’s are concerned.

The Raptors are now in a rebuilding phase. They’re counting on a nucleus of young players this season. These are players whose names you didn’t really pay much attention to in 12-man drafts in 2009-10. Weems, Jack DeRozan, Barbosa, Kleiza, and even Amir Johnson are all candidates to be viable late-round fantasy picks this year.

Depth Chart

PG Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks

SG DeMar DeRozan, Leandro Barbosa, Jarrett Jack

SF Linas Kleiza, Sonny Weems, Julian Wright

PF Amir Johnson, Reggie Evans, Ed Davis, Joey Dorsey

C  Andrea Bargnani. David Andersen

But as far as the early rounds of this season’s fantasy draft is concerned, there’s only really ONE name that rises to the top, Andrea Bargnani. Now whether he wants the responsibility or not, he has inherited the team from the now Miami bound, Chris Bosh and – well Hedo Turkoglu was never really present in Toronto anyway.

Frankly, you probably already saw that insight coming. I mean DIME has him slotted in as #29 in their Top 30 go-to players in 2010.

He will have to score more than just models and look all “GQ,” if the Raptors expect him to carry the bulk of the team’s point production needs.

Seriously, he does have game and I AM very high on him for this 2010 season. I think he’s ready to take his game to another level.

Here’s another video showing his form in the recently concluded World Championships, where he played for his homeland, Italy.

I found that through his personal website. Check it out.

Let’s talk numbers.

Here’s his line last year with Bosh and Turkoglu still in the mix:

80 Games; 35:00 MPG; 17.2 PPG; 1.5 3PTM (37.2 3PT%); 6.2 RPG ; 1.2 APG;  0.3 SPG; 1.4 BPG; 47.0 FG% (6.7 -14.3); 77.4 FT% (2.3-2.9); 1.5 TO.

Here’s what personally project him to deliver in 2010:

21-22 PPG – The offense will be revolving around him

6.5-7.0 RPG – Slight increase, more would be a welcome surprise, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

1.8 APG – Since he will be a target, he will have to learn to share the rock to alleviate some of the pressure.

1.5 BPG – You can’t teach seven feet baby.

2.0 TO – The added pressure and defensive focus on him should translate into more errors.

All the rest should remain close to last season’s averages. Well he should also probably be expected to go to the line more since he will get fouled a lot more. Five to six attempts per night sounds right. He should still be shooting in the high 70′s to low 80′s as far as charity stripe conversion percentages are concerned.

He does bring a unique spread to the fantasy table. Not since vintage, ’07-’08 Rasheed Wallace, have we seen an F/C-eligible player potentially post averages of 1.5 treys and blocks per game at 2.0 TOs or less.

Jose Calderon – After Bargnani, the draft feels like slim pickings as far as collecting Raptors are concerned. Based on current average draft position (ADP), Calderon is clocking in at about 103rd.* That’s a long drop off after Bargnani at 29th overall. Jose was one of last season’s biggest disappointments. Being relegated to the bench behind Jarrett Jack after suffering an injury did not help his fantasy value one bit. He’s still currently recovering from a hamstring injury that recently prevented him from representing his home country of Spain in the recently concluded Basketball World Championships. So it isn’t too hard to believe why Calderon is getting a lot of downgrades. He’s been shopped around by Toronto in the off-season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get traded before the deadline.

News as of Sept. 19, 2010, has Calderon ready to start training camp.

*ADP info c/o our friends at Busersports.com

Ed Davis – He was drafted by the Raptors 13th overall in the recently concluded draft. He recently underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.

Jarrett Jack – He deserves another shot at the Raps’ starting PG spot. If Calderon has more issues with his hamstring, or is traded, expect Jack’s stock to rise considerably. He shot well from the field last season (48.1%) and was able to average about five dimes a night. He is capable of tacking on a steal and a trey per night to those numbers. Do not play a “wait and see” game with this guy. It’s doubtful he will remain undrafted in a 12-man league. Even if most of the depth charts around the Net have Jack backing up Calderon, it won’t be a surprise at all if Jarrett performs well enough to take that starting gig away.

Leandro Barbosa – He arrived in Toronto via a trade with the Phoenix Suns that sent Turkoglu Westward. Barbosa’s intriguing because he brings to the table something that Raptors desperately need, scoring ability. He was a solid fantasy asset back in ’07-’08. He’s insanely fast and remains as an honorable mention on DIME’s Top 10 fastest players in the NBA in 2010. FYI, Barbosa was once in atop that same list, just two years ago. They don’t call him “the Brazilian Blur,” for nothing.

Aside from being fast, he’s also good with lobbing those long bombs from beyond the arc. He averaged 2.0 a game, in 2007-08. He’s a potential sleeper this season, especially if he regains some of that old form from his healthy, Phoenix days.

Here’s a welcome video for Barbosa by a Raptors fan:

Linas Kleiza – As far as Toronto’s starting five is concerned, Kleiza looks like the front runner to becoming Bargnani’s main help as far as scoring is concerned. HE recently led his home nation of Lithuania to an 8-1 record and a third place finish in Turkey. He was originally expected to play a sixth man’s role, while the Raptors were going after Charlotte’s Boris Diaw. Clearly, things have now changed and he is the team’s probable starter at SF.

I know this is while he was in Olympiakos, but 19 points in six minutes is pretty good.

If you’re interested in NBA play, here’s a throwback to his route to a 41-point career high game versus the Utah Jazz, back in 2008. Not many players can boast of having 41 points as their career high in scoring in the NBA. Even fewer can say they did it against the Utah Jazz.

In case you haven’t noticed yet, his main benefit in fantasy will be his three-point shooting. I wouldn’t be surprised if he averages at least 2.5 treys per game this season. I wouldn’t sleep on Linas if I were you.

Amir Johnson – He will be an interesting experiment to see what would happen if you gave a guy with one of the best player efficiency ratings (PER), a lot more minutes. As far as PER is concerned, Johnson has unique company. Just in case you’re not into reading into PER, Toronto’s lack of front court depth will assure that Johnson has many opportunities to log those rebounds and blocks at low turnovers.

Sonny Weems – Hoopsworld had cool interview with Weems recently. Raptors Republic then followed up that said interview with some of their analysis. Watch out world! He’s athletic, motivated, and currently working his butt off to improve his game. He will have to contend with Kleiza as far as minutes at the three is concerned.

You’re probably all videoed out at this point, so for your GMTR guidance:

Andrea Bargnani - Round 3

Jarrett Jack – Round 9

Leandro Barbosa - Round 9

Jose Calderon - Round 10

Linas Kleiza - Round 11

Amir Johnson - Last Round

DeMar DeRozan – Watchlist

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Tags: Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, Jarrett Jack, Jose Calderon, Linas Kleiza