With 2014 nearly done, it’s as good a time as any to look ahead and make some resolutions for the Raptor players.
BRUNO CABOCLO
Bruno has been mostly a non-entity this season. He’s made cameos in just three games this season, with mixed results. And now he’s made his first trip to the D-League.
This is actually good news, and I wonder why it took this long to send him down there. While it’s no doubt been a great experience for him to have a front row seat to the best players in the world, he needs to actually play to make the strides he needs to make.
His first game in the D-League was similar to his NBA games, but just longer. A mix of potential and rawness/inexperience.
Bruno needs to take advantage of his time in the D-League and make the improvements he needs to make.
DeMAR DeROZAN
The Raptors are 11-4 since DeRozan went down with his injury, thanks in large part to their six game win streak over some of the basements dwellers of the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean the Raptors don’t need him back as soon as possible. The Raptors have lost two of three against Cleveland and two of two games against Chicago, the two teams most feel will have the best chance at making it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The adductor longus muscle is not one that heals quickly and could linger for months after DeRozan comes back. He needs to be careful when he returns and brought back slowly, or else he could re-injure it and be back on the disabled list.
LANDRY FIELDS
Sometimes one player’s misfortune is another player’s fortune, and that’s the case with Fields. The hole DeRozan’s injury caused made Dwane Casey scramble and eventually remember Landry Fields was on the roster. While he’s yet to regain his shooting form from before his wrist injury nearly destroyed his career, Fields brings other very valuable skills that can help a team. And Fields has learned not to shoot unless he’s a few feet from the basket, and he’s actually shooting a career high within three feet of the hoop.
Smart players learn to adjust, and Fields is a smart player.
Fields needs to make the most of his chance and return from his concussion quickly. Fields will help the team in the long run and Casey needs to make sure not to forget him when DeRozan returns.
TYLER HANSBROUGH
Hansbrough was a fan favourite from the moment he took the floor for Toronto. While he didn’t play a lot of minutes last year, he was often an important player at key moments. This season, however, he has seen the floor even less and could end up being pushed farther down the bench if he’s not careful.
He’s still banging and playing hard, but he’s become ineffective offensively, scoring a career low, and his PER is an embarrassingly low 9.4.
Hansbrough is in the final year of his contract and if he wants to re-sign, and contribute to the team during the playoffs, he needs to turn things around, and fairly quickly.
CHUCK HAYES
Hayes has played even less than Hansbrough has, but has been more productive in limited minutes. He’s not the offensive rebounder that Hansbrough is, but he’s a better defensive player, passer and more efficient scorer.
Hayes, the sixth highest paid player on the team this season, needs to bribe Casey with some of that money to earn some playing time, or else he won’t make anywhere close to that amount when his contract expires this summer.
AMIR JOHNSON
Statistically, Amir is having a typical season. But his one problem, apart from his atypical poor free throw shooting, is his inconsistency. Amir is one of the most valuable Raptors, but if the Raptors want to make the next step, Amir needs to become more of a consistent presence., especially among the bigger, better teams.
JAMES JOHNSON
James Johnson has the skills to be one of the more valuable role players in the league. He can be one of the better defensive players at his position, and has been far more selective in his shooting this season.
He’s only played 20 minutes per game, this season, but is valuable enough to play even more. He’s also one of the few Raptors who can actually defend LeBron James.
While it’s great to see him more selective in his shooting, he needs to improve his jumpshot, and that will allow his minutes to increase and be more valuable to the team.
KYLE LOWRY
Lowry is having the best season of his career, by far. He’s got career highs across the board and has gone from a question mark when he joined the team, to, arguably, a top five point guard.
He’s cut down his bad decisions and has become the team leader.
While there’s little to complain about, we’ve seen him become less of a defensive presence, this season, probably due to the increased responsibility on offense. He needs to keep in front of his opponent a bit better and help keep them out of the lane, a bit more.
LUCAS NOGUEIRA
Bebe needs to get out on the court and play. And play a lot better when he does. Otherwise this will be his last season in the NBA.
PATRICK PATTERSON
Patterson has found his niche in the NBA as a stretch four who can bang, grab some boards and play some defense. The combination of Amir and Patterson has been great and they both bring different things. There’s not a whole lot to complain about, but he’s not a great rebounder, and improving in that area would help the team.
TERRENCE ROSS
Ross has made some massive improvements this season, even if we haven’t seen a big leap statistically. He’s far more consistent and has become one of the team’s best perimeter defenders. If there’s one weakness in his game, it’s his unwillingness to drive to the basket and use his amazing athleticism. His field goal/free throw ratio is a paltry 9%, so it’s doubtful he’ll ever be a great scorer. It would be nice, though, if he’d get to the line a bit more.
GREG STIEMSMA
Stiemsma is fouling at a rate that would make Aaron Gray cringe. Per 36 minutes, he’s fouling 11.7 times, which is high even for him. If he wants to play more than 4.2 mpg, cutting down on the fouls might help.
JONAS VALANCIUNAS
Of all the Raptors, Valanciunas was expected to make the biggest strides this year. While he’s scoring a career high, and he’s made a big improvement over the start of the season, he’s still struggling on defense and with his consistency. He’s played well against the better teams, which is definitely encouraging, but he needs to continue to improve on defense and passing the ball.
If he’s not averaging at least 15 ppg by the end of the season, he needs to have a long talk with Casey. Maybe in a dark alley.
GREIVIS VASQUEZ
At one point last year, Vasquez looked like the best player from the Rudy Gay trade. This year he’s struggling from the field and with his consistency. He needs to understand his role and shoot better, or else the Raptors will be looking for another backup point guard this summer.
LOU WILLIAMS
The Raptors got Williams for almost nothing because he was coming off an injury that saw him miss nearly an entire season and struggle when he returned. It now appears he’s regained his form and is one of the main reasons the team has been able to withstand the loss of DeRozan. While he’s been a boon on offense, he’s hurt the team on defense. Improving his defense is a must if he wants to continue to help the team in the playoffs.
