Looking at the New Look DeRozan

It's about time.

After 21 games of mediocrity and defensive ineptitude,  DeMar DeRozan has returned to bring the Raptors back to being a powerhouse in the East. In his first game back, albeit against the 76ers, DD paced the Raps with 20 EFFICIENT points,  4 rebounds and 3 assists, while that last number could've been much higher if the team was making shots. As mentioned before,  this was against the 76ers, who have about as much D as the Knicks if they all had broken legs, but you will always take a 20-4-3 game coming off of an injury and playing only 25 minutes. However, what impressed me about DeRozan's game even more than the numbers is the calmness he played with.  Everything he did seemed to be smooth and under control,  forcing absolutely none of his shots. This was a problem that has plagued DD over his career,  occasionally he would try to play hero-ball and it would lead to some inefficient games. However,  new-DeRozan was calm, poised and really promising. If this is truly how DeMar will play from now on, I have to say that maybe this injury, the adversity he faced and the extra time with the coaches was the best thing that could've happened to him. It wasn't a pretty couple of weeks,  but this experience,  not only for DeMar but also for the team will pay huge dividends in the end. The next game against the Hawks will be a great indication as to which DeRozan we will be getting from now on, or if this efficient game was just a product of playing against a bad team.

Potential Trade Targets the Raptors Should Consider

With the Grizzlies, Celtics, Cavs, Suns, Thunder and Knicks all making deals recently, we are officially in trading season in the NBA. At this point, we know alot about which teams are sellers and which are buyers. With that in mind, I began thinking of players I would like to see in a Raptors uniform and are obtainable. Heres a couple of ESPN Trade Machine accepted trades that I believe would benefit both sides.

Landry Fields, 2nd Rd Pick to Denver for Wilson Chandler
Despite having a goldmine of solid role players and a star point guard in Ty Lawson, the Denver Nuggets are a team that is clearly a seller this year. While Wilson Chandler isn't much more than a 3 and D guy, he is a clear improvement in the starting lineup over Terrence Ross and on a relatively good deal over two years. He is an unselfish player that I believe could have a huge benefit from playing in Toronto, a team quickly becoming one of the best player environments in the league. If you're Denver, you would love to get an expiring deal and a pick for Chandler, as he is simply a role player that isn't gonna push Denver over the top. Masai also has a great relationship with Denver, and could use that to persuade them into giving up Chandler.

Landry Fields, Tyler Hansbrough, 1st Rd Pick to Indiana for David West
This trade depends completely on Indiana. If they decide that they want to tank the rest of the season to get a star to get another star to put next to Paul George and Roy Hibbert, than Indiana would take this in a heartbeat. Two expiring deals and a first rounder for West would be great value and would allow them to even sign someone else in the offseason. Meanwhile for Toronto, they would get a battle-tested starting power forward over the next two years who has loads of playoff experience. He is a great mid range shooter, strong defender and a leader on the floor. He is very similar to Amir Johnson, except he is much better offensively. Amir and 2Pat would still get their minutes, mostly at center for Amir, and the Raptors would definitely improve overall. However, if Indiana refuses to tank, there is no way they give up their emotional leader.

Of course there are many other options the Raptors could explore, and I'm sure Masai is exploring right now, but these are a few options that I think would really help us. And to everyone overreacting about the recent losing streak, claiming that that Ross needs to go, Jonas needs to go, Dwane Casey can't coach and Lou Williams is terrible, you guys need to calm down. This is almost 100% the worst it's going to get over the rest of the season, and most of our issues, especially defensively, will correct themselves now that DeRozan is back. However, in order to compete, we need to add a couple more complementary pieces to fit our team needs. In the meantime, don't be mad about what we have and appreciate what is, quite possible, the best Raptors team to ever take the court.

Should We Be Concerned With Greivis Vasquez Struggles

With all the positives the Raps have had so far, there have been very few weak spots this season. However, if we had to point to one thing, it would be the play of backup point guard Greivis Vasquez. Despite still putting up decent numbers, he has been incredibly inefficient this year. His ridiculous turnovers and missing wide open shots have left Raps fans shaking our heads at times. But, to be honest, what did we expect? GV has never been a consistent player, and he'll have stretches during the game where you love him, but overall has been a negative. If history repeats itself, General Greivis will have a big time run that reminds us why he can be a starter in this league. We just have to hope that this run comes in the playoffs, where he was so effective last year.

What's Next For Dwane Casey After Coach of the Month

For the second time in two years, Dwane Casey was named coach of the month, and rightfully so. The Raps have been the best team in the East so far this season and have been one of, if not the best up and coming team in the league. And Casey deserves just as much credit for that as anyone else. His defence first mindset has been visibly instilled in his players and they buy in to everything he says.

However, now comes Casey's first major test of the year.

Dwane Casey's challenge is to find a way to win without DeMar DeRozan. With the Raptors star out for at least a month, Dwane will need to get the most out of his other players, especially third years T Ross and JV. He will also need to find a lineup that works and find a way to balance DeRozan's minutes among the rest of the team. This could be a much harder task than it seems, even with the depth of this team.

If the Raps can maintain the lead in the East even without their All Star, then Casey will have just officially thrown his name into the Coach of the Year race. If not, it's not the end of the world, however this is still a great chance for others to step up and prove how much depth this team has.

How The Raptors Can Turn The DeRozan Injury Into a Positive

It's never good to see one of your players get injured. It's especially unfortunate when that player happens to be the only All-Star on your roster. DeMar DeRozan's injury came as a surprise to everyone, considering he has been one of the most durable players in the NBA over his career. As he fell to the ground kicking the floor, many fans began to expect the worst and rightfully so, as it did not look good.

Luckily for us fans, he will be back.

However, we will have to deal with at least 4 weeks, and up to 3 months according to some reports, with no DeRozan. That means losing a 20 PPG scorer who is elite at drawing fouls and a very steady ball handler. He also drew double teams in every game, leaving other players open for easy shots.

Sure, an injury to arguably the best player on the roster is never good, but it doesn't have to be all negative. Injuries are the best way to give players with a smaller role a better chance to contribute. Perhaps if we could get them going, you can build their confidence to the point that they can keep up their production, even when DeRozan comes back. If you haven't realised yet, the players I'm taking about are Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas The two third year players have yet to break out into the elite players they have the potential to become. Both players have shown glimpses, but have yet to show the aggressiveness needed to be elite. They are both too willing to let Lowry and DeRozan do all the work. However, with DeRozan out and Lowry likely to draw more double teams without him, Ross and Valanciunas are going to be forced into bigger roles. Ross will get more opportunities to shoot and be involved in the offence. Valanciunas will get plenty of post up opportunities and will need to be a much bigger force consistently on the glass and on defence. We know both of these guys can step it up at any time, but we've never needed them to step up as much as we do now.

So really, this injury could end up being a blessing in disguise if one of these guys (or both, of course) can step up and become a legit 3rd wheel for the Raptors offensively. This will also give us a much better look at what these guys can do when they are more involved, and we can get the best judge of their true potential in their 3rd year. It's up to them to keep the Raptors at the top while DeRozan recovers.

Lou Williams Wins Eastern Conference Player of the Week

SWEET LOU!

Raptors bench guard Lou Williams became the 6th Raptor to win the Eastern Conference player of the week award this week, averaging 23.7 points and 2.0 steals while setting a career high with his 36 point night against the Cavaliers on Saturday. A well deserved award, considering he did this while averaging less than 25 minutes per game. Dwayne Casey, a man who could be looking at Coach of the Month this month, also has plaised Lou's defence, saying that he wouldn't be able to keep him out there if it wasn't for his improvements defensively. All to say it was a great week for the Raptors 6th man, and a great week for the Raptors who went 3-0 on the week. GO RAPS!

Are The Raptors a Legit 1st Place Team?

Twelve games into the season, with a huge Eastern Conference battle tonight against the Cavaliers, the Raptors now see themselves at 10-2 and top in the East. Despite a relatively soft schedule, they have won key games against the Grizzlies and Wizards and they have taken care of the games that they needed to. This is a team that was considered a third wheel in the East behind the Bulls and the Cavs. But can the Raps keep up with this pace?

Offense:
It's no secret that the Raps offense revolves around their perimeter. The backcourt of Lowry and Derozan have been very good this season, and the shooting of Terrence Ross has been critical for floor spacing. However, the Raptors have a 7 foot offensive weapon that is being relatively unused that goes by the name of Jonas Valanciunas. JV spent the summer working with Hakeem, and it has clearly showed with his offensive footwork. However, the Raptors still have not unleashed the big Lithuanian. He has improved recently, but there are matchups that should be taken advantage of that they refuse to. Overall, however, their offense has been spectacular, and certainly able to maintain their 1st place standing, however their is still room for improvement that could put them into championship contention.

Defense:
Even when Dwayne Casey was a hated figure by Raptors fans, he was still regarded as a good defensive coach. The difference now is that he now has a group of players that have bought into his system, turning this team into a defensive force. Kyle Lowry is an elite defender at PG, Jonas has shown improvement as a rim protector, Amir is a defensive anchor at PF and new addition James Johnson has been the best defender on the team and a guy that can defender bigger wings, such as Joe Johnson or Lebron, something the Raps have lacked in last year's playoffs. With both the interior development of Jonas and the signing of JJ, their defense is even better than last year when the finished in the Top 10 in overall defense. This defense is legit and, as long as Casey remains coach, they will stay legit.

Overall:
With the balance of an elite offense and defense, the Raptors have the potential to be a Top 5 team in both categories. This pretty much guarantees a Top 2 seed in the East. With the struggles of the Cavs this season and the health uncertainty of the Bulls, it would not be surprising to see the Raps take the top seed. Today's game against Cleveland is a great chance to put them even more in the hole, while growing their lead on the rest of the East. This team is for real, you better get used to it.