March Madness in Review

Nick McIsaac: “The Raptors are looking good, but unfortunately, this is the time of year when they need to look bad”

 Britney McIntosh of UK Athletics

Heading into the final month of the NBA season, the Toronto Raptors are showing improvement on the court. They have won their last two in a row, beating the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Bobcats, and just a week ago they took down a tough Nuggets’ team making it three wins in their last four games. On top of that, they lost a close one to the Miami Heat this past Friday. Yep, the Raptors are looking good, but unfortunately, this is the time of year when they need to look bad.

With the NCAA Tournament wrapping up on Monday night and Kentucky emerging the victors, all of us have had a better chance to see the best college ball players highlight their skills. There were some players who broke out and proved why scouts are so high on them, and some that either faltered or didn’t even show up. With the Raptors in the basement this year and a deep draft ahead, it was a chance to see who might be wearing one of those ugly camo jerseys next season. However, in traditional Toronto sports team fashion, the Raps (sitting at 4^th worst in the league just last week) have managed to worsen their chance at a decent draft pick by winning for some inexplicable reason. They currently sit 8^th last in the NBA, and while the lottery may net them a higher draft slot, it might be time to seriously consider sabotaging the remaining twelve games to try to get one of these top five guys:

 

1. Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky

To me, this is the guy you have to draft if you get the #1 pick. Before I go on just watch this video of a Kentucky/Georgia game from earlier this year. Watch it? Good. Now remember that this kid is only 18 and going to not only grow physically but mentally as well. He already has a good grasp on the game and can make his presence felt under the net; in fact despite going only 1-10 in the championship game against Kansas, he grabbed 16 rebounds against a team that had been winning games the entire tournament by out-rebounding opponents (see: Thomas Robinson, #3 in this list). The kid was also a defensive machine in the final game, posting 6 blocks on Kentucky’s way to a national championship and remember: you can’t undervalue what winning will do to a young man’s development of confidence when leaving for the NBA.

It’s not likely the Raptors will earn the #1 pick, as the top spot will likely go to the Charlotte Bobcats or even the Hornets or the Wizards if either team gets lucky at the lottery, but of all the players entering the draft this year, he might be the one with the most raw-talent. That being said, the Raptors currently have this position filled with a combination of Bargnani and young forward Ed Davis. They also have Valanciunas joining the team next year as another big man, but with the crazy amount of talent in the front court available in this draft, it would be difficult to pass up the opportunity to snag one of these guys if you are handed a top three pick.

2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky

Quite frankly this is whom I want the Raptors to get from the draft; he could become the best player in this year’s draft class and fills a role at small forward that would give Toronto a starting lineup of Valanciunas, Bargnani, Kidd-Glichrist, Derozan, and Caulderon. Doesn’t sound bad does it? Heading into Champ Week, a lot of experts had this guy ranked way down in the #5 spot, but after an amazing showing at the SEC and NCAA tournaments, his stock has risen to the point where the #2 pick is a debate between him and Robinson. I give the slight edge to Kidd-Gilchrist still just based on what I’ve seen him do the past month.

If the Raptors luck out with this pick, it’s a no-brainer; they already have Bargnani and Davis in the power forward position and need someone to take over James Johnson’s role in the starting lineup. I don’t think they do, but depending on how the lottery turns out, Robinson may be the choice here for whoever gets the 2^nd overall pick, meaning Kidd-Gilchrist falls to #3. Unfortunately, I don’t see him falling much further than that and then the Raptors are going to have to make a tough decision.

3. Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas

This guy is a physical presence under the net and something the Raptors have been lacking for years. They tried to fill the rebounding hole that the perimeter play of forward Andrea Bargnani leaves by drafting Ed Davis, but he doesn’t seem to be fitting into the role. Despite being almost the same size and age (Davis is 6’10”, 232 lbs, and 22 years old while Robinson is 6′-9”, 237 lbs. and turned 21 last month), Robinson seems like the more mature, bigger body around the basket. I mean all this could change when he moves up a level into the NBA, but his play this last year seems to predict good things.

The problem is that with the Raptors winning as of late, I don’t think they have a chance at this guy. An option they have later in the round is Jared Sullinger out of Ohio State, who in my opinion is an NBA ready power forward and a discount at anything lower than the #8 pick. With Toronto’s draft position falling rapidly, this might be a more realistic option and we could end up with the other #0 (both Robinson and Sullinger wear the goose egg on their jerseys) playing for the Raps next season.

4. Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina

This is where it gets tricky for Toronto, as Andre Drummond is probably the best player available at this spot. Unfortunately they have Valanciunas waiting in the wings and don’t need to draft another power forward unless it is one of the aforementioned Davis or Robinson, both of whom are way too talented to pass up. The Raptors could very well go the way of Drummond, but I’m thinking they try and fill their need at small forward here and take a risk on Barnes. I’m not to high on the guy, but he is talented and should be able to put some points on the board at an NBA level. Basically this pick would require every Raptors’ fan to cross their fingers an hope that Valanciunas can fill our rebounding need and play at an NBA level, and that Barnes will develop into a legitimate NBA starter.

5. Bradley Beal, SG, Florida

Ok, so I’m still assuming that the Raptors have passed over Drummond, but if Barnes is gone, I say that rather than go after one of the remaining big men, like Cody Zeller or either one of the Jones’ (Perry III or Terrence, both of who are ranked too high on most boards in my opinion anyway), they try to beef up their backcourt. If Beal is still available the Raps will pick him up either as a replacement or a backup plan for Derozan. Let’s face it: DeMar has been playing well this year, but Beal could easily grab the starting role from him. He is definitely the best shooting guard available in the draft, ahead of Jeremy Lamb out of Uconn, and it would be difficult for Toronto to pass him up with the 5^th pick in the draft. I would actually rank him higher than Barnes, but the draft is about filling needs, and right now, the weakest link on the Raps is the small forward position.

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Nick McIsaac is Toronto Standard’s sports writer. Follow him on Twitter (for everything sports related) at @nickclass.

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