Spyda

Where do you think the raps are going in the next 2 or 3 years. You think they'll make the playoffs?

My opinion: i think the raps will make the playoffs and lose in the first round. Bosh will be an allstar and are rookies will have a pretty good year.

-James-

I think we'll still be a year or two before we're playoff bound. There are a lot of good teams in the east. As of now I think Miami, Detroit, Indiana, Cleveland, Chicago, Boston, and New Jersey all go ahead of us. I think we're about on par with Philly, Washington and Milwaukee, maybe a little behind them.

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10 Favorite Players: 1. Allen Iverson, Denver 2. Ronnie Brewer, Utah 3. Gilbert Arenas, Washington 4. Gary Payton, Miami 5. Josh Smith, Atlanta 6. Dwight Howard, Orlando 7. Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers 8. Jason Kidd, New Jersey 9. Chris Bosh, Toronto 10. Kyle Lowry, Memphis

AirBonner

I hope the raptors get lucky and one or more of their draft picks turn into star players. Otherwise I see it being difficult to contend or catch up to the teams ahead of us.

I almost hope that Jalen and Alston get injured this season and despite the team playing well before their injuries they end up getting a top 3 pick in the lotto.

speedythief

I don't think it is realistic to expect them to make the post season this year. I think it's probably fair to expect them to probably make the playoffs next year, and definitely make it in 2007.

Junkyard Dog13

I go with 6th seed lose in 6
Bosh avg 22/8.5

rookies good years
Villanueva 11.6/7
Grahem 9.3/5.5/2.3

next year
Home court Bosh top 10 scorer 24/10
win rnd 1
lose rnd 2 in 6

2 years top 3 team East Champ priemier contenders

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Raps fans since Day 1
Steelers fan since 97
Leafs fan since 88
Mets fan since 98

Thievery Corporation

2005 - Bosh allstar season and improves on weaknesses, rooks do good and show lots of star potential, Ukic actually plays for us, Araujo proves to not completely be a bust, miss postseason

2006 - Bosh improves even more and another allstat season, rooks do better, araujo is mediocre, barely make postseason and get swept in postseason

the offseason - Rose's contract is off the books, we resign him cheaper price, get a role player that can help us with our cap space, resign Bosh

2007 - now we are competing for homecourt adv in playoffs, all of our young'ns are great complements to Bosh and probably Graham becomes a star, we make 2nd round and lose in the waning seconds of game 7

2008 and onwards - title contention time

I'm a little too damn optimistic here I think but that's okay

onecooljew

Hmmm...flashback...

But who takes the shot that missed by 2 inches this time...

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Divine Spammer

CB4 is a 20/10 player this season. for sure.
It's hard to tell what the future has to the Raps.

You can't say it, until you know what you have in hand.
It'll be easier do discuss this issue in Oct.

And you can never know...
Before this season, many people were sure that seattle are a lottery team.

Rhubarb

Is anyone else a tidbit disappointed we're scheduled for a decent playoff run the same time as some great drafts are due?

The 2007 draft in particular is, right now, shaping up as one with some great 'true' franchise-type players in it. Greg Oden, OJ Majo, Brandon Wright, Kevin Durant along with others like Bill Walker, Thaddeus Young, Rajon Rondo, and Gabe Pruitt; it's looking healthy.

Don't misunderstand this post as a little whine, as a playoff run is definitely what every team should strive toward. Just think the basketball gods are looking to screw us over in regards to our rebuilding.

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Tim Duncan: "People should stop talking about Bosh as a future force. He's already a force, right here and now."

"I don't really look at guys and memorize players, but (Bosh) is very impressive. He can shoot, he has an inside game, physical at times, he's pretty good...he's more than holding his own." - Shaq

"I really like him...to me he's already pretty special," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said after continually getting beat to the basket by Bosh. "He's going to be a great player in this league."

"Chris Bosh really has emerged to be a star in this league. There are more than the top three (in the 2003 draft)." - Dwyane Wade

I love everything about him, I love his game, I love his work ethic. He definitely has my approval - Kobe Bryant"

Ballyhoo

This is how I see it panning out. Next season the Charlie V at C experiment lasts 10 games during which the Raptors go 1-9. Araujo shows some small improvements, but continues to get into foul trouble early and often and is unable to play consistent minutes because of it. Chris Bosh is forced to play most of his time at C. Villanueva shows flashes of potential, but stuggles overall, and is outperformed by Diogu and even the raw Bynum. Joey Graham plays aggressive defense but often bails his man out with a cheap foul, negating his earlier effort. He ends up being a useful contributor off the bench in limited minutes. Roko Ukic signs and joins the team but show's he's clearly not ready for the NBA. Alston continues to feud with Mitchell. Lamond Murray and Eric Williams demand trades. Rose tries, but his age reduces his production further and he struggles with injuries.

The result is the Raptors win 19 games in 05/06, ahead of only Portland and New Orleans. Chris Bosh is shattered mentally and emotionally after the disasterous season. Although he remains positive to the media, he indicates to Babcock that he will not sign a max extension in 2006 offseason. The fans vote with their pocketbooks and stay away in droves. Disgusted many don't renew their season tickets. Attendance is down, merchandise sales are down and ratings are down.

With the bottomline being affected, the MLSE board finally takes notice, and cleans house. Peddie is removed of all basketball related responsibilities, and Babcock is fired. MLSE forks over big money to land premier basketball minds for the open positions.

The Raptors win the lottery and get the 1st overall pick. They take Rudy Gay. Then in a huge draft day deal, the new GM trades Chris Bosh, Jalen Rose, and Denver's pick for Kevin Garnett, who had demanded a trade in the wake of the T-wolves missing the playoffs again.

The new look raptors take the East by storm in 06/07. Gay is a beast and immediate impact player, especially since opposing teams focus on Garnett. Under Garnett's tutelage Villanueva blossoms in his sophmore year. By the end of the year Roko Ukic wins the starting PG job from Rafer. The Raptors win 44 games and bring playoff basketball back to Toronto, but lose in the first round.

In the 2007 off season the Raptors finally have cap room, and use it to sign Magloire, who fills the last glaring hole on the roster. Their 1st round pick is given to Charlotte.

The on paper 2007/08 team looks like this:
C: Magloire/Araujo
PF: Garnett/Villanueva
SF: Gay/Graham
SG: MoPete/Alvin Williams
PG: Ukic/Alston

But they go with a starting lineup Magloire, Villanueva, Garnett, Gay and Ukic, which causes matchup nightmares for every team they face. Villanueva, Gay and Ukic all show improvements from the previous year, and the Raptors cut a swath through the East and make it to the Finals where they face Duncan's Spurs. Who wins? Well, I can't see that far into the future.

Ok, maybe it won't turn out like that. But I can dream...

Theberge43

Thievery Corporation

I say Bosh makes a 90-foot turnaround fadeaway(like Lebron does in the Powerade commercial) at the buzzer but the refs call it a late shot although everyone knows Raps the shot went in on time. But this motivates Raps players even more to win a title.

bigbabyjesus

Definetly no playoffs next year; especially with the East improving so much.

pavle_TO

ballyhoo you make so much sense that i can;t see it going down any differently (other than portland finishing ahead of us and babs not lasting the whole year)

what's interesting is that even though you are saying it jokingly, i can't see us making the playoffs any other way- monster changes are the way to go!!!

BaLLiStiX17

lol that would be crazy if that really happend..