Five Raptor questions for you

Five questions, as the Raptors open their exhibition schedule tonight against pro sports'  most oxymoronic franchise, the Utah Jazz:

1. Is Jose Calderon an NBA player?
2. Can Mo Peterson become an every-NBA-night performer, and how much of the answer to that question will depend upon a settled answer to question No. 1, and the point-guard situation (oh, here we go. To every question, another question -- It's a Raptor world, we just drop in on it).
3. Is this the year Chris Bosh establishes himself as the Raptors' foundation player by some process other than mere default?
4. How much can the Raptors get out of Charlie Villanueva? Out of Joey Graham? Out of Alvin Williams?
5. Can Rafael Araujo become a serviceable NBA player?
6. (bonus question) Who's the first guy outta town in a trade?

I'd like to hear what you have to say. Here's my answers:
1. Dunno.
2. Doubt it; everything.
3. He has to, if this team is going anywhere other than Secaucus in May for the foreseeable future.
4. Anything would be welcome.
5. What am I? A miracle worker?
6. Hmmm.

Hey, you're welcome.

Dave Feschuk sets the preseason up here. And if you think the Raptors have questions, imagine what's being asked around Phoenix this morning, with the news that big horse Amare Stoudemire is out for four months.

Meantime, some other stuff that got us wondering:

What happens when the game that got you there gets you nowhere? The White Sox were thrown out twice at second trying to ignite their offence (Bengie Molina, take a bow, and don't forget that stop he made on a sharp curveball in the dirt in the ninth as well), and failed twice to get bunts down when they needed to move a runner over. And so those travellin' Angels drew first blood in the ALCS.

Richard Griffin looks NL-ward, backward and forward.

Welcome back, Ron Artest. And thanks for the warning about the "animal" stuff. Never would have guessed.

Oh those kooky T.O. soccer wannabes are at it again, with a deadline of Oct 31 for an MLS franchise in a stadium that hasn't even been sited yet. (We might not have pro futbol, but we've got dragon boats).

The Purdue Boilermakers, they have such big alumni members. (PDF file, thanks to Deadspin for the point).

Uh, about that playoff spot -- Pinball Clemons is wondering about the grand plan.

Thanks to budblog, for doing something that was on my to-do list but I was too busy throwing my money down the drain on the Baltimore Ravens getting a visitor win (serves me right, huh) to get finished: figuring out the new NHL rules as they apply to Pro-Line.

So she's drowning, she's rescued and this is what she says! "Are you Nomar?" Well yes, it was him.

And yeah, what do you get when you send the Minnesota Vikings out on one of those team-bonding things? Of course. A sex cruise. As one friend put it, "Was the coach on the dock scalping tickets?"

Comments

[P S]

1. He might be a Brevin Knight type player. I think that he will prove to be a good pickup

2. I believe that Morris Peterson can, he should now be able to fully emerge from Vince Carter's shadow.

3. I think that Chris Bosh will be a 20 ppg and 10 rpg player. I think that he will finally get to play the position that he should be playing and that someone will step up at centre.

4. I am expecting 12 ppg and 8 rpg out of Charlie Villanueva, 10 ppg and 5 rpg out of Joey Graham. I would be happy to see Alvin play about 50 games and average 15 minutes a game, but I do not see him being in more than 30 games.

5. I think that Hoffa will improve this year. I figure that he will be a 20 minutes per game player giving the Raptors 8 ppg and 7 rpg.

6. Eric Williams. To a playoff contender.

[Tim Farrell]

I'm gonna cheat. I was at the game last night so I have slightly more advanced knowledge over some of these questions.

1. Calderon was not spectacular, but he never looked out of place. I guess that means he can be an NBA player. He appears to have an atrocious jumper though. He was drastically outplayed last night by Tierre Brown, which means the battle for the third point guard spot may have become the battle for the backup point guard spot.

2. Mo Pete will never be a star, but if he can put up consistent offensive numbers (that's HOME and ROAD), combined with the way he plays defense, he can easily be an above-average wing player in this league.

3. Bosh will likely average 20 and 10, and although he's not the greatest rebounder, the fact that no one else on the team seems remotely interested in rebounding means a lot of the balls fall to him by default. This is the year that Bosh decides whether he is the next Jermaine O'Neal or the next Stromile Swift. I'm leaning towards O'Neal. PS Speaking of the Pacers, that has to be the most unnecessary uniform change in league history. I guess they're really trying to put everything about last season behind them.

4. The Raptors should be ecstatic if they can get 12 & 8 out of Villanueva, and 10 & 5 with stifling defense and some high-flying theatrics from Graham. These are not unrealistic. Though Villanueva will likely not start, he'll end up playing the Donyell Marshall role and getting over 30 minutes a game anyway.
PPS This is one of the most mind-boggling things about basketball. So many coaches feel the need to start a "real" starting lineup with a "real" centre, when they know damn well that he's not going to play more than 15 minutes. Why not just start your best unit??

5. I'm not ashamed to admit that I am far from giving up on Hoffa (though after last night, I think his new name should be Hoffensive Foul). No, he should NEVER have been a top 10 pick, but terrible as he was, his numbers do compare favourably with the first year numbers of Jamaal Magloire and Brad Miller.

Coming into his second year, you'd think he'd have the experience and confidence to be a new man on the court. He even cut his hair and got a new tattoo. Last night, however, he looked as lost as ever. He was drastically outplayed by Loren Woods, Aaron Williams, and arguably even Torree Morris (who, by the way, I desperately want to make the team if only so I can see him standing next to Mo Pete, and from the back their jerseys read "MORRIS PETERSON", above Mo's number 24 and his college number, 42).

I don't see why there has been no talk of sending Hoffa to the NBDL for a bit. It seems like this new rule was made for him. I suppose the argument against such a move is that big men need to be in the NBA to develop, since the D-League offers far less size. I suppose the other reason is because Rob Babcock drafted him 8th overall and won't yet admit defeat.

I've rambled a lot. To answer the question, I think it's still too early to tell. But I'm leaning towards a big fat tattoo-covered "NO".

6. The easy answer here would be Jalen Rose, but it appears as though Babcock's plan is to just let Rose's contract expire to free up about $15 million which he can then use to attempt to lure free agents who have no intention of coming to Canada.

Given that, I suppose the next best answer is one of the Williamses. Eric will never be happy in Toronto. He'll probably be traded to a contender for a late first-round pick that Babcock can waste on some Euro-stiff. Aaron Williams is a big body and has Finals experience... someone might want him.

Before any of this happens though, it's worth noting that if Homicide makes the team, it's entirely possible that the entire Injured Reserve list will be comprised of players named Williams. Alvin's a given, Corey will never play, Aaron will probably be stuck behind Hoffensive and Woods, and when Eric can't fit into the rotation thanks to Joey Graham, it's more than likely some imaginary ailment such as his lingering plantar fasciatis, hip flexor, or knee tendinitis will flare up. Anyway, I'm sure that would be a first. They would have to re-name it. "Raptors place C Rafael Araujo on Williams list."