Enemy Lines An Opposing Team's Scout Sizes Up The Raptors

Kevin O'Neill is a defensive specialist from the Riley-Van Gundy school. He'll keep the lane compact, demand that teammates provide help and put a stop to easy layups. bet they'll go from being the worst defensive team last year [the Raptors allowed opponents to shoot 46.1%] to being in the top eight. But they'll be one of the worst offensive-rebounding teams because they don't want to give up easy baskets in transition....

Vince Carter is running out of time to prove that he's a great player. He's in the same position Jerry Stackhouse was two seasons ago when Rick Carlisle and O'Neill took over in Detroit and Stackhouse elevated his all-around game. Carter isn't as good a passer as Stackhouse, but he's talented enough to carry his team to within three or four games of making the playoffs....

The other key guy is Antonio Davis, who needs to quiet the whispers that his body is falling apart. He's got a large salary [$37 million over the next three years] for an undersized center who can't rebound or finish inside the way he used to....

The Raptors lack leadership, which is why they traded with Detroit for Michael Curry. While Curry is past his prime, he's as smart a player as there is....

Jerome Williams is coming off his best season, but he's going to have a difficult time in O'Neill's structured system. Williams is notorious for not following the game plan: Tell him to show on the pick-and-roll and he's going to trap; tell him to trap and he's going to drop off. The fans love him because he makes so many hustle plays, but his undisciplined style leads to just as many baskets for the other team....

A lot of people figure that Chris Bosh [the Number 4 pick out of Georgia Tech] won't give the Raptors much as a rookie, but he might be their best shot blocker, and he's a decent finisher with a nice little jump hook.