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If Oneal is healthy- Toronto will be a very good team
Not sure if they ahve the guard play to really challenge for a title.....but they will be solid night in & night out

This team has a chance to be up there depending on O'Neal. If the old all-star O'Neal shows up then maybe Bosh/O'Neal could be compared to the next Duncan/Robinson tandem. It will be hard to stop. If the old worn out O'Neal shows up then maybe Toronto is in trouble. The tandem can provide an inside/outside offense w/ Kapono, Bargnani, Calderon, etc as outside shooters.

Jermaine was traded for, basically, Ford.. that in it self tells me that both parties knew about the gamble they were taking.. i don't think he will ever regain his allstar form.. hopefully for the Raptors he can get close to it.. the reaps have, by the last years stats, the most effiecient point guard in the league.. they need a good shooting guard to compete... anthony parker is ok for the regular season but not com playoff time.. he is better suited as a back up...

wont get past orlando, miami, or any good upcoming team in the east!

who, as of right now in miami, is going to stop bosh and o'neal in the front court? beasley is going to d-up bosh? magloire going to stop o'neal? ha.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 09:36 AM ET  09.16 by the dee of Dees

wont get past orlando, miami, or any good upcoming team in the east!

How did Miami get in that equation?. I can see someone like MIL or PHI on that list

if O'Neal is healthy this team can make some noise in the east.

yeah uh, you guys OBVIOUSLY don't know Oneal. health really has nothing to do with him playing. he even admitted not playing in Indy(i live in this sh3thole and hate the pacers) because he didn't want to. he said on numerous occasions if he wanted to play...he could have. he's honestly no better in terms of mentality than ron artest. almost everybody from that pacers brawl team is screwed up mentally, even the ones(oneal) that were nice guys before Jackson and Artest joined the club. in a span of 2-3 years he went from the #1 guy the fans love...to a guy they borderline despise. hopefully he'll turn his mentality around in Toronto but, it's a big IF. IF he does...thats a great one two punch with Bosh. if he doesn't, he'll bring the entire team down. good luck with that...and thank god he never went to da bulls

"If the old all-star O'Neal shows up then maybe Bosh/O'Neal could be compared to the next Duncan/Robinson tandem."

Guam Baller,
Bosh and O'neal COULD BE compared. But they would not ever be the same, as you and I both know.

I am a fan of O'neal and I want to see him do well with the Raps. When and if he is fully healthy, Bosh and O'neal will be great to watch and can make some noise like some you have already said. But they are no Duncan and/or Robinson.

I have the Raps w/ a healthy O'Neal 3rd or 4th in the East. I have them in front of Orlando & Detroit, but behind the Cavs, Celtics, Philly. Still, their squad will be an X factor this year....there loaded and now Bosh can play the 4 which is his natural position. I'm looking forward to seeing them play this year.

I think the Raptors will be very good in the regular season. They'll get exposed in the playoffs.

The references to Miami as a "good team" are premature. With a healthy Wade, along with Marion and Beasley they should be competitive but, like Toronto, they have holes in their team that will be exposed in the post season. Namely, point guard and big man for Miami and shooting guard and, to a lesser degree, point guard for Toronto.

raps arent gettin that far in the playoffs trus me keep thinkin they are a young duo of duncan & robinson in the mid 90s of the flopping spurs its not the same team bra!

The Raptors are in for a big disappointment. Bringing in O'Neal was a pipedream. A "what if".... Doctors haven't been able to determine what the problem is with his knees. Therefore they can't treat or correct the problem. His knees feel better now because it's September, and he hasn't played on them in a year. Think about it. If O'Neal were expected to return at 100%, he wouldn't have been available. At the end of the day, Larry Bird unloaded O'Neal and his contract

QUOTE(#13):

Originally posted 03:54 PM ET  09.16 by Hllywd: Old Schoolin'

The Raptors are in for a big disappointment. Bringing in O'Neal was a pipedream. A "what if".... Doctors haven't been able to determine what the problem is with his knees. Therefore they can't treat or correct the problem. His knees feel better now because it's September, and he hasn't played on them in a year. Think about it. If O'Neal were expected to return at 100%, he wouldn't have been available. At the end of the day, Larry Bird unloaded O'Neal and his contract

I'm interested to see how O'Neal does because I use to think he was a good player But I have to agree with Hllywd here. Best case scenario if O'Neal is healthy for 82 games(not likely) is maybe Toronto being a 4 seed with still a very low probability of acutally beating teams like Boston or Detroit. Worst case scenario though which recent history says is more likely, has O'Neal missing 40-50 games and Toronto fighting for a 7 or 8 seed.

One thing for sure is its a gamble but from my point of few giving up TJ Ford isn't giving up much he's a liability on defense at his size and can't shoot; also injury prone.

this will be an interesting team to watch next season

They have a great front court, but lack a good shooting guard. I think that will spoil their hopes of being a contender.

very relevant points here ppl.......... I think all indications are tho that his knee is better (obviously i'm an optimist) but i have also followed it quite closely and he has been doing strength and conditioning in vegas all summer. Are they duncan and robinson? helll no even i will admit that but they will be solid. This point is quite underestimated as well. JO is an NBA player who wants to make a **** load of money.. He can smell his next contract... Colangelo knows this and has said "mentally, its hard to find a player in a better situation" This year he's got to prove himself, which based on his offseason workouts sounds like hes making a solid attempt to do, and next year is a CONTRACT YEAR..... he has every incentive in the world to rip it..... He needed the change of scenery , look at garnett, or vince (right after he was traded for like a year and a bit) they have been great on a new team... AT first i was a little skeptical of the trade but after readed into it alot im feeling pretty good

I have them as best case 3rd and worst case 6th in an improved east.

no hatin ppl its all love for the nba!

the raptors are just one good shooting guard away from being able to contend with the NBA's elite teams

Calderon is going to make him an all star this year