Tricky cuts

Someone on the current Raptors squad isn't going to make it to the regular season. Its sad, but its the rules. Before training camp began I was sure that the cutee(I don't think that's a word, but it works for me) would be one of, Jamario Moon, Luke Jackson or Derrick Martin, with Juan Dixon being a long shot. After these last few preseason games, I have to admit that I have no idea.

Juan Dixon has been shooting very well coming off the bench, which is exactly what he's supposed to do. So I'm pretty such he's a lock to make the team

Luke Jackson and Jamario Moon are both fairly young players with the potential to be quality role players for Toronto for a long time... And neither of them are likely to cost much. That leaves Derrick Martin.

While he certainly isn't going to get any better and right now he's little more than a tutor for Toronto's young PG tandem, I don't think they want to get rid of him either. His mentoring has been very valuable to both Ford and Calderon and is a big reason why they both improved dramatically last year. While the Raptors could instead try to keep Martin on as a coach this year, his relationship with the other two point guard would likely suffer and if either of them get injured Martin can still be a reasonably effective backup PG.

So where does this leave us? To my surprise the player who seems to have performed the most poorly and who really doesn't seem to be getting much burn is Maceo Baston. Really the Raptors don't need him and at his age his is unlikely to be a part of their long term plan. However, I can't see them simply giving up on a guy they just agreed to pay a couple of a million dollars to, without at least giving him some time in the regular season to prove himself. On the other hand, they won't lose much if they do

So who gets cut... Only time will tell, but my money is on Moon or Martin. Mostly because they are the only two in camp without a guaranteed contract.

Thoughts on Raptors preseason

So much for posting more frequently... but I am back again.

The Raptors preseason is half over and we've had a chance to kinda see how the new players are fitting in. Yesterdays game seemed to be a step in the right direction, but they still have a lot of work to do if they're going to repeat as division champs.

Things I like

They finally look like they're learning to rebound. Out-rebounding 47-43 Zalgiris without Bosh in the lineup is a definate positive.

Despite shooting only 20% from three point range they still managed to put up 105 points, a lot of which came from the charity strip. Its good to see that kind of aggresiveness in attacking the basket.

They have gotten back to the team scoring that made them one of the more efficient offenses last year. Six players were in double figures and no one scored more than 13 points.

T.J. Ford seems determined to prove that he can be an all-star and the way he's playing he might be right.

Things I don't like

Bosh is hurt. Why does Toronto always seem to get injury prone stars?

Garbajosa might have come back too early from his injury. He certainly looks like his injury is bothering him. How long until he regains last years form? or did he screw himselft permanently?