I turned to my twitter followers yesterday and asked them to tell me in 140 characters or less, what they think/expect from the new look Raptors.

@raptorshq: A better showing than last year, but without solid defenders and rebounders in the starting five, another first-round exit.
@stackmack: excitement. enthusiasm. passion. intensity. competition. work ethic. unknown adventure. dunking prowess. athleticism. camaraderie. change.
@basketballbuzz: Raps will finish 5 or 6 in the east with a record of 45-37. CB4 all-star again. D is still an issue they will allow over 100pts pts!
@norsktroll: Lets say I’m happy my team isn’t on the hook for $130 million for Hedo, Bargs and Jack
@dinonationblog: A break out year for CB4, improved 3 point shooting but a team that will still have challenges on the Boards and D. Playoff team 5th
@altraps: team will not make the playoffs (barely), it will be an injury plagued season, Bosh will be traded in the summer. Raps win 38 games.
@Liston: 6th place. Balanced scoring. Better offensive system. Still allowing easy looks. Bargs still not tough enough. CB4 shines – best yet
@davesenior: I expect lots of talk about transition buckets without seeing any, and even less defense then last year.

Consensus: Mostly Positive

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Since this is my blog I figure I can use a lot more than 140 characters to tell it how I see it!

Going into the off-season it was evident that the product on the floor was not working and needed some repairs. As a man who hates to lose, Bryan Colangelo got to work. He pulled off this transformation in record time, leaving the Toronto Raptors looking they paid a visit to Joan Rivers’s Cosmetic surgeon and settled for the most expensive package – Result: completely unrecognizable!

On cue, I will now break down the Raptors post-surgery…

The Good: You go under the knife because you are unhappy with the way you look. Colangelo did just that with the Raptors, reworking every part of the team that wasn’t doing what it was supposed to. With 13 new faces on the roster from opening night last season, “new look” is a major understatement.

Weakness at the wing? Enter Hedo Turkoglu. Backup PG? Enter Jarrett Jack. Lack of toughness? Enter Reggie Evans. Need some veteran presence? Re-enter Rasho Nesterovic. No Bench? Enter players like Antoine Wright, Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson.

It’s unclear if Colangelo went into this with a definitive plan but from the way it has gone down the new look Raptors should be vastly improved. With any cosmetic surgery, its all about “expectations”, and the real the result will only be visible once the bandages come off. If everything comes out as expected the team should be a shoo in for a post season appearance.

The Bad: Every type of cosmetic surgery has its healing time before the bandages come off. In the case of the Raptors, a major concern is how long will it take for this team to work out the kinks. With this level of change, I fear the adjustment period will go on longer than most would like. Every position on the team has been modified in some capacity. There are many steps the team will have to take before it the results translate into wins.

Rebounding was an issue in the past but until players settle into their roles and commit to working on crashing the boards, it will remain an issue. Team defense was non-existent, inject 10 new players and its bound to take time for them to get used to where each guy is usually on the floor, meaning there will still be issues with rotations and help defense. To top it off, all this change has to be managed by a rookie coach. He is respected by the few who were on the team last year, but building a relationship and understanding with the new faces is not going to happen overnight.

The fans will need to be patient. If the team tries to take off the bandages prematurely in order to get it rolling – there is a risk of breakdowns later in the season. Optimistic I may be, but a fair amount of growing pains are expected through the first part of the season.

The Ugly: There is always a risk when you opt for surgery and even the best surgeons can slip. Colangelo worked his scalpel to the best of his ability, but there is that chance that when the bandages come off that things don’t quite look like you had pictured them to. The newly constructed team is not immune to freak injuries, locker room issues and so forth. I have complete faith in Bryan Colangelo but one major injury could set this team back a year and a whole lot of $$

With the winds of change blowing through Raptorland, I found it fitting to share one of my favorite halftime shows. What Bryan Colangelo pulled off was almost as mind boggling as these two.

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