Official Toronto Raptors Thread.

[Its_asdf]

I don't see the new jersey's on Raptors.com...

It looks kind of Miami Heatish to me.

[cyanide]

Here's one:

Seriously though, I don't even know if that's considered "new."

[Its_asdf]

If you saw the video, you saw for a brief second a home jersey with red stripes on the side instead of purple. I think.

[Raps13]

EA leaked the new jersey's in one of their preview videos for 07, kind of what was expected but still nice to see, not very clear though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls30cnCan_E


about 36 seconds in

you see the new jersey on raptors.com from the signings and stuff

no you don't you tool


Now there really isnt much difference, pretty much just switched the purple to red but still nice to see something "fresh"

[DavidLin]

hope the raptors can give us something new...they HAVE TO improve their defense, that means they should get or sign a better defender...actually, they had so much chances to get in the playoffs, but their poor defense made it difficult, and then impossible.

[ThaLiveKing]

They are still not a good defending team, maybe a little bit better!! I could be wrong. I still see little D on this team

And it's about Time they get rid of those purple jerseys. The red ones are the best jerseys they've had. . so why not make those the official jerseys

[iKe7in]

They are the official jerseys. Did you watch them play last year?

[afgshady]

http://www.nba.com/raptors/schedule/


wow wer are opening the season vs carter and the nets. i would love it if they kill vince and the nets

[hipn]

Home opener against the Bucks!! I would really want to go to that game, but... meh mabe I might. I hope they don't show it exclusivly for Raptors TV.

[jerry]

Home opener against the Bucks!! I would really want to go to that game, but... meh mabe I might. I hope they don't show it exclusivly for Raptors TV.

yea i wanna watch it on thescore or tsn

[Username123]

Home opener against the Bucks!! I would really want to go to that game, but... meh mabe I might. I hope they don't show it exclusivly for Raptors TV.

yea i wanna watch it on thescore or tsn

Basic Cable

[jerry]

basic cable is rogers sportsnet
i have bell expressvu

[hipn]

Damn you all! I only have Full Cable, so around 70-80 channels, and DAMN!

How much is the box thing and all those channels if I already have Rogers High Speed Internet?

[iKe7in]

For Rogers Digital Cable, I think I pay $9 a month to rent the box and $20 a month for the Super Sports Pack which includes NHL Centre Ice, NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings, plus coverage of all NCAA, Nascar and some bosxing events. It also includes about 40 regular sports channels, like LeafsTV, RaptorsTV, ESPN Classic Canada, the NFL Network, the NHL Network, all four Sportsnets, TSN, The Score, OLN, and about a dozen more but I don't watch much of them.

Raptors TV isn't as developed as LeafsTV, but its pretty good. If you miss a game you can always watch it later that night in a condensed hour version. They show a bunch of out of market games, some WNBA games, a bunch of Euroleague games, Summer League games, Raptors games from previous seasons, and a lot of NBATV coverage.

It is expensive, but its defintiely worth it.

[cyanide]

Bell ExpressVu is awesome. The price here for ExpressVu is comparable with Shaw cable, and you get tons of sport packages.

[Cable]

Is it Rogers you can get? I get Cogeco in Burlington, and Oakville has Cogeco too, I know certain areas only get certain cable companies. If you can, get digital cable, I think it may be cheaper.

[hipn]

Does digital cable require a TV that has progressive scaning or anything? Becuase I only have a standard Tube TV.

[[L3]1101]

no i don't think digital cable require any special typ of TV. A normal tube tv would still be able to view it. My friend has Shaw digital tv, and he just has a normal tube tv.

[Ruff Ryder]

Did anybody besides me really like the concept of the purple and black jerseys? lol, I feel like a sore thumb.

[iKe7in]

Watching one of Bargnani's games from the Italian League Championships on RaptorsTV right now.

All I can say is

This guy is actually a good defender, and is showing some awesome post moves in this game. On the offensive end, he starts outside sometimes and has shown he can drive through traffic, and on the defensive end he's been picking up rebounds, boxing out well, rotates well and gets good body position.

I realize the level of competition isn't as high, but this guy is dominating. He was going up against Dalibor Bargaric, a former Chicago Bull, and as strong as that guy is inside, Bargnani is pushing him around on one end, and then defending 6'6 guards on the other end. By the end of the first quarter, he has four blocks.

And I'm really surprised how this guy can take over games for long stretches, and in a championship series too.

I know the "Magician" doesn't need any extra hype, but I really like this guy.

[ThaLiveKing]

^^ He's a good Defender lol, Bargnani almost broke his ankles trying to guard some Small Forward!! I was gonna laugh my ass off if he fell

[cyanide]

He's not great at the defensive stance and mobility against quicker forwards at this stage, but the one thing about his defensive abilities that impresses me is his timing for blocks. He's very good at knowing when to jump, and that should only improve. I hope he can adapt a Kirilenko-like defense one of these days, but that's only wishful thinking.

I'm hoping he'll develop more post moves. I read that he has a wide array of moves, and I'm hoping he'll utilize more of them this season. If he can screw people over with Olajuwon-like moves instead of using his strength, then he's gonna do well. The Olajuwon reference was only wishful thinking, btw.

At least he has a quick release from three point range at seven feet tall

[hipn]

Bargs is nto a great defender, and also, he lacks the rebounding skills.

Also:

[cyanide]

There's every reason to be excited this season.

I was just looking at the lineups, and not only do the Raptors have a fast, athletic bunch, they also have a bench. This is the projected starting lineup:

C - Rasho
PF - Bosh
SF - MoPete
SG - Jones
PG - Ford

While it makes more sense for Parker to be starting, I'll explain why this lineup would work well. Ford is one of the quickest and fastest players in the league. He also has one hell of a vertical, and he can pass. This would mean lots of fastbreaks for Jones, MoPete, and even Bosh if he gets back on offense fast enough. Jones is the obvious choice for a finisher, given his dunking and athleticism. On a half-court play, Ford would make it easier to find MoPete in the corner for a three, or just kick it to Bosh who has the option of doing the same thing, or getting points with his post moves. The frontcourt of Bosh and Rasho on defense would make it fairly difficult for teams, given those two can block fairly well. MoPete is a good stopper, but I hope they can play team defense better than on individual defense.

Onto the second squad: the Europeans.

C - Bargnani
PF - Garbajosa
SF - Tucker/Graham
SG - Parker
PG - Calderon

This is a fast and versatile bunch. Calderon, like TJ, is fast and is definitely a pass-first point guard that would be awesome for Parker, Tucker/Graham and Bargnani as finishers on the fast-break. On halfcourt plays, this is where the versatility comes in. Bargs and Garbajosa are players that can work the post game or go outside and hit the long range shots.

If they can play a run-and-gun style a la Phoenix, they'll be putting up a lot of points. I know Mitchell wanted that style when he first coached the Raptors.

The only glaring weakness are their overall defense and rebounding. If the team can play together as a team instead of five guys on the court, then they can make up for their weaknesses.

One major question mark would be how good are the new guys, and would this team have chemistry? We'll find out.

[jerry]

yes we will find out and i cant wait