2007–08 Toronto Raptors season
Air Canada Centre | |
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Results | |
Record | 41–41 (.500) |
Place | Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 6th (Eastern) |
Playoff finish | First Round (lost to Magic 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television |
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Radio | CJCL |
The 2007–08 Toronto Raptors season was the 13th
Roster
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Roster |
Offseason
Coming off a successful
Regular season
The Raptors were once again led by captain and
Nevertheless, the Boston Celtics, who had acquired NBA All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen before the season began, were setting the pace in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference as pundits had predicted (they would go on to record a league-best 66 wins in the regular season). Meanwhile, the Raptors struggled to maintain a .500 record. Moon was kept in the starting lineup for the most part and the rookie put up several good performances, while Calderón—who would lead the league with a 5.38 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio by the season's end—was equally outstanding stepping in for Ford who had suffered a severe injury to his back.[14] Delfino was a revelation as well, contributing on both ends of the court when he was first brought into the fold. Bargnani on the other hand did not perform as expected and apart from Bosh, the frontcourt often saw the rotation of the Italian, Nesterovič and Kris Humphries. Kapono, in the meantime, was seldom used to his full potential, either in terms of minutes played or shots attempted.
December was a particularly challenging period, with injuries to several key players, a long road trip and games against some of the best teams in the league. Toronto reached the mid-season mark with a 22–19 record and ranked as the best three-point shooting and second best free-throw shooting team in the NBA.[15] It marked the start of its latter half of the season with a road win against Boston,[16] and January proved to be the best month yet as Toronto capitalised on home advantage and went 8–5.
The 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend featured four Raptors: Bosh as the starting power forward for the East in the All-Star game, Bargnani and Moon for the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge, Moon for the Slam Dunk contest, and Kapono for the Three-Point Shootout.[17] By this period, Bargnani and Bosh were beginning to combine more effectively, while Calderón continued to put in impressive performances regularly. Juan Dixon was traded to Detroit Pistons for Slovenian centre Primož Brezec before the trading deadline.[18]
February and early March featured mostly opponents from the lower half of the league table, but Toronto had difficulties pulling away from the .500 mark, although the home win over the Knicks on 24 February 2008—their 54th game of the campaign—was the fastest Toronto ever reached the 30-win mark in a season.[19] Nevertheless, the loss of Bosh for several games in the final third of the campaign sent the Raptors struggle even further; in a heavy 102–137 defeat to the Denver Nuggets on 14 March 2007, the team set a franchise record for most first-half points given up.[20] With Boston dominating the division—and subsequently winning the title easily—Toronto's problems were exacerbated by Ford's increasing frustration at playing backup to Calderón, and there were even calls for Ford to be traded at the end of the season.[21] Nesterovič was one of the few players who played well in Bosh's absence, but was unable to halt the team's slide.
The return of Bosh in late March served as a minor reprieve, but the Raptors continued to capitulate in spectacular fashion in their remaining games, plummeting down the conference rankings with defeat after defeat, and fans were beginning to show their displeasure.
Season standings
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
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z-Boston Celtics | 66 | 16 | .805 | – | 35–6 | 31–10 | 14–2 |
x-Toronto Raptors | 41 | 41 | .500 | 25 | 25–16 | 16–25 | 10–6 |
x-Philadelphia 76ers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 26 | 22–19 | 18–23 | 7–9 |
New Jersey Nets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 32 | 21–20 | 13–28 | 4–12 |
New York Knicks | 23 | 59 | .280 | 43 | 15–26 | 8–33 | 5–11 |
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | z-Boston Celtics | 66 | 16 | .805 | – |
2 | y-Detroit Pistons | 59 | 23 | .732 | 7 |
3 | y-Orlando Magic | 52 | 30 | .634 | 14 |
4 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 21 |
5 | x-Washington Wizards | 43 | 39 | .524 | 23 |
6 | x-Toronto Raptors | 41 | 41 | .500 | 25 |
7 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 26 |
8 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 29 |
9 | Indiana Pacers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 30 |
10 | New Jersey Nets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 32 |
11 | Chicago Bulls | 33 | 49 | .402 | 33 |
12 | Charlotte Bobcats | 32 | 50 | .390 | 34 |
13 | Milwaukee Bucks | 26 | 56 | .317 | 40 |
14 | New York Knicks | 23 | 59 | .280 | 43 |
15 | Miami Heat | 15 | 67 | .183 | 51 |
Game log
2007–08 game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 1–0 (home: 1–0; road: 0–0)
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November
: 8–7 (home: 4–4; road: 4–3)
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December
: 8–8 (home: 3–2; road: 5–6)
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January
: 8–5 (home: 6–2; road: 2–3)
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February
: 7–5 (home: 4–4; road: 3–1)
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March
: 6–11 (home: 4–3; road: 2–8)
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April
: 3–5 (home: 3–1; road: 0–4)
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2007–08 season schedule |
Playoffs
The first-round series against the Magic was touted as the matchup between two of the league's best young big men in Dwight Howard and Bosh, but the Raptors were perceived to have an advantage in their dual-point guard play.[26] With Orlando holding home court advantage, however, the Raptors were unable to win their first two road games. In Game 1, Bargnani was deployed as the starting small forward (with Nesterovič moved to the bench) but this did not pay dividends. Orlando took a huge lead in the first quarter with nine three-pointers converted and with Howard dominating the game, Toronto were unable to cut back on the deficit.[27] Game 2 was the same with Orlando opening up the first quarter with a big lead and Howard dominating yet again, but solid plays from Bosh, Kapono and Calderón saw the Raptors take the lead with just a couple of minutes remaining in the game.[28] With 9 seconds left on the clock, Bosh had a chance to score the game-winning basket but his 18-foot jumper missed the mark.[28]
Coach Mitchell promised yet another change in the starting lineup for Game 3 at Toronto (with Moon replacing Nesterovič), and this time the Magic were unable to dominate the first quarter as before.[29] With Ford leading Toronto in scoring and Calderón stepping up his game yet again, the Raptors preserved some hope with a 108–94 home win.[29] Only one point separated both teams leading up to the fourth quarter in Game 4, and despite Bosh recording 39 points and 15 rebounds,[30] deadly shooting by the Magic in the final few minutes ensured victory for the visitors. Back on the road in Game 5, Toronto were outplayed by the Magic in the second half, and were thus eliminated from the first round four games to one. GM Bryan Colangelo said at a press conference thereafter, "Whether it's protecting [Bosh] inside the paint, getting a little bit more of a presence in there, to just getting him another scorer that's going to shoulder some of that burden, it's something that's clear we have to get better", hinting that changes to the squad beckoned for the next season.[31] Throughout the series, Orlando's point guard Jameer Nelson capitalised on being left unguarded and shot 51.9% from the three-point arc, while Howard single-handedly outrebounded the entire Toronto frontcourt with 91 rebounds.[32]
Playoffs
2008 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
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2008 playoff schedule |
Player statistics
Regular season
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Andrea Bargnani | 78 | 53 | 23.9 | .386 | .345 | .840 | 3.7 | 1.1 | .29 | .47 | 10.2 |
Maceo Baston | 15 | 2 | 6.9 | .680 | .000 | .700 | 1.7 | .2 | .13 | .27 | 2.7 |
Chris Bosh | 67 | 67 | 36.2 | .494 | .400 | .844 | 8.7 | 2.6 | .94 | 1.00 | 22.3 |
Primož Brezec* | 50 | 18 | 9.5 | .468 | .000 | .600 | 1.6 | .2 | .06 | .14 | 2.2 |
José Calderón | 82 | 56 | 30.3 | .519 | .429 | .908 | 2.9 | 8.3 | 1.06 | .07 | 11.2 |
Carlos Delfino | 82 | 0 | 23.5 | .397 | .382 | .744 | 4.4 | 1.8 | .84 | .13 | 9.0 |
T. J. Ford | 51 | 26 | 23.5 | .469 | .294 | .880 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 1.06 | .00 | 12.1 |
Jorge Garbajosa | 7 | 0 | 10.6 | .320 | .375 | .000 | 2.1 | .4 | .43 | .00 | 3.1 |
Joey Graham | 38 | 3 | 8.7 | .434 | .667 | .844 | 1.8 | .4 | .08 | .00 | 3.6 |
Kris Humphries | 70 | 0 | 13.2 | .483 | .000 | .605 | 3.7 | .4 | .36 | .40 | 5.7 |
Jason Kapono | 81 | 7 | 18.9 | .488 | .483 | .860 | 1.5 | .8 | .42 | .02 | 7.2 |
Darrick Martin | 17 | 0 | 8.3 | .233 | .125 | .833 | .4 | 1.2 | .35 | .00 | 1.6 |
Jamario Moon | 78 | 75 | 27.8 | .485 | .328 | .741 | 6.2 | 1.2 | 1.03 | 1.38 | 8.5 |
Radoslav Nesterović
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71 | 39 | 20.9 | .550 | .333 | .755 | 4.8 | 1.2 | .28 | .73 | 7.8 |
Anthony Parker | 82 | 82 | 32.1 | .476 | .438 | .816 | 4.1 | 2.2 | .96 | .21 | 12.5 |
*Total for entire season including previous team(s)
Playoffs
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Andrea Bargnani | 5 | 5 | 20.8 | .333 | .250 | 1.000 | 1.4 | .4 | .80 | .60 | 6.4 |
Maceo Baston | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | 1.00 | .00 | .0 |
Chris Bosh | 5 | 5 | 39.8 | .472 | .143 | .833 | 9.0 | 3.6 | 1.60 | .40 | 24.0 |
José Calderón | 5 | 0 | 24.0 | .440 | .476 | 1.000 | 3.6 | 7.0 | .20 | .00 | 11.8 |
Carlos Delfino | 5 | 0 | 24.2 | .405 | .267 | .900 | 4.8 | 2.2 | .80 | .00 | 8.6 |
T. J. Ford | 5 | 5 | 24.8 | .362 | .125 | .938 | 4.4 | 6.6 | 1.00 | .00 | 11.6 |
Joey Graham | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .00 | .00 | .0 |
Kris Humphries | 3 | 0 | .7 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .00 | .00 | .0 |
Jason Kapono | 5 | 0 | 30.4 | .585 | .542 | .750 | 2.6 | .8 | .40 | .00 | 15.6 |
Jamario Moon | 5 | 3 | 20.8 | .379 | .364 | 1.000 | 4.8 | .8 | 1.20 | .60 | 5.4 |
Radoslav Nesterović
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5 | 2 | 15.4 | .500 | .000 | .500 | 2.6 | .6 | .20 | .40 | 4.6 |
Anthony Parker | 5 | 5 | 39.2 | .408 | .294 | .857 | 6.0 | 2.0 | .80 | .40 | 11.4 |
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game
|
Source: | [33] |
References
- ^ a b c Nesterovic Leads The Way In Raptors Win, nba.com/raptors, 14 April 2008, accessed 15 April 2008.
- NBA.com. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ Smith, Doug, "Ticket sales put Raptors in model franchise territory", thestar.com, 5 September 2007, accessed 6 September 2007.
- ^ Ulmer, Mike, "Giorgos Printezis Happy to Be a Raptor", nba.com/raptors, 29 June 2007, accessed 12 July 2007.
- ^ Raptors Acquire Carlos Delfino From Pistons, nba.com/raptors, 15 June 2007, accessed 22 July 2007
- ^ Raptors Sign Jamario Moon, nba.com/raptors, 10 July 2007, accessed 22 July 2007.
- ^ Raptors Sign Maceo Baston to Offer Sheet, nba.com/raptors, 11 July 2007, accessed 22 July 2007.
- ^ Ulmer, Mike, "Kapono Happy to be Joining Raptors", nba.com/raptors, 12 July 2007, accessed 13 July 2007.
- ^ Hornets ink Morris Peterson for 4 years, cbc.ca, 23 July 2007, accessed 9 August 2007.
- ^ Raptors Devour Wizards, nba.com, 26 October 2007, accessed 2 November 2007.
- ^ Raptors Make Statement in N.J., nba.com/raptors, 2 November 2007, accessed 3 November 2007.
- ^ Smith, Doug, "Raptors make a change; Bargnani goes to bench", thestar.com, 8 November 2007, accessed 9 November 2007.
- ^ Raptors Rip Bulls, 101-71, nba.com, 10 November 2007, accessed 11 November 2007.
- ^ Ford and Calderon look to continue their dominance, cbc.ca, 26 April 2008, accessed 27 April 2008.
- ^ Spears, Marc, "Celtics left seeing triple", boston.com, 24 January 2008, accessed 25 January 2008.
- ^ Raptors at Celtics Game Info, nba.com, 23 January 2008, accessed 4 May 2008.
- ^ 2008 NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND RECAP Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, basketball.ca, 19 February 2008, accessed 22 February 2008.
- ^ Raptors Acquire Primoz Brezec in Exchange for Dixon, nba.com/raptors, 21 February 2008, accessed 22 February 2008.
- ^ Post-Game Notes, nba.com/raptors, 24 February 2008, accessed 25 February 2008.
- ^ Smith, Doug, "Players stick together as slide deepens", thestar.com, 16 March 2008, accessed 17 March 2008.
- ^ Feschuk, Dave, "Raptors' Ford may be wearing out his welcome", thestar.com, 28 March 2008, accessed 29 March 2008.
- ^ Smith, Doug, "Raptors dispatch Bucks 111-93", thestar.com, 9 April 2008, accessed 10 April 2008.
- ^ Grange, Michael, "Numbers don't lie for Raptors", The Globe and Mail, 26 April 2008.
- ^ Schuuhmann, John, "The Numbers Game: Who will help most?", nba.com, 29 October 2008, accessed 3 November 2008.
- ^ Casciaro, Joseph, "Raptors Season in Review: What We Learned"[permanent dead link], thescore.ca, 17 April 2008, accessed 26 April 2008.
- ^ Feschuk, Dave, "Ford finally firing on all cylinders for Raptors", thestar.com, 25 April 2008, accessed 26 April 2008.
- ^ Dwight Howard's 20-20 Game Leads Magic Past Raptors Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, 20 April 2008, accessed 26 April 2008.
- ^ a b Howard's Second 20-20 Game Lifts Magic Past Raptors Archived 2014-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, 23 April 2008, accessed 26 April 2008.
- ^ a b Raptors Cut Magic's Lead to 2-1 Archived 2014-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, 25 April 2008, accessed 26 April 2008.
- ^ Magic at Raptors Game Info Archived 2014-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, 26 April 2008, accessed 26 April 2008.
- ^ Smith, Doug, "Colangelo: Sam's safe 'for now'", thestar.com, 30 April 2008, accessed 1 May 2008.
- ^ Feschuk, Dave, "Nelson dangerous, Howard kills", thestar.com, 18 November 2008, accessed 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference.