Luka’s Corner

In my opinion, Toronto was one of the NBA’s two Cinderella teams last season (along with Golden State), reaching the Playoffs with a 47-35 regular season record. Nobody expected a team with only one true star (Chris Bosh) to even contend for a division title, let alone reach the postseason, but they didn’t just contend for the Atlantic Division, they won it. At the end of the 07 season, Toronto had won the Atlantic by 6 games, proving that it was one of the best teams in the East. On top of that, during this offseason, Toronto has gotten even better. The Raps have added lethal shooter Jason Kapono of the Miami Heat and acquired the ultra-athletic forward Carlos Delfino from the Detroit Pistons (for two second-round draft picks). I think that both these deals will benefit the Raptors, but in different ways.

Kapono, the league-leader in 3-point FG% last season for the Heat (at 51.4%), will be looked upon to spread the floor for the other players and help develop Toronto into a three-point shooting threat. This addition will make it much easier for Bosh to dominate inside on a nightly basis, and will also create new driving lanes for T.J. Ford and Anthony Parker. Along with Andrea Bargnani and Parker, look for Toronto to become one of the league’s premier outside-shooting teams. I look for Kapono to maintain his solid stats from last season (expect 10.2 PPG and .478 from downtown). Delfino is a different kind of player from Kapono, with much more athletic ability and a habit to prosper in the open floor. He is a player that will benefit from Ford and Jose Calderon’s abilities to find the man running the court for an easy jam. The Argentinian did not have wonderful stats and did not receive much recognition in Detroit, but he is still one of the more underrated players in the NBA. Along with Bosh, he will help Toronto with its running game. With Delfino, I project stats of around 6.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG, along with around 1 steal per game, also. All in all, he should be having a much better season that in 07 (stat-wise, at least).

Toronto’s entire offensive scheme was designed around the multi-talented Chris Bosh, who is entering his 5th season in the league. He does a little bit of everything, with an ability to drive by and elevate over the defense, step out and hit the jumper, run the open floor, or simply find an open teammate. He is the reason why the Raptors reached the Playoffs last year, since he is unselfish and very passionate about the game itself. Along with Parker, CB4 was the team’s defensive stopper in the postseason, nearly averaging 2 blocks and 1 steal per. I think that Bosh will improve after his unsuccessful postseason experience last year, and will come into the 08 campaign very determined to get his team over the Playoff hump. Because of this, I expect his stats to be around 24.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 3.1 APG, along with 1.7 BPG and 1 SPG. If he does improve like this, expect Toronto to reach the Playoffs (and maybe even win the first round). Besides Bosh, the Raptors’ only other go-to-guy last season was Anthony Parker, the former EuroLeague MVP with Maccabi Tel Aviv. After arriving in the NBA from Israel last year, Parker went right to work. He developed his jump shot even more, making him a shooting threat (while knocking down 44% of his 3s). These two guys brought Toronto into the Playoffs last season and look to do the same (if not better) in the 08 campaign. The Raptors have a bright future with Bosh, Parker, and a young group of guys surrounding them.

Predicted lineup:

C-Andrea Bargnani, PF-Chris Bosh, SF-Jason Kapono, SG-Anthony Parker, PG-T.J. Ford

6th man-Jose Calderon, 7th man-Carlos Delfino, 8th man-Jorge Garbajosa

Predcited stat leaders:

Points-Chris Bosh (24.2 PPG)

Rebounds-Chris Bosh (9.5 RPG)

Assists-T.J. Ford (4.2 APG)

Blocks-Chris Bosh (2 BPG)

Steals-T.J. Ford (1.2 SPG)

Final Prediction: Toronto will make the Playoffs with a 43-39 record.

Philadelphia did not make any moves since draft night, when they acquired Jason Smith of Colorado State from the Miami Heat for Daequan Cook of Ohio State. That same night, the 76ers drafted the extremely athletic Thaddeus Young of Georgia Tech University at pick #12 in the 1st round. Young is a forward with an impressive jumping ability and is laterally quick on the court, but he is raw in most other areas. He can score on the fast break, but very rarely creates his own shot by beating a defender. It will take a few years for Young to be able to play in the NBA on a consistent basis, and the skill that needs the most work is his jump shot. He is not a skilled shooter, but if he develops a shot, then that will open up the game for him even more in the future. Smith, on the other hand, has a very different game from Thaddeus Young. He is a 7 ft. center who is fundamentally very strong, since he is able to hit the three-pointer consistently. Smith is also a very solid rebounder (averaged 10.1 RPG last season for CSU), and a hard worker. Unlike Young, though, he is not a great athlete and does not have the ability to rise up for thunderous dunks or swat a tremendous number of blocks. Instead, he is more of a classic center with good shooting ability.

Both of these draft picks should be very relevant in 76ers roster, receiving around 15-20 MPG each. I project Young’s stats to be around 8.6-8.8 PPG (mostly on the fast break) and around 4 RPG, since he will have to be a backup to Phili’s lone star, Andre Iguodala. Smith should have around 5.8 PPG and 6-6.2 RPG because he will have to be a backup to both Samuel Dalembert and Steven Hunter at the C position.

Of course, the main move for Phili (and the whole league) last year was the departure of Allen Iverson, one of the best players in 76ers history, to Denver. Everybody thought that Philadelphia would be even worse without AI (they were below .500 at the time), but they forgot about the other AI in Iguodala and Andre Miller, the player Phili got for Iverson.

Iguodala and Miller, along with the center Dalembert, lead Philadelphia to a record better than .500 since AI left. With Miller running the team, Iguodala running the floor, and Dalembert controlling the middle, Phili proved to be a team with great potential. Iguodala emerged as one of the best all-around players in the league last season, with a stat line of 18-6-6-2. On top of all that, Iggy is also one of the most explosive forwards in the league, with the ability to run the open floor and finish over defenders in the process. I expect his stats to actually get better in the 08 campaign: 18.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, and 2.2 SPG for the season. Miller, the starting PG, brought the team together with his consistent passing ability. He constantly found AI running the floor and Dalembert posting up, averaging 7.8 APG last year. I project Miller’s stats to stay around the same (at around 7.5 APG). Lastly, Dalembert was the post-up man who made it all happen for Phili. His confident rebounding made it possible for Miller to find Iguodala in the open floor and his unique shot-blocking intimidated opponents. Last year, he averaged 8.9 RPG and 1.9 BPG, and I expect the numbers to rise even more after his career season in 07. I expect 9.4 RPG and 2.1 BPG next year.

Pros:

-Philadelphia has a player to build around for the future in Iguodala. He is an explosive scorer, but also a good passer that makes his teammates better.

-The 76ers have the potential to become a very good defensive team. They have a consistent shot-blocking center in Dalembert, along with a forward with quick hands in Iguodala who is able to dominate a game defensively.

-Phili is becoming deeper and deeper with these recent draft additions. Young and Smith join a sub rotation that includes Kyle Korver, Steven Hunter, and Willie Green.

Cons:

-The 76ers are not the most efficient team on offense, considering that they only have one consistent offensive threat (Iguodala).

-Phili is not the most seasoned team, since none of its players have been an important part of a championshiop roster.

-Miller is reaching the end of his career (he is 31) and Phili will need to find a true PG to replace him when he retires. This will mean more rebuilding.

Predicted lineup:

C-Samuel Dalembert, PF-Shavlik Randolph, SF-Andre Iguodala, SG-Rodney Carney, PG-Andre Miller

6th man-Kyle Korver, 7th man-Steven Hunter, 8th man-Thaddeus Young

Predicted stat leaders:

Points-Andre Iguodala (18.8 PPG)

Rebounds-Samuel Dalembert (9.4 RPG)

Assists-Andre Miller (7.5 APG)

Blocks-Samuel Dalembert (2.1 BPG)

Steals-Andre Iguodala (2.2 SPG)

Final Prediction: Philadelphia will fall short of the Playoffs with a 34-48 record.

The Knicks made a splash on draft night when they acquired Zach Randolph, Fred Jones, and Dan Dickau from the Portland Trail Blazers. They definitely got the better of the trade, considering that they gave up only Channing Frye (unproven and inconsistent) and Steve Francis (past his prime and often injured). In Jones and Dickau, the Knicks received two solid guards that will take some of the pressure away from Stephon Marbury and Quentin Richardson. Jones can absolutely jump out of the gym, while Dickau is a confident backup ballhander. But, the real steal is Zach Randolph, who is coming off a career year in Portland. He averaged 23.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG, while also shooting 82% from the line (an impressive number for a PF). If Randolph can coexist successfully with the other Knick big man, Eddy Curry, the two will form a monster combination, since Curry himself averaged 19.5 PPG last season. The main question with Randolph is if he will be able to build on last year’s success in Portland or regress in a New York uniform (it has happened before to other stars). If the answer is the former, than we should see the Knicks in the Playoffs. If not, then this trade will turn out to be yet another miserable failure for the current New York management.

With the addiditon of Randolph, New York just became host to a respectable trio in Stephon Marbury at the PG, Zach Randolph at the PF, and Eddy Curry at the C. If Starbury can maintain his current scoring average of 16.4 PPG, his assists should rise to around the 6.2-6.4 range now with two big men down low to pass to, not only Curry. I expect Randolph’s numbers to stay around the same in 07-08, with a scoring average of 23.4 and rebounding numbers of around 9.8. He will not have as many rebounding opportunities as he did in Portland because of the presence of Curry, so the numbers will drop slightly, but I expect the points to stay around the same. Eddy Curry’s scoring should change for the worse, in my opinion, to around 17.8-18 PPG, but I believe that the rebounding will remain the same at around 7.2 (he is not a great rebounding C). Randolph will take away some of Curry’s looks because he is a bigger scoring threat.

The only problem with the trio is that none of them are known to be great defenders. Both Randolph and Curry’s block totals have been far from decent during their careers (for big men), while Marbury was never known for being a defensive point guard (averaged only 1 SPG last year). Nonetheless, I still think that New York will grow stronger with the Randolph addition and will be one of the forerunners (along with Boston and Toronto) for the Atlantic title.

Pros:

-The New York core of Marbury, Randolph, and Curry is relatively young and has plenty of good years in front of them (other than Marbury, who is 30).

-New York will turn into a more consistent offense with Randolph and Curry down low, Marbury at the point, and Q-Rich as an outside threat.

-Eddy Curry is one of the few centers in the league, and it will be much easier for the Knicks to win on a daily basis with a center down low to take the pressure away from the perimeter players

Cons:

-The New York defense is unproven, and nobody on the Knicks is known to be a stopper.

-The Knicks do not have a deep roster, especially if Jones starts at the SG spot over Quentin Richardson.

-Starbury is yet to show that he can handle the pressure of being a pass-first guard. If he does not become one soon, that will weaken the team (especially Randolph and Curry).

Predicted lineup:

C-Eddy Curry, PF-Zach Randolph, SF-David Lee, SG-Quentin Richardson, PG-Stephon Marbury

6th man-Jamal Crawford, 7th man-Nate Robinson, 8th man-Fred Jones

Predicted stat leaders:

Points-Zach Randolph (23.4 PPG)

Rebounds-Zach Randolph (9.8 RPG)

Assists-Stephon Marbury (6.4 APG)

Blocks-Eddy Curry (0.8 BPG)

Final Prediction: The Knicks will have a 44-38 season and will make the Playoffs.