Toronto Raptors

Atlantic Division

Toronto Raptors Power Rankings - 2012-13

Power Ranking
WEEK	RECORD	RANK	COMMENT
Week 24	32-48	23	Our old friend Professor Hollinger said that these Raps would win 33 games. DeMar DeRozan unforgettably blasted him as a "clown" for it. And the Raps, after dreaming of competing for the No. 8 spot in the East, are still one win shy of 33 even after a 5-2 flurry this month that's fooling no one.
Week 23	29-48	24	Andrew Wiggins update: Weâ¬"re only a week-plus away from Wigginsâ¬" arrival in Portland for the Nike Hoop Summit. Raptors update: Thanks to the Clips finally getting to 50 wins for the first time, Toronto now holds the unwanted distinction of the league's longest wait at 18 seasons and counting.
Week 22	27-46	25	You can't imagine how much this pains the Canada-loving committee (of one), but it's true: I don't know what to say any more. Might have to start writing in this space about Toronto teen royalty Andrew Wiggins and his looming appearance in the Nike Hoop Summit just to get us through.
Week 21	26-44	26	Amir Johnson's progress, while notable, is only going to satiate the Raps' rabid fans for so long. Even Toronto's hopes of a second-half surge to secure Best of the Worst status have faded with Rudy Gay (back) ailing and Washington surging away from the wreckage of its 4-28 start.
Week 20	26-41	23	The Raps on Sunday became the 11th opponent, believe it or not, to be tied with or leading Miami in the fourth quarter during the Heat's 22-game winning streak. But that's how far we have to reach, sadly, to find something nice to say about the fading Raps, apart from Amir Johnson's board work.
Week 19	25-39	21	Back spasms and his 38 percent shooting from the floor as a Raptor brought a hasty end to the Rudy Gay honeymoon in Toronto. It got so bad during the Raps' recent 1-6 plummet that Kobe's 41 points Friday night felt a lot like the 81 points Mamba hung on them on the same floor back in 2006.
Week 18	23-37	23	The feel-good factor stemming from the Raps' first winning month in TWENTY dating back to January 2010 didn't last long thanks to that OT loss in Milwaukee that realistically dashed any faint playoff hopes after a 7-5 February. P.S.: Rudy Gay is shooting 38.7 percent from the floor as a Raptor.
Week 17	23-33	17	The Raps might have lost Wednesday's Rudy Gay Bowl at home against Memphis, but that's their only loss in a seven-game span that includes a win at Indy, two wins over the Knicks and growing evidence that GM Bryan Colangelo has given Team Canada fresh hope with the core he has assembled.
Week 16	21-32	16	Rudy Gay showed up and a 5-2 surge followed. But the Raps are six games out of the playoffs and don't own their lottery pick, making the endgame unclear. Dealing Andrea Bargnani would appease the fans but likely can't push them up to No. 8. (Blake Murphy, Raptors Republic)
Week 15	19-32	19	Rudy Gay has been needing lots of shots to get his points, but no one's complaining after the Raps halted Indy's 15-game home win streak AND convinced TNT's Kenny Smith to proclaim: "I believe in the Toronto Raptors more than the Lakers" when it comes to sneaking into the playoffs.
Week 14	17-31	22	Familiar questions have followed Rudy Gay north of the border. Namely: Do the Raps dare put Gay on the Vince Carter/Chris Bosh franchise player pedestal? The question, in this case, is not whether Gay will stay but whether he'll look more like a franchise player than he did in Memphis.
Week 13	16-28	24	Even after the Raps won a couple close ones recently -- and even though bad calls and misfortune have played a part in their many torturous defeats -- losing three OT games this month has only added to fan frustration. The consolation: Emerging Ed Davis is averaging 14 and 8 this month.
Week 12	15-26	22	Fulfilling as it was to plunge the Lakers deeper into crisis, Toronto couldn't celebrate as robustly as it wanted to Sunday. Not after losing back-to-back OT crushers against the Bulls and Sixers ... including the painful squandering of a four-point lead in the final eight seconds of regulation in Philly.
Week 11	14-23	20	We're naturally loving Alan Anderson's role in the Raptors' recent 10-4 revival. His return to NBA prominence gives us six Maccabi Tel Aviv alumni in the league alongside Will Bynum, Omri Casspi, Jeremy Pargo, Beno Udrih and Magic scout Anthony Parker, whom I just saw in Reno.
Week 10	12-22	23	Don't want to overreact to a couple of home losses after the Raps' recent 8-2 revival. Just being realistic when we say, with apologies to Toronto and Detroit, that we're still likely down to the current top eight and Philly in contention for playoff spots in the Leastern Conference.
Week 9	11-20	19	A friendly stretch of schedule has undeniably been a factor in the Raps' revival, but a 35-point win on the road -- against anyone under any circumstances -- is one of the "wow" scores of the season. That rout in Orlando took Toronto to 9-6 when Jose Calderon starts, 2-13 when he doesn't.
Week 8	9-19	22	The longest active win streak in the East belongs to the five-in-a-row Raps. So, then, does Team of the Week status. Three key factors: Better team defense with Andrea Bargnani sidelined, more team harmony with Jose Calderon at the controls ... and, yes, some beatable opposition.
Week 7	6-19	25	Home W's from nowhere over Dallas and Houston over the weekend at last lifted (some of) the gloom from a 4-19 start that also stuck Kyle Lowry (shoulder) and Andrea Bargnani (elbow) with long-term injuries. Next encounter with a Texas team: Dec. 26's not-so-inviting trip to San Antonio.
Week 6	4-17	29	One game to go (in Portland) to complete the season-opening slog that called for the Raps to play 15 of their first 22 on the road. They'll be dragging themselves home with the look of a team in need of a major shakeup after six L's by five points or less, several injuries and beaucoup tension.
Week 5	4-13	26	Five straight road games to go in this rough opening quarter of the schedule that called for 15 of the first 22 games to be played away. Not sure if this is small (or zero) consolation for the injury-hit, hard-luck Raps, but they've at least convinced Tony Parker their record is "very misleading."
Week 4	3-11	27	It would appear that the fall-from-ahead loss at home to Indy on opening night was something of a tone-setter for the Raps, who just endured the season's most agonizing week of defeats for any team outside of the nation's capital ... and now hit the road for (yikes) seven of the next eight.
Week 3	3-7	24	The Raps have dipped into the bottom third in defensive efficiency, Kyle Lowry remains frustratingly sidelined and Andrea Bargnani is shooting 36 percent. The consolation: DeMar DeRozan has played the best ball of his career since getting that extension and Jose Calderon isn't far off.
Week 2	1-5	25	With the NHL lockout ongoing, this should be prime time for the Raps. No competition, right? Good luck selling that concept in Canada with the country's only NBA team openly short on confidence without the injured Kyle Lowry and still facing lots of road games this month.
Week 1	1-2	23	While true that you've got to be realistic about sample sizes after just three games, Kyle Lowry is certainly validating Toronto's trust by promptly tying the club record for the most consecutive 20-point, five-rebound, five-assist games in his first three outings. Can't do much more.
Preseason	0-0	22	Everyone obviously wants to start well, but it's particularly critical for Toronto if it has any hope of living up to all the talk about how a run at No. 8 in the East is within reach. Let's see first how the young Raps cope with playing 15 of their first 22 games on the road.
Training Camp	23-43	23	There's quiet optimism north of the border that the Raps can scrap for the East's No. 8 spot. I'll just stop at saying that Valanciunas' unhappy Olympics (and likely slow NBA start) won't discourage me at all about his promise. European coaches are prone to take it slow with young guys.