Another Title No Slam Dunk for Raptors

Heading into the start of the Knicks' training camp, NYKnicks.com is previewing each of the four other Atlantic Division teams as well as each of the five other NBA divisions. We continue our series with a look at the Toronto Raptors, the defending Atlantic Division champs, who will look to send a message that last season was no fluke.

The Toronto Raptors shocked the basketball world last season by capturing their first Atlantic Division crown with a 47-35 record, and they enter the 2007-08 season with essentially their entire roster intact.

Chris Bosh, a star at both forward positions, is the clear leader of the Raptors. He averaged 22.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game last season. The face of the franchise since the departure of Vince Carter in late 2004, Bosh is a 6-10, 230-pound monster who is a force in the paint and on the boards. A two-time NBA All-Star, Bosh is also a member of Team USA, and has improved year after year.

The 2006-07 season was Bosh's best yet, as he finished fifth in the league in defensive rebounds per game, eighth in free throws and free-throw attempts, 10th in total rebounds and 13th in points per game. He also ranked eighth in the NBA with an efficiency rating of 25.35.

T.J. Ford mans the point for Toronto, and the 6-0, 165-pounder had the best season of his young career just two years after suffering a spinal cord injury that caused him to miss an entire season. Obtained from Milwaukee in exchange for Charlie Villanueva, the true point guard averaged 14.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his first season in Toronto. More impressively, he ranked second in the league with 12.7 assists per 48 minutes, fifth in total assists with 595 and sixth in assists per game.

After a successful, yet injury plagued, rookie year, former No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani figures to play a large role in Toronto's future. In his first year, the 7-0, 250-pound Italian power forward averaged 11 points per game off the bench along with four rebounds and one assist.

Bargnani was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and was named the league's Rookie of the Month in bothJanuary and February. Look for Bargnani, who shot 37.3 percent from three-point range, to be slotted into the starting lineup, pushing Bosh into a more permanent role at the small forward position.

click for more details

source : NBA.com