The Star Together they would be an amazing hybrid, experienced and athletic with solid offensive range and some nights Sam Mitchell must lay awake dreaming of the possibilities. He'd take Aaron Williams and his two appearances in the NBA Finals, meld it with the 7-2 shot-blocking frame of Loren Woods and the 15-foot jump shot range of Rafael Araujo and ? finally ? he'd have a centre he could use. But those are dreams and the NBA is reality and the reality is Mitchell has to choose between three tremendously flawed players when it comes time to make a decision on who starts and who finishes in the middle for the Raptors this season. It is not an easy decision, not one Mitchell is ready to make any time soon. "The position is wide open," Mitchell said yesterday. "We've got three guys that play it. It's up to them, I'm not going to decide who is starting, they are. "We'll try to give them equal minutes and see who does the best job. It's not just going to be predicated on what they do, it's how (the team plays with them). We don't necessarily need a lot of points from that position; we need defence and rebounding from that position. Those are the two main things I'm focusing on from that position." But from whom? The flaws with each are glaring. Araujo was a washout as a rookie, foul-prone, too slow, too unable to grasp the nuances of NBA defence or offence, unable to adapt to a game that was too fast for him.Woods is the most infuriating, and most complex. He would seem to possess all the physical skills necessary to be an NBA centre, he's big and long, can block shots and run the floor. But something in his mind, lacks of confidence, a lack of concentration, have never let him become even a regular with any team he's been on. It is confounding to fans and teammates and coaches and even to Woods himself. "It's really going to be how consistent can I be," he said of the key to him getting some playing time. "That's always been my biggest problem since I've been in the league. Woods began as the team's starting centre and while didn't shine, he didn't stink and that's about all he was asked to do. But sometime near the middle of the season, Mitchell felt compelled to give Araujo his chance and Woods found himself buried on the end of the bench. Mitchell relented ? well after it became apparent Araujo wasn't the answer ? and Woods started again until an injury ended his season with about five weeks to go. The Raptors desperately need someone to emerge from the three-man race if for no other reason than to ease the load on Chris Bosh. That's where either Woods, Araujo or Williams come in. If one of them can give Toronto even 24 minutes a game, both the power forwards will be fresh. "I think our team will be much better without Chris playing the centre," said Woods. "He's definitely a lot of problems for most of the (power forwards) in he league with his quickness and his athleticism. Source
