Raptors lose and need to patch some holes up

The raptors losing tonight to the Orlando Magic is not a real big surprise to me because the Raptors were outmatched at the Center and Small Forward positions. They didn’t have any easy buckets in the paint because Dwight Howard was guarding Chris Bosh in the post. It’s hard to win a ball game when you have to rely on long jump shots throughout the game.

I think that the Raptors have a good chance of advancing to the next round if they address two things. The first being the point guard issue because Jose Calderon played way better this season and proved that he is this team’s true point guard. TJ Ford is a great player but he doesn’t fit into the Raptors offense. TJ looks too much for his own shot and doesn’t get teammates involved as much as Jose does. Orlando had a similar situation with Jaamer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo but, this season Nelson proved that he was the better of the two. Nelson and Arroyo still split the minutes but more minutes go to Nelson, especially during crunch time.

The Raptors would need to trade TJ Ford, Maceo Baston and some cash for Jason Richardson.  The  bobcats are in dire need of a point guard and Ford could fit this role for them. Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson play pretty similar and don’t complement each other. Raymond Felton is a good point guard but he is young and could use some leadership from Tj ford who has playoff experience. Also, without Jason Richardson in the lineup they can more touches to Emeka Okafor because he needs to be averaging at least 20 points a game. Emeka has a lot of talent but he has got lost in the mix of all the shooters on this Charlotte Bobcats. This trade would help out both teams and hopefully the GM’s of both these franchises realize the impact it would have on their respective franchises.