After last seasons playoff appearance, and rushing off to 47 wins, I believe that the Raptors will be able to once again win the division this year, and make the second round of the playoffs. In the end, it will come down to New Jersey against Toronto in my opinion, for who makes it out of this division in first place and gets a higher playoff seed, and to me, I now believe it will be Toronto. First and foremost I want to use the fact, that the Raptors have a stud young big man on the court. Someone that is a very capable 24 point, 11 rebound or more per game player. He is the best rebounder in this division, as well as the best scorer from the big man spot. He can score from everywhere, and use every move. Back to the basket moves on the block, he can hit shots from 18 feet out, and he can create his own offense off the dribble. I always like to give the edge to the teams that run their offense through their big men, as the team with the best big men seem to always do better, and that's what the Raptors have superiority over the rest of the division in. They have the best young big man in the game.Also, the emergence of Andrea Bargnani over the course of last season, which eventually saw him playing very well down the stretch should translate over to this season. He got used to the physical part of the NBA game compared to the leagues he used to be in, and started being able to handle the pressure alot better. This season, we will see his rebounding and low post improve, with him getting better and more comfortable on the block. He won't be pushed around this season like he was last season, and that will most certainly help out with this team being even better than this past season. I also love the superior depth of this team, as that was often times a strength last season. With possibly the best backup point guard in the league in Calderon, backing up one of the best playmaking point guards in the league, they can dominate a point guard matchup. Carlos Delfino will be bring some toughness, and a decent jump shot. Jason Kapono brings a solid three point shot, that will help make Calderon and TJ Ford's jobs easier. They will have someone to hit on the kick out, that will make shots consistently. Rasho as a backup center will be good. He has playoff experience, can play solid man to man defense down low, and won't mess up to bad. He has won a title, and that will be where he is most valuable in my eyes. Mentoring the young. So I will take the superior play of the bigs for this team, the fact that Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani will only improve this season from last, and the superior depth to anything else that the rest of the division can bring to the table. They are my favorite to make it to the second round of the playoffs, and win the division this upcoming year.
