The Toronto Raptors Ten Games In: A Look At Some Numbers

Through the first ten games of the season the Toronto Raptors have looked like a legitimate playoff threat on some nights and a squad searching for an identity on others.  Their 5-5 record is currently good enough for second place in the thin Atlantic Division, but that wouldn’t be enough to secure a playoff spot if they were to start today.

The Raptors’ team defense hasn’t been able to get anything done consistently.  They’re currently averaging one more point for than against through their first ten contests.  The 106.9 points for per contest is great, but they’ve been unable to hold off their opponents late in games.  The eventual return of Reggie Evans might help them out on the glass, but thus far Jay Triano hasn’t been able to right this historically bad defense.

Here’s a look at some individual numbers from this small sampling of games:

24.8 – It’s the minutes per game averaged by Jarrett Jack during the Raptors’ five wins.  Jack has average 22 minutes per contest in their five losses.  While three more minutes of Jarrett Jack isn’t necessarily the difference between winning and losing it’s certainly something worth taking note of as they move forward.

0.6 – The differential between Jose Calderon’s average assist totals for wins (7) and losses (6.4).  It doesn’t seem like much until you consider that it’s roughly two whole dimes below his average from the past two seasons.  We’ve been waiting patiently for Calderon to develop some semblance of consistency early this year, here’s to hoping that it’s coming soon.

21 – The lowest single-game point total from Chris Bosh thus far in 2009-10.  Bosh has given the faithful little-to-no reason to be unsatisfied with his performance so far, his average of 27.7 points per game is five better than his career high from 2008-09.  Bosh’s incredible performance at the free-throw line has been nothing to sneeze at, nor has his .857 percentage from beyond the arc (he’s made six 3’s).  A decrease in both of those areas is no doubt due, but it’s been fun to watch.

6.8 – Andrea Bargnani’s rebounds per game average from Raptors’ victories.  Il Mago dips down to 4.6 boards per contest in losses, this team needs their big men to clean up on the glass if they’re to be serious contenders.  Bargnani has been excellent from the strip with a 93.9 FT%, good enough for second best in the Association.

4 – It’s the equal number of wins and losses when the Raptors put up 100 or more points in a game.

Tags: NBA, Statistics, Toronto Raptors