.40 Cal Flakes

With all the options the Raptors have at SG, the inevitable question is who should start?

Austin Ayala

Antoine Wright. 5 seasons under his belt. Won't feel the pressure. Will be there just to perform.

finstock

Since defense is the main concern, I'd say Wright. But, if Demar proves that he can play D at the same level as Wright, then who knows. But that's still a big question mark. I personally think starting Wright for defensive purposes and having Demar and Beli off the bench to provide offense for the second unit is the most desirable scenario.

Nice to have this kind of problem huh? BAAAAMMMMMMMMM!!!!

.40 Cal Flakes

+1

I was thinking exactly the same thing. It makes sense to have Wright in the starting lineup to provide some much needed defensive ability. Demar and Beli coming off the bench for an offensive punch makes sense.

T.O.

DeRozan! DeRozan! DeRozan! DeRozan! DeRozan! DeRozan! DeRozan!
I won't wait to jump on the Bandwagon. He is a rookie and a gym rat
and I love what I see in this guy. 6'7 215 pounds, athletic, good midrange
game. He is not a finished product but I would take him anyday over what
we have on this roster at shooting guard.
Jarret Jack 6'3 202lbs
Belinelli 6'5 192lbs
Antoine Wright 6'7 215lbs
Quincy Douby 6'3 175lbs

Toebee

Let them compete in pre-season and lets see who deserve it. Either way it will be one helluva starting lineup. Last year we had no other options. Now plenty!

n30tokyo

i don't give a damn baby. i just want to see the new guys walk the walk!

.40 Cal Flakes

No doubt Derozan is athletic but he obviously hasn't proven himself at the NBA level yet. IMHO I think it's better to ease him into the transition by having him come off the bench. If he shows that he can step up his game defensively THEN possibly Triano can think about inserting him in the starting lineup. Even then I think it would be better having him come off the bench to provide some scoring punch.

jeffb

It's either going to be Belinelli or Derozan, i pick Belinelli.

I can't see how Wright wouldn't be playing behind Turkoglu at SF. None of the other SG are big enough to play that position except maybe Derozan but i doubt he'll play there except for some minutes here or there.

Mr4thQuarter

DeRozan. Bellinelli is used to sitting on the bench.

finstock

Wright is the defensive minded player the Raps need in the starting line up. Enough offense will be provided by Bosh, Bargs, Hedo, and Jose.

And think of the bench unit. If you put Wright on the bench unit with Rasho, Evans, Jack, and DD or Beli, you only have two real offensive weapons in Jack and DD or Beli.

But if you have DD and Beli on the bench unit with Jack, Evans, and Rasho, there won't be such a void on the offensive side of the ball.

henrymakepeace

We need someone to stop scorer SG/SFs like Lebron, Wade, VC, Kobe, Pierce. We can't expect Hedo doing that as he will focus more on the offence. The obvious answer is Wright but if Wright plays along side with Hedo, then DD has to backup SF position. Can he play SF?

The MVP of West Hollywood

That's what he played in college and his 3 point shooting and dribbling isn't close to being NBA SG-worthy, so I'd say yes.

DD thus far in his career has been about as much of a SG as Richard Jefferson. He has absolutely no guard skills. ZERO. Plus he'll be slower than almost all 2s and again, he can't shoot the 3. His game in his rookie year will be to run out on the break and finish transition hoops, and get open for about 2 midrange jumpshots a game. He'll be a prototypical energy SF and give us what Joey did last year

If he plays SG this year he'll basically be Dahntay Jones with bad defense. There's no reason why he'd step in right away against starting 2s and play anything but questionable d. Almost all one and done players struggle defensively as rookies, the only guys that can step in right away and d up are guys who've been in college for 3/4 years like Courtney Lee and Terrance Williams. One only needs to look at Derrick Rose to see how much experience plays into defensive ability. The guy has the physical tools to be a GOAT PG defender and was probably the worst in the league on that end last year, yes worse than Calderon. Lebron, Wade, etc. had the same thing, it took them 5 years to solidify themselves defensively.

Mr4thQuarter

Guys like that always take the first quarter off.

Distributing the ball, getting the teammates involved, you know the cliches.

If he gets burned, sub him after 6 minutes. That's no big deal.

zachus

Just on the basis of defense, Antoine has to be the guy starting at the two on opening day. There's no way the coaching staff puts Hedo on the Lebrons, Kobes, Wades of the league, so the guy at the two will have to be the guy that has the best shot at slowing star wing players down.

Derozan could have a shot if he proves his defense is legit, but you're more likely to see him backup the three spot because he's still lacking some shooting guard skills.

halphbreedballer

2D will be starting!

gdaytday

You can't base it on height and weight alone.

DeRozan will not be the starting shooting guard for the Raptors on opening night.

fancylad

I'm in favour of Antoine as well. He's the "Wright" man for the job.

get it? wright - right?

get it?

Sick, Wicked and Nasty!

Initially i voted Belinelli...but i'm changing my vote to Wright. There is tons of scoring on the first line...Bell would be better to add some punch off the bench.

zachus

Jack
Belinelli
Derozan
Evans
Rasho

That's an exciting, dynamic group coming off of the bench. With these five guys I'd be confident going to battle against any other bench in the league.