Toronto Raptors Northbound, Headed South

2010 has been on the minds of NBA fans for more than three years, especially with the likes of Chris Bosh's options being of primary focus for Toronto Raptors fans, and the Raptors played the 2008-2009 season like their attention was definitely elsewhere. With the point guard controversy being settled with former starting point guard T.J. Ford jettisoned to the Indiana Pacers, in favor of Spaniard Jose Calderon, the Raptors really had no reason to be outmatched. 49 losses for the year said otherwise.

One problem was the fact that the team basically stayed the same from the previous year, having started the '09 season with a much improved Eastern Conference, with the Cleveland Cavs, Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics all having showed an unusual amount of supremacy in the league. Another was the chafing that the team endured under head coach Sam Mitchell, who did not coach the team to its strength as a more uptempo, jump-shooting team, and he was fired and replaced by an assistant coach, Jay Triano. The wing positions also weren't as strong as Anthony Parker became a year older as a 33-year-old starter at shooting guard and with Jason Kapono receiving less minutes to bomb away from the three-point line; but these are only the tip of the iceberg.

Aside from the aforementioned, incorporating Jermaine O'Neal at the beginning of the season was an adjustment because Bosh was used to operating as really the only skilled big man near the basket, and O'Neal was trying to pick up some slack after having been injured for the previous two seasons. O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in the middle of the season for malcontent All-Star forward Shawn Marion, but that didn't help things. Also, a lingering issue ever since the 2006-2007 season was the role that former No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani would play--or more specifically, what position. When Mitchell was the head coach, one problem with his coaching strategy came when he often chastized Bargnani for not playing like a traditional American center, even though the seven-foot Italian was drafted based on his strong skill set as a small forward. Bargnani gained and lost his confidence so often that the Raptors were uncertain how to make him a proper compliment to Bosh entering in the 2009 season, and because of that, the Raptors were not able to capitalize.

While the Raptors have had a weak bench, the one underlying issue that most people (outside of ESPN's Bill Simmons) have ignored or haven't admitted is that aside from ill-fated coaching, Bosh may have reached his apex as a player. This is not to say that Bosh isn't capable of improving, but based on his career arc and his style of play and his overall body of work as a NBA All-Star, Bosh is more of a second-tier star talent than an alpha-dog superstar talent. With 2010 being a focused subject of many minds concerning the league, his name has been mentioned in the same category of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as 2003 super-talents; while Bosh is a special and very productive player as a scorer, rebounder and overall defender, one of the reasons that the Raptors have not become more than a first-round team in the NBA Playoffs is because Bosh does not necessarily change the profile of the team or elevate the play of others around him. His build allows him only so much in the form of production and his overall skill set as a power forward is good, but does not alter an opposing team's strategy like Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard or Stoudemire might; and so, Toronto goes really only as far as he does.

While the Raptors finished with 33 wins and clearly had a disappointing season, Toronto's base is still intact, and it can be rebuilt upon to win with better coaching and team play, a better bench, a true commitment and clarity for Bargnani as a principal forward, and another strong talent that can boost the already effective Bosh.