A Contender

From Chuck's Blog.

ESPN's John Hollister:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"The Raptors didn't have a big reputation coming into the season, have only one household name in the lineup, and haven't been past the first round of the playoffs in half a decade. So what gives?

Here's the deal: They're a lot better than their record. As I keep saying, victory margin is a better indicator of future success than win-loss record, and the Raptors' average margin of plus-4.64 is better than that of the Mavs, Magic, Rockets, Warriors and Nuggets -- all of whom have better win-loss records.

Additionally, that number has ballooned of late. The Raptors haven't put together an impressive win streak, so they have slipped past everyone's attention -- the Raptors are a solid but hardly awe-inspiring 10-6 in their past 16 games.

But look closer and you'll see what an impressive stretch it's been. Five of the six losses were by five points or less, while eight of the 10 wins were by 17 or more; one of the two that wasn't was a 114-112 win in Boston that was the best shooting display a team has put on all season.

Let's put it more simply: The Raps aren't beating people, they're killing them. Toronto topped Milwaukee by 31, Washington by 39, Miami by 32, Minnesota by 23 and 22, New Jersey by 18, Orlando by 17, and New York by 23. In a 16-game stretch, half their games were blowout wins.

Sum it up and you'll see in that modest-looking 16-game stretch the Raptors are outscoring opponents by an impressive 10 points per game.

And although the Raps may seem short on star power, you might want to revisit that assumption. Check out what Chris Bosh has done lately -- he's risen to fifth in the league in player efficiency rating thanks to a huge two-month stretch. Since New Year's Day he's averaging 25.7 points per game and shooting 56.9 percent from the field.

Not much further down the list is Jose Calderon, who ranks 16th in PER thanks to his insanely high efficiency. I've already expounded on his unique combination of high assists, low turnovers and high-percentage shooting so I won't repeat myself here; suffice it to say that he's been far superior to several players with much greater reputations.

And although their supporting cast lacks stars, it also lacks duds. Everybody can shoot -- the Raps lead the league at 42.2 percent on 3-pointers -- and they have the second-lowest turnover rate in the league. So even though the Raptors attack doesn't seem that awe-inspiring, they're actually fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and first in the Eastern Conference.

And it gets better. With T.J. Ford back from injury, Toronto has a third dynamic offensive player to plug into the equation.

Yet despite their weapons, I don't see anybody taking this team seriously as a contender in the East. So I must report that they are, most definitely, a contender in the East. I still like Boston and Detroit's odds better, but if you're looking for a dark horse and thinking Cleveland, I'd suggest shifting your gaze further north."</div>

http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky

 

The Raptors, to some of the American media, are almost the situation of, if i can't see it its not there. Watching Inside the NBA last night gave me the impression that EJ sees the Raptors as a good team (promoting there potential match-up with Cleveland), but Kenny and Charles don't care, automatically giving it to Cleveland.
but
i love it, sleep on the Raptors, Please

 

snooze all ya want.

I did not know this team has the most efficient offense in the east. Ièm not ready to call this team a contender yet but that mostly has to do with being so green in the post season.