Raptors Roundup

The guys over at RaptorsHQ have a great roundup of the stories being written about the Raptors in the mainstream media, as well as a good preview of what the Raps need to do to beat Hot-Lanta tonight and finally get on some kind of winning streak.

One of the better stories was about Il Mago and his progression. It might be a bit early to say, but it's looking like he has the potential to be an average-to-slightly above average defender, particularly against bigger, slower opponents, such as Big Z. His rejection of the Lithuanian showed that he will have the potential to be a solid low-post defender, and with his speed his defensive improvement is looking more like a question of when, and not if. When you throw in the fact that he is going to be a DYNAMIC scorer, his defence won't even be talked about. The article also includes a chart at the bottom statistically comparing rookies. The most telling stat had to do with his mins/game. Once this goes up (as it has begun to in the last few games) he is bound to improve.

Look for the Raps to pull out a win tonight. I'm betting the feast they got at Sam's gives them just the boost they needed.