Force?
By Jay Nault
Toronto Raptors tickets are suddenly becoming a very hot item
for NBA fans, and that’s something that’s rarely been said in
the past, as until recently, the Raptors have ranged in success
levels from up-and-coming playoff team to total disaster. The
current Raptors are attempting to put their checkered past in
the past for good, however, and there are several reasons for
this rapid transition into legitimate contender. We’ll examine
a few of these reasons below.
Chris Bosh
There have been several new developments within the Raptors’
organization, but one of the few mainstays has been Bosh. He’s
an All-Star, he’s represented his country and is continuing to
blossom before everyone’s eyes. Bosh is a force down low, and
that reality was driven home with a recent 41-point effort
against Dwight Howard and the Magic. Bosh is a star who can
drive up the sales of Toronto Raptors tickets all by himself,
and he’s locked up in Toronto for years to come.
Management
For many years, the Raptors seemed to lack any sort of
direction from the top. That all changed recently with the
hiring of Bryan Colangelo in February of 2006. Colangelo
brought the experience of helping build the dynamic roster of
the Phoenix Suns, and his direction and clear ideas in regards
to acquiring talent have given the organization a clear
direction for perhaps the first time. His personnel moves have
been shrewd both from the standpoint of immediate results and
long-term development. Basically, the Raptors are now in good
hands at the top, and that’s a dividend that never stops paying
off.
Point Guard Play
One of the first moves Colangelo made during the past
off-season was to trade young PF Charlie Villanueva to the
Milwaukee Bucks for PG T.J. Ford. The move was widely panned,
as it went against the NBA norm of never trading “big for
small.” However, Ford has come aboard and given stability and
dynamic energy to the PG position, and his up-tempo style is a
perfect fit with the talent around him on the floor. To date,
Ford has averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and nearly 8 assists per
game, and his desire to constantly push the tempo only makes
players like Bosh better.
Where They Stand
As of this writing, the Raptors sit with a 27-23 record, and in
the weak Eastern Conference, that’s good enough for first place
in the Atlantic Division. Barring a totally unforeseen
collapse, the Raptors will make the playoffs, and their style
will be tough to deal with once the games really begin to count.
Overall, it’ll be anyone’s title to grab in the Eastern
Conference playoffs, and those who use Toronto Raptors tickets
may be seeing a team moving towards its first NBA Finals
appearance.
About the Author: Written by Jay Nault, sponsored by
http://www.stubhub.com/ . StubHub sells Toronto Raptors tickets:
http://www.stubhub.com/toronto-raptors-tickets/ sports tickets,
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Source: http://www.isnare.com
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