2009–10 Toronto Raptors season
Encyclopedia
The 2009–10 Toronto Raptors
season was the 15th season of the Canadian franchise in the National Basketball Association
(NBA). The Raptors were the busiest team in preseason transactions, replacing the previous season's entire roster with the exception of Chris Bosh
, Andrea Bargnani
, José Calderón
, Patrick O'Bryant
and Marcus Banks
. Although the Raptors were chasing the fourth playoff seed at one point, they capitulated after the All-Star break, and eventually lost the eighth and final playoff spot to Chicago
.
The Raptors entered the 2009–10 NBA season
in a state of flux: they had failed to qualify for the 2009 NBA Playoffs
; it was Jay Triano
's first full season in charge; and there was much uncertainty over the futures of perennial All-Star and captain Chris Bosh
(who was into the final year of his contract), as well as Shawn Marion
and Anthony Parker
, both of whom could possibly become free agent
s before the season began. The roster shakeup began on 9 June 2009, when three-point specialist Jason Kapono
ended his two-year tenure with the Raptors, and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers
for the aggressive veteran forward Reggie Evans
. Toronto then drafted
DeMar DeRozan with the ninth pick, enabling them to fill a spot on the wings. The other major roster change came in the form of signing free agent Hedo Türkoğlu; this led to a sign-and-trade agreement involving four teams, with Toronto landing Devean George
(who was later traded for Marco Belinelli
) and Antoine Wright
, while trading Marion, Kris Humphries
and Nathan Jawai
. Around the same time, Parker signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers
, while Indiana
point guard
Jarrett Jack
was signed to back up José Calderón
and former Raptor Rasho Nesterovič was brought back to the fold. Finally, Carlos Delfino
and Roko Ukić were moved to the Milwaukee Bucks
for Amir Johnson
and Sonny Weems
. It became increasingly clear that Colangelo, in securing a credible nucleus for the future, was doing this to persuade Bosh to stay.
' Cleveland Cavaliers
. Bosh and Andrea Bargnani
recorded impressive numbers—with Bosh leading the league in rebounds and free throw attempts, and also as one of the top scorers—but the Raptors were slow off the blocks, going 7–8 in their first 15 games. In that period, although the Raptors was fourth in the league in number of points scored per game, they were second last in the league in number of points allowed per game as well. Newcomer Wright criticised the team for being unfocused in pre-game preparations, and appealed to team captain Bosh to change that. The Raptors persisted in being one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and their descent culminated in a 146–115 drubbing by the Atlanta Hawks
—the second worst defeat in franchise history—bringing their record to 7–13. They were soon ranked last in most points allowed per 100 possessions, earning a defensive rating that was 10.8% worse than the second-last team, which was the largest disparity in NBA history. The team held a meeting to clear up communication issues among teammates, and this was followed by three consecutive wins.
Türkoğlu was having difficulty adapting to his new team, while injuries were also an issue for the Raptors: Evans had yet to feature with more than a third of the season gone, while Calderón missed a dozen after 20 games into the season. This, however, allowed front court role players like Johnson and Weems to pick up more minutes, and Jack to start at the point. Toronto compiled a 5-game winning streak—its best in years—to climb back into the playoff race, and found themselves 16–17 to round off the year after a bad start to December, and .500 after 36 games. They were able to maintain this record for the next few games, beating premier teams such as the San Antonio Spurs
, Orlando Magic
, Dallas Mavericks
and Los Angeles Lakers
along the way, while Bosh continued leading the league in double doubles and was only one of three players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. By the time the All-Star break arrived, the team had a 29–23 record, going 18–6 after the emergency team meeting in mid-December, which was the second best in the league after Cleveland
.
After hitting a season-high of six games above .500, Toronto's run of good form came to a halt after the All-Star break, due in large part to an injury to Bosh which occurred in a Feb. 17 OT loss to Memphis. The team struggled and went under .500 on 14 March 2010, going 32–33. Their form in March continued to be patchy, and their drop in the conference rankings resulted in a close jostle with the Chicago Bulls
for the eighth and final playoffs spot. Triano also adjusted the starting lineup, moving Türkoğlu and DeRozan to the bench and Wright and Weems in the opposite direction. As the Bulls closed in on the Raptors, Bosh and Türkoğlu suffered injuries, with the former being ruled out of the regular season five games before it ended. When Chicago subsequently routed Toronto, the eighth spot remained up for grabs until the final day of the regular season: if Toronto won New York and Chicago lost to Charlotte
, Toronto would prevail as they led the head-to-head 2–1; however, Chicago won and they took the final spot, with a record of 41–41, one win above Toronto.
|
| 22 || 0 || 11.1 || .534 || .292 || .828 || 1.0 || 1.2 || .6 || .1 || 5.0
|-
|
| 80 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 80 || 35.0 || .470 || .372 || .774 || 6.2 || 1.2 || .3 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 1.4 || 17.2
|-
|
| 66 || 1 || 17.0 || .406 || .380 || .835 || 1.4 || 1.3 || .6 || .1 || 7.1
|-
|
| | 70 || 70 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 36.1 || .518 || .364 || .797 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 10.8 || 2.4 || .6 || 1.0 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 24.0
|-
|
| 68 || 39 || 26.7 || .482 || .398 || .798 || 2.1 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 5.9 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .7 || .1 || 10.3
|-
|
| 77 || 65 || 21.6 || .498 || .250 || .763 || 2.9 || .7 || .6 || .2 || 8.6
|-
|
| 0 || 0 || .0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|-
|
| 28 || 1 || 11.1 || .493 || .000 || .450 || 3.8 || .3 || .5 || .1 || 3.4
|-
|
| style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 82 || 43 || 27.4 || .481 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .412 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .842 || 2.7 || 5.0 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .7 || .1 || 11.4
|-
|
| style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 82 || 5 || 17.7 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .623 || .000 || .638 || 4.8 || .6 || .5 || 0.8 || 6.2
|-
|
| 42 || 8 || 9.8 || .544 || .000 || .200 || 2.1 || .6 || .2 || .4 || 3.9
|-
|
| 11 || 0 || 4.6 || .533 || .000 || .500 || 1.0 || .1 || .2 || .4 || 1.7
|-
|
| 74 || 69 || 30.7 || .409 || .374 || .774 || 4.6 || 4.1 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .7 || .4 || 11.3
|-
|
| 69 || 19 || 19.8 || .515 || .133 || .688 || 2.8 || 1.5 || .6 || .4 || 7.5
|-
|
| 67 || 10 || 20.8 || .406 || .335 || .688 || 2.8 || 1.1 || .4 || .2 || 6.5
|}
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
season was the 15th season of the Canadian franchise in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA). The Raptors were the busiest team in preseason transactions, replacing the previous season's entire roster with the exception of Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh
Christopher Wesson Bosh is an American professional basketball player who plays power forward for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association ....
, Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani , nicknamed "Il Mago" , is an Italian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He was selected first overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. He is a power forward/center standing at 213 cm and weighing 113.4 kg...
, José Calderón
José Calderón (basketball)
José Manuel Calderón Borrallo is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors and the Spanish national team.-European career:...
, Patrick O'Bryant
Patrick O'Bryant
Patrick Fitzgerald O'Bryant is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Kavala B.C. in Greece. The , center was selected out of Bradley University by the Golden State Warriors with the 9th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft...
and Marcus Banks
Marcus Banks
Arthur Lemarcus Banks III, commonly known as Marcus Banks , is an American professional basketball player who most recently played with the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA....
. Although the Raptors were chasing the fourth playoff seed at one point, they capitulated after the All-Star break, and eventually lost the eighth and final playoff spot to Chicago
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
.
Roster
Preseason
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
in a state of flux: they had failed to qualify for the 2009 NBA Playoffs
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
; it was Jay Triano
Jay Triano
Jay Triano is a retired Canadian professional basketball player and former head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Triano gained recognition during his tenure as coach of the Canadian men's national team. He is also a former national team player, who competed in two Olympics, starting in 1984...
's first full season in charge; and there was much uncertainty over the futures of perennial All-Star and captain Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh
Christopher Wesson Bosh is an American professional basketball player who plays power forward for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association ....
(who was into the final year of his contract), as well as Shawn Marion
Shawn Marion
Shawn Dwayne Marion is an American professional basketball player currently with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Born in Waukegan, Illinois, Marion attended high school in Clarksville, Tennessee. Before transferring to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Marion...
and Anthony Parker
Anthony Parker
Anthony Michael Parker is an American professional basketball player who last played with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association . After graduating from Bradley University with a major in liberal arts, he entered the 1997 NBA Draft and played briefly in the NBA before...
, both of whom could possibly become free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
s before the season began. The roster shakeup began on 9 June 2009, when three-point specialist Jason Kapono
Jason Kapono
Jason Alan Kapono is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, Kapono later also played for the Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers...
ended his two-year tenure with the Raptors, and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
for the aggressive veteran forward Reggie Evans
Reggie Evans
Reginald Jamaal "Reggie" Evans is an American professional basketball player. The power forward most recently played for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA...
. Toronto then drafted
2009 NBA Draft
The 2009 NBA Draft was held on June 25, 2009, the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S...
DeMar DeRozan with the ninth pick, enabling them to fill a spot on the wings. The other major roster change came in the form of signing free agent Hedo Türkoğlu; this led to a sign-and-trade agreement involving four teams, with Toronto landing Devean George
Devean George
Devean Jamar George is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He typically plays small forward but because of his athleticism and defensive activity, can defend many shooting guards as well.He attended high school at...
(who was later traded for Marco Belinelli
Marco Belinelli
Marco Stefano Belinelli is an Italian professional basketball player currently with the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA. He is tall and plays as a shooting guard...
) and Antoine Wright
Antoine Wright
Antoine Domonick Wright is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Asefa Estudiantes in Spain. He attended preparatory school at Lawrence Academy at Groton; in 2002, he led the Spartans to an Independent School League Basketball Championship...
, while trading Marion, Kris Humphries
Kris Humphries
Kris Nathan Humphries is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He became an unrestricted free agent in 2011.-Early life:...
and Nathan Jawai
Nathan Jawai
Nathan Jawai is an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Russian team UNICS Kazan.-Pro career:...
. Around the same time, Parker signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
, while Indiana
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Matthew Jack is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA. At 6' 3" tall and weighing 197 lbs , he primarily plays at the guard position...
was signed to back up José Calderón
José Calderón (basketball)
José Manuel Calderón Borrallo is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors and the Spanish national team.-European career:...
and former Raptor Rasho Nesterovič was brought back to the fold. Finally, Carlos Delfino
Carlos Delfino
Carlos Francisco Delfino is an Argentine professional basketball player. He also has Italian citizenship. Delfino plays at the small forward and shooting guard positions. He stands tall and weighs . He is also noted for his defensive skills...
and Roko Ukić were moved to the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
for Amir Johnson
Amir Johnson
Amir Jalla Johnson is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. He plays the position of power forward.-NBA career:...
and Sonny Weems
Sonny Weems
Clarence "Sonny" Weems is an American basketball player who plays for Zalgiris Kaunas. Weems was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA Draft and shortly thereafter traded to the Denver Nuggets. Weems played collegiate basketball at the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas...
. It became increasingly clear that Colangelo, in securing a credible nucleus for the future, was doing this to persuade Bosh to stay.
Regular season
The Raptors opened their season with a 101–91 home win over LeBron JamesLeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
' Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
. Bosh and Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani
Andrea Bargnani , nicknamed "Il Mago" , is an Italian professional basketball player with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. He was selected first overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. He is a power forward/center standing at 213 cm and weighing 113.4 kg...
recorded impressive numbers—with Bosh leading the league in rebounds and free throw attempts, and also as one of the top scorers—but the Raptors were slow off the blocks, going 7–8 in their first 15 games. In that period, although the Raptors was fourth in the league in number of points scored per game, they were second last in the league in number of points allowed per game as well. Newcomer Wright criticised the team for being unfocused in pre-game preparations, and appealed to team captain Bosh to change that. The Raptors persisted in being one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and their descent culminated in a 146–115 drubbing by the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
—the second worst defeat in franchise history—bringing their record to 7–13. They were soon ranked last in most points allowed per 100 possessions, earning a defensive rating that was 10.8% worse than the second-last team, which was the largest disparity in NBA history. The team held a meeting to clear up communication issues among teammates, and this was followed by three consecutive wins.
Türkoğlu was having difficulty adapting to his new team, while injuries were also an issue for the Raptors: Evans had yet to feature with more than a third of the season gone, while Calderón missed a dozen after 20 games into the season. This, however, allowed front court role players like Johnson and Weems to pick up more minutes, and Jack to start at the point. Toronto compiled a 5-game winning streak—its best in years—to climb back into the playoff race, and found themselves 16–17 to round off the year after a bad start to December, and .500 after 36 games. They were able to maintain this record for the next few games, beating premier teams such as the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
, Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
and Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
along the way, while Bosh continued leading the league in double doubles and was only one of three players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. By the time the All-Star break arrived, the team had a 29–23 record, going 18–6 after the emergency team meeting in mid-December, which was the second best in the league after Cleveland
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
.
After hitting a season-high of six games above .500, Toronto's run of good form came to a halt after the All-Star break, due in large part to an injury to Bosh which occurred in a Feb. 17 OT loss to Memphis. The team struggled and went under .500 on 14 March 2010, going 32–33. Their form in March continued to be patchy, and their drop in the conference rankings resulted in a close jostle with the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
for the eighth and final playoffs spot. Triano also adjusted the starting lineup, moving Türkoğlu and DeRozan to the bench and Wright and Weems in the opposite direction. As the Bulls closed in on the Raptors, Bosh and Türkoğlu suffered injuries, with the former being ruled out of the regular season five games before it ended. When Chicago subsequently routed Toronto, the eighth spot remained up for grabs until the final day of the regular season: if Toronto won New York and Chicago lost to Charlotte
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
, Toronto would prevail as they led the head-to-head 2–1; however, Chicago won and they took the final spot, with a record of 41–41, one win above Toronto.
Regular season
|-|
| 22 || 0 || 11.1 || .534 || .292 || .828 || 1.0 || 1.2 || .6 || .1 || 5.0
|-
|
| 80 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 80 || 35.0 || .470 || .372 || .774 || 6.2 || 1.2 || .3 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 1.4 || 17.2
|-
|
| 66 || 1 || 17.0 || .406 || .380 || .835 || 1.4 || 1.3 || .6 || .1 || 7.1
|-
|
| | 70 || 70 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 36.1 || .518 || .364 || .797 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 10.8 || 2.4 || .6 || 1.0 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 24.0
|-
|
| 68 || 39 || 26.7 || .482 || .398 || .798 || 2.1 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 5.9 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .7 || .1 || 10.3
|-
|
| 77 || 65 || 21.6 || .498 || .250 || .763 || 2.9 || .7 || .6 || .2 || 8.6
|-
|
| 0 || 0 || .0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|-
|
| 28 || 1 || 11.1 || .493 || .000 || .450 || 3.8 || .3 || .5 || .1 || 3.4
|-
|
| style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 82 || 43 || 27.4 || .481 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .412 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .842 || 2.7 || 5.0 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .7 || .1 || 11.4
|-
|
| style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| 82 || 5 || 17.7 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .623 || .000 || .638 || 4.8 || .6 || .5 || 0.8 || 6.2
|-
|
| 42 || 8 || 9.8 || .544 || .000 || .200 || 2.1 || .6 || .2 || .4 || 3.9
|-
|
| 11 || 0 || 4.6 || .533 || .000 || .500 || 1.0 || .1 || .2 || .4 || 1.7
|-
|
| 74 || 69 || 30.7 || .409 || .374 || .774 || 4.6 || 4.1 || style="background:#000000;color:#888888;"| .7 || .4 || 11.3
|-
|
| 69 || 19 || 19.8 || .515 || .133 || .688 || 2.8 || 1.5 || .6 || .4 || 7.5
|-
|
| 67 || 10 || 20.8 || .406 || .335 || .688 || 2.8 || 1.1 || .4 || .2 || 6.5
|}