[OhCanada-Participant]

This is the OFFICIAL 2010 TORONTO RAPTORS SUMMER LEAGUE THREAD. I will preview discuss and rate performances from the athletes representing the Rap’s in Vegas this year. Post game interviews, stat lines, highlights and game previews will be provided right here.Feel free to add your own opinions and express yourself freely.

Watch for the..
Matchup of the Day
Dino of the Day
Opponent of the Day
X-Factor of the Day
Bluecollar Baller of the Day
and Play of the Day

ROSTER

Projected Starting Lineup
PG)Bobby Brown, Curtis Stinson
SG)DeMar Derozan, Micheal Roll
SF)Sonny Weems, Ronald Dupree
PF)Ed Davis, James May
C)Joey Dorsey, Soloman Alabi

PLAYER PROFILES

3 Bobby Brown G 6-2 175 09/24/1984 Cal State-Fullerton 2 Years
Bobby Brown is an above average NBA athlete in terms of quickness and athletisism. At 6’2 he displays an 40 inch + verticle leap although he is undersized at 175 Pounds. He has the tools to be an effecient scoring threat off of the bench dispite his horrible shot selection and decision making. Hopefully this offseason he made progress on his shot selection which would make him a good 3 point threat for teams like Boston, Miami, and Orlando who need shooting and of most lack money. Will definitely land a contract and perform well on this team battling for the starting PG position with Curtis Stinson throughout summer league.

10 DeMar DeRozan G/F 6-7 220 08/07/1989 USC 1 Years
Demar Derozan came into the league from USC after an extremely raw freshman season. He was 2009’s version of Paul George in terms of potential and athletisism some arguing both to be top of their class in both aspects. Throughout DeMar’s rookie season we saw just how raw he was offensively. Defensively he showed he could keep up with savvy veteran scorers night in night out and should develop into one of the leagues best wing defenders. Offensively he lacks range, his handles need immediate attention and his explosiveness in terms of quickness and first step seemed like they could improve. It should be interesting to see how much of that potential “Kid Dynamite” has harnessed.

24 Sonny Weems G/F 6-6 203 07/08/1986 Arkansas 2 Years
After a season on the bench and playing in practice with wings like Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith and new teammate Linas Klieza it is apparent Sonny Weems learned a few tricks. After being picked up by Milwaukee and sent to Toronto in a trade with Amir Johnson he has established himself as a rotation player with a bright future. As his contract year is on the horizan he hopes to have success similar to Amir Johnson. He has a mean mid range jumpshot and great athletisism but just like Demar needs to improve range and ball handling. Last year he made great leaps from 1ppg and 5mpg to 8ppg and 20mpg lets see how much he has progressed this year.

32 Ed Davis F 6-10 227 06/05/1989 North Carolina Rookie
With the 13th Overall Pick the Toronto Raptors elected to select UNC standout Ed Davis.a workhorse PF willing to do the dirty work with a NBA pedigree due to his father NBA veteran Terry Davis. But dont think just because he can do the dirty work that he is not skilled, Ed has a 35 inch verticle and good touch around the rim. A great replacement for Chris Bosh another 6’10 lefthanded PF, Davis was expected to go 5-10 in the draft and if he had not slipped Toronto wouldve probally selected offensive orienteted PF Pattrick Patterson. It should be interesting to see how Davis stacks up today against another workhorse PF Gani Lawal who was selected mid 2nd round and to see how he stacks up against Pattrick Patterson on the 13th to see if Toronto made the right selection.

9 Joey Dorsey F/C 6-8 268 12/16/1983 Memphis 2 Years
Joey Dorsey barely stands at 6’7 wieghing a solid muscular 270 with a 7’1 wingspan and a 33 inch vert. He rebounds at an extremely high clip (13RPG in 30MPG in D-League) and is especially a tenacious offensive rebounder. His reach obviously makes up for his lack of size as a 4/5 combo as does his bruising physicallity. Dorsey could be the younger cheaper version of Reggie Evans a type of guy that will work you in practice and push for your minutes. D-League superstar trying to become a pro.

31 Cheikh Samb C 7-1 245 10/22/1984 Senegal 2 Years
Okay…everyone…leave him alone! You have to give him respect just for showing his face in public after getting destroyed by Brandon Roy like that. If that dunk knocked some sense in him and he has gained some defensive intangibles Samb could be a great defender. He just lacks fundamentals, timing and positioning. Samb also is extremely athletic and quick for a 7’1 250 plus C. He shows capabillities of having an ok offensive game due to his good touch and high FT%. At the very least he becomes a great practice partner for Soloman Alabi. Sonny Weems said during the summer league practices Alabi had been playing very good when asked who has been a stand out performer.

50 Solomon Alabi C 7-1 237 03/21/1988 Florida State Rookie
Alabi is a gritty and energetic true 7 footer with an incredible IQ, team oriented game and a man that does not take what he has for granted. He maybe the player who appreciates his oppurtunity to play in the NBA the most and is obviously extremely humbled. Bryan Collengelo said that he already works countless hours in the Gym trying to improve his game and be an impact player in the NBA.Like Ed Davis, Soloman Alabi slipped in the draft but unlike Davis he slipped about 30 spots due to hepititas B a virus which has not and will not effect his NBA career. Alabi will not forget the fact that he was passed on (check out his jersey number) and will undoubtedly play with a chip on his shoulder for years to come.

5 Curtis Stinson G 6-3 215 02/15/1983 Iowa State Rookie
Curtis Stinson is another D-League allstar but in this case you could make a case for D-League MVP. A walking triple double by D-League standards Stinson is a strong athletic and experienced PG looking to find his NBA niche as a backup PG. In 6 playoffs games he averaged 24PPG 11RPG and 9APG while maintaining great percentages.Stinson also has an edge on him as he was ejected for being arguing a call made by a D-League referee and being extremely arguemental and intimidating towards the man in stripes.I love it and I think there must be some NBA GMs who agree the league needs more players with an edge to them. should land a spot in the NBA this year. Has also been playing in the Orlando Summer League so he should be tired. Also has not been practicing with Toronto.

8 Michael Roll G 6-5 200 04/12/1987 UCLA Rookie
Roll emerged as a top NCAA player this year after 4 year career averages of roughly 16 MPG and 5PPG his averages improved to 35 MPG and 14PPG. Those averages are not what appeals to NBA teams thou, the appeal comes with his shooting. Roll made 2.5 3PT shots pergame and attempted only 6 for a 42% ratio at such a high clip. The Raptors added him to the roster to see simulate what Derozan,Weems, Davis,Alabi etc. can do with the floor stretched as they would need good shooters to simulate an actaul NBA team. Who knows maybe Roll can impress someone…

33 James Mays F 6-9 230 03/08/1986 Clemson Rookie
Here is another undersized yet young athletic and extremely strong forward in the mould of a Reggie Evans type player. Mays definitely wants this, he has been playing overseas..not in Europe, not in Russia but in China. Mays will work hard and definitely push some of the more chrinicled bigs (Davis, Alabi) to bring their A game 100% of the time for summer league minutes.

21 Ronald Dupree G/F 6-7 210 01/25/1981 LSU 5 Years
D-League veteran who just never seems to go away! His NBA window is closing fast and I doubt he gets many minutes on this summer league team.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Did you really need a WHOLE Thread about Toronto?

[JNixonParticipant]

You typed all this yourself? If so kudos to you man lol…

[OhCanada-Participant]

OPPONENT PREVIEW

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns seem to have a revitalized organization this year after finally getting the pressure of securing or dealing Amare Stoudemire off their back. They have not seemed to take any steps back while losing him but seemed to take steps forward re-signing Channing Frye signing, Hakeem Warrick who could see a breakout season playing with Steve Nash and drafting Gani Lawal and Dwayne Collins who will both be playing today at 4pm.

Earl Clark is the most coveted prospect at the Phoenix suns aresenal, but their summer league team is loaded with talent from top to bottom. More notables are Scottie Reynolds argueably the best college player last year, UConn vet Gavin Edwards,Matt Janning a very smooth player who has been playing well in the Orlando Sumemr league, NBA expreinced Taylor Griffin, and talented yet underrated forward in Marcus Johnson who will try to show off his versatility.

The MATCHUP OF THE DAY

Ed Davis vs. Gani Lawal

It should be interesting to see who proves what with this matchup. Ed Davis will undoubltedly attempt to prove his worth at #13 and Gani Lawal will try to prove he was worth a 1st round selection. the two are similar players in what they are expected to do for their franchise and Gani Lawal could make BC look silly if Ed Davis does not bring his A game here. Both players have played eachother since they are both from the ACC and this should be a great matchup.

[omar dayzeParticipant]

if he is able to sort his game out he could definately find a spot on an NBA roster… its rare to find a player that goes after every rebound like its the last one he’l see.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Thanks IGGY I’ve been taking notes HAHAHA!

Knicksboy stop hating the Knicks summer league team plays the Raps Wed, July, 14th.Bragging rights up for grabs!

BTW I meant Lawal will try to prove he shouldve been a 1st round selection…

[thparadoxParticipant]

Check yourself into some rehab, because you are crazy addicted to the nba.

And I thought I was… hah

[itsOvaParticipant]

nice post, I hope the Raptors win a championship before Bosh does
lol

[OhCanada-Participant]

HAHAHA good one but we would be lucky to make the playoffs before the Heat win a championship!

[thparadoxParticipant]

I forgot to add, I definitely enjoyed the post

Where did you get all this info?

[Toronto16Participant]

Nice post man.

Rememeber I said it here first, look out for Kid Dynamite.

Raptors might have a tough year this season, but we will bouce back in no time.

Knicksboy stop being upset about not landing Lebron.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Well its not hard to find this kind of info. All you have to do is pay minor attention to College hoops and the Summer League.

Players like Micheal Roll and James Mays I didnt really go into depth with because I dont know much about. I know Mays works hard and is athletic and strong and I looked at Rolls stats…not much difficulty. I enjoy following the D-League and this year is especially going to be exciting with all the undrafted talent.Bobby Brown has been bouncing around the league the last little bit, the Rookies have been well docuumented prospects during their college days and Dorsey I’ve been a big fan of since he was with Memphis,he reminded me of a short Dwight Howard in college.One of my favourite players.

Out of respect for the mods of this website I will not post where I found the verticle leap inforamation…

[OhCanada-Participant]

Thx Churchboy I`m gonna update it at 8pm tonight because they are showing the game on RaptorsTV at 6pm.

[OhCanada-Participant]

[R-Dot-13Participant]

As a big raptors fan I am looking forward to this game..

I want to see how Sonny Weems and DD play today.. as I think they will have a very good year. They are probably one of the most athletic 2-3 combos in the league and they are both very young. Weems went from being on the reserves to the starting lineup in just one year last year.. He is very athletic and has a money mid range game. If he and DD can work on their 3 point shots and ball handling they should both have their stats increase greatly.
Them and Bargnani will likely be the main points of the offence in Hedo leaves.

I think that DD and Weems can progress to being very good scorinbg wings in the league and it starts this year.

Aswell, I would like to say this was a well done post.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Poor kid…

[OrangeJuiceJonesParticipant]

Excellent analysis. It’s evident that you love the game of basketball, especially the Raptors.

That Roy dunk was ridiculous. It’s one thing to get dunked on, but to fall down and collapse after getting dunked on? Ouch.

[OMARtheLEGENDParticipant]

So sick brah reppin the raps

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Oh Canada…I was playing man.

Props to all that writing tho! NY vs TOR. We will see who wins!

[Toronto16Participant]

I can’t believe I am saying this but Ed Davis looks good.

[McWinningParticipant]

I got my money on Toronto.

NYS going down.

[R-Dot-13Participant]

Im thinking the same Churchboy

[OhCanada-Participant]

Matchup of the Day-Ed Davis vs. Gani Lawal

ED DAVIS WINS

Ed Davis displayed great athletic abillity and so far has been the most impressive big man of the draft IMO. Lawal was outworked, out hustled, and out positioned by Ed Davis and the Toronto Raptors bigs and although he put up a nice stat line to be honest most of his points came in garbage time when Samb and Mays were pm the court for Toronto. Davis did all this in his first real competition since Febuarary and it will be scary to see how he plays when he is not “rusty”.

Dino of the Day-Ed Davis
There were many players to choose from DeMar Derozan, Sonny Weems, Joey Dorsey, but at the end of the day Ed Davis got it done offensively and defensively and really helped Toronto set the pace for the blowout victory. Dorsey and David dominated the Phoenix bigs and a good all around game allowed Ed Davis to be the Dino of the Day.

Opponent of the Day-Shawn Pruitt
Stat lines are not always the most impressive feat when watchijng these competitions as they can be very deceptive. While the game was still in reach it seemed Shawn Pruitt was the only awnser Phoenix had for the Toronto bigs (who really dominated). He showed some akward unorthidox post moves and good rebounding and activity in the paint allowing him to be the Opponent of the Day.

X-Factor of the Day-Joey Dorsey
Joey Dorsey came out the gates grabbing I believe it was 7 rebounds in the first 10 minutes of play. He honestly looked like Dwight Howard playing against Summer League competition. It was not fair for the opposing bigs who had to deal with Davis and Dorsey who look like they are both NBA ready rebounders.

Bluecollar Baller of the Day
Joey Dorsey once again. He has put in work and I see him gaining alot more Bluecollar Baller honours. Dorsey was very effective with his rebounding, and did not get into foul trouble which was one of his NBA level flaws.If he continues playing like this dont be surprised if he gets some offers from teams like Boston or Miami.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Also some notables..

Bobby Brown has made strides in his shot selection and looked like a very good floor general out there.He went 5/6 FG and 6 assists including a couple good alley oops to Derozan and Weems.

Sonny Weems and DeMar Derozan didn’t show many signs on improving their range although they both look more, explosive, strong, and quick.Also Derozans aggressiveness and ball handling is much better than last year. They both only went 0/1 from 3 but maybe they just need the confidence to take and make the shot consistantly in game settings because Jay Triano said that he is confident in the work they put in shooting.

Micheal Roll went 4/5 from the floor in 8 minutes of garbage time and really impressed shooting the ball off of screens and finding his shot. May get some NBA offers as a step in shooter similar to Jason Kapono. Very unatletic defensive liability.

Soloman Alabi showed he has the tools to be a very effective C but is still a far way from getting there. He needs to improve on his coordinatioon but the skill, motor and intelligents is there. His balance, strength, footwork, positioning is what is lacking. His stat line was nice and deceptive but he was caught out of position many times. He was dunked on once and almost dunked on another 2 times.

[marcusfizer21Participant]

Cheikh Samb reminds me a little bit of Soumaila Samake…

I think the Raptors are pretty much in the rebuilding mode and I do hope they’ll be able to develop Demar Derozan’s game… I hope to see them succeed in the next 3 years… Toronto fans deserve better, so with Cleveland..

[OhCanada-Participant]

OPPONENT PREVIEW

Houston Rockets
the Houston Rockets ave a very intruguing roster for 2010-11. They possess a good mix of veterens and rookies and with the development of certain players and Yao being healthy this team could seriously contend. The Rockets are an organization that stresses winning even on their Summer League team, although this Summer League is all about developing their young NBA level talent into players that can contibute on a nigth to night basis.

Those players are Patrick Patterson, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Jermaine Taylor, and Ishmeal Smith.

It should be interesting to see how the Rockets plan on stopping the much more athletic Raptors backcourt and wings of Derozan, Browm, and Weems and also interesting to see who plays better the 14th pick that Toronto passed up or the 13th pick selected by Toronto in our matchup of the day.

MATCHUP OF THE DAY
Ed Davis vs. Patrick Patterson
Houston should be a good measuring stick to see where Davis is defensively and warm him up for the heavywieght bout on the 16th (Sacaramento). The Raptors were seriously considering selecting Patrick Patterson at 13but when Ed Davis a longer, bigger, better defensive forward fell to them Toronto could not resist passing on Patterson. We will see how that turned out for them today.

[llperez]

Mike Roll vs Dwight Lewis. Roll lead UCLA in scoring last year and Lewis lead USC in scoring. They both play sg in limited minutes, so i’ll have fun watching them. Lewis has actually looked pretty solid for houston (8ppg in 14 minutes).

[OhCanada-Participant]

Derozans jumper is money!

[Bison 49Participant]

He was a beast all game … Imagine if he went for his like Taylor did for the Rockets. The biggest thing I saw from him is that his 23 (in about 20 min) were easy for him. I know it is summer league, but he was a star today, played great D, and took over the end of the game.

Dorsey is a BEAST. It was funny watching other guys try to play him. I could see the Raps starting him at Center/PF (maybe for about 15 – 20 min a game). Next to Bargniani he would make up for the missed rebounds, and Bargs would make up for his points. My only concern is that I thought he had better hops than he showed in the game today. This could be a Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace type pairing for the Raps.

I really liked Bobby Brown’s game as well. Alibi is really impressive as well (I expected a lot worse). Once he gets a year or two of NBA training he will be much stronger and probably a lot more athletic. He seems to really try hard, and has some skills to develop.

Ed did not play very well today. He kind of got lost in the game. Even if he did not get many shots, he could have gotten more boards, and played stronger D. He needs that NBA training as well. Still a great prospect.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Nice analysis.

I would like to add that Ed Davis did not play fairly well but still played a valueable role defensively in the paint as a bruiser even when struggling offensively and reboubding.He was outworked by Patterson and Hill in this ame thou.Also he looked tired and uncoordinated and I thought he could have turned the game around if Bobby Brown set him up properly on the 3 on 1 fastbreak they had, but BB threw the pass at his ankles very oddly.

Solomon Alabi has some very nice tools and could be a good player. He needs to constantly work on footwork strength and balance before he can play efefctively but he has very soft touch especially for such a rugged big man and could be a good defensive presence that will not be a liabillity on the offensive end.

DeMar Derozan has arrived and still has so much room to grow.Rudy Gay averaged 10PPG in 27MPG in his rookie season with Memphis and improved to 37MPG and 20PPG.I could see DeMar Derozan improving from 22 and 9 to 32 and 18 if he has an outstanding season.I can gaurentee he scores 15ppgh with 3 mpg.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Game on Knicksboy!!

[OhCanada-Participant]

“after some hacking and whacking there starting to get it cracking now some vaselinity into the game” Mid way through the 2nd qt.

Walt Fraziers call of the night

[Bison 49Participant]

DeRozan is ready for a huge jump and the Raps will do everything they can to help him do this.

Alibi looks like he will be good in a few years. Super impressed with him. He seems to have Roy Hibbert development ahead of him. Honestly, I can see him putting on about 30 pounds over the next 2 years. Then he will be good. He seems ready to do all the work he needs to do to become good. His FT% is unbelievable. Love his shot and inside play. He will be on steal watch all season long. he could also go to the D-League to develop some more. Either way he will help in 2011/2012.

[OhCanada-Participant]

So far I think Colengelo would be sleeping stupid if he doesnt “DUMP” Calderons contract and the TE for some picks expiring contracts and/or young players.

Seems like Bobby Brown, Soloman Alabi, and Joey Dorsey deserve some contracts to prove they are worth the risk. Also the chemistry they have on the Sumemr League team is outstanding.

With all this being said I think BC is gonna do something stupid and force some players into the rotation. Trade Calderon and Bellinelli for Jeff Foster Dantay Jones and Magnum Rolle. Give the TE away for draft picks. Rebuild right.

Foster is a hard worker to keep the upcoming young bigs honest. Dantay Jones yet another hard working defensive player and very athletic and versatile.Rolle is great to put depth on the wing for the bench, shows great athletic abillity and versatility.

Buy out Jones, and Evans or use them as trading peices with more expiring contracts like Banks, and Foster.

PG-Jack, Brown, Banks
SG-Derozan, Barbosa,Jones
SF-Weems, Rolle
PF-Bargnani, Davis,Foster
C-Johnson, Dorsey, Alabi

May not give us a great chance for next year but Derozan should develop into a good player on the wing, if they draft a solid C or Alabi amd Davis can become great paint defenders and spend some money successfully in Free Agency a couple years down the road.

Too many if’s…

[Bison 49Participant]

Sounds like a pretty good plan. I like the trade with Indy, but might like Rush instead of Jones. Rush is more of a 3 point shooter, and with Calderon and Bellinelli, shipping to Indy, we’ would need some more perrimeter shooting.

Next year in the draft, we had better take a PG, because that is the strength. It does look like we might be in the mid-late lottery, and might not be in the running for a top pick.

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