Toronto Raptors Power Rankings - 2011-12

Power Ranking
WEEK	RECORD	RANK	COMMENT
Week 17	22-42	24	Anyone else hoping Valanciunas, when he joins our Raps next season, makes it a condition of his new deal that they can never again wear camouflage? The team he'll be joining has now missed the playoffs for four straight springs ... although, for the record, they weren't trying to avoid the 2012 lottery.
Week 16	22-39	21	The Raps enter the final two weeks of this Waiting For Valanciunas season ranked 15th in the league in defensive efficiency and reveling in weekend-spoiler wins over the Celts and Hawks despite shelving Bargnani (calf) for the rest of the season. Not much more Dwane Casey could have done in Year 1.
Week 15	20-37	24	Washington started it, as covered in the Wiz space, but Toronto also has a hand in the Sixers' slide. When Philly managed 22 points at home Wednesday night against the Raps' improved D, it marked the lowest-scoring half since the team was based in Syracuse and known as the Nationals. In 1953. Before the shot clock.
Week 14	18-35	22	It was 1:44 a.m. Monday when I got my first glimpse of the Raptors' camouflage look on NBA TV. April Fools' must work differently in Canada, because the Raps wore those hideous unis for a full 48 against the Wiz instead of just circulating a bogus picture earlier in the day to scare their fans and playing in their true colors.
Week 13	16-33	24	Even by the standards of this wacky campaign, Toronto just completed a quirky five-day stretch of schedule. They almost pulled off a back-to-back sweep of the hot Knicks (at home) and hotter Bulls (losing by a point in overtime on the road) after losing by double digits to both teams earlier in the week.
Week 12	15-30	25	With Bargnani's recent return generating virtually no hoopla, Toronto did something about it and spoiled Z-Bo's comeback in Memphis with a nice road win over its former Canadian cousin. Yet it's already forgotten after the Raps went out the next night and found a way to give up 107 points at lowly Charlotte.
Week 11	13-28	28	Spaniards can exhale ... or at least stop throwing things. The Raps are optimistic that the ankle Calderon sprained one night after Rubio's season- and Olympics-ending knee injury isn't as bad as first feared. Spain needs Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro to have any shot at toppling a stacked Team USA.
Week 10	12-25	27	The Raps were offensively challenged with Andrea Bargnani and are on-their-knees grateful when they get to 90 points without him. Yet they've actually proved that they can consistently beat their own kind with their improved D under Dwane Casey, posting a 10-8 record against sub-.500 teams.
Week 9	10-23	28	It's an open secret that the Raps crave another high draft pick to plug into the mix along with 2011 lottery selection Jonas Valanciunas ... something Raps fans seem to accept. But it'd sure be nice to see more of Bargnani in the second half to see whether he can sustain the progress shown in the 13 games he's been healthy.
Week 8	9-23	29	The Raps guarded J-Lin about as well as anyone's guarded him so far. Which we'd celebrate with more gusto if they didn't just lose at home to a Charlotte team that has seven 30-point losses already, something only two teams in the past 25 seasons did more often: Denver in '90-91 (10) and Philly in '93-94 (nine).
Week 7	9-20	24	Beating Boston for just the third time in 20 attempts, then taking the Lakers to the wire in a Sunday matinee, both without Bargnani? Not the sort of ending to the week we were expecting after the Raps -- who are a passable 6-7 with a healthy Bargnani -- started it with an OT loss in Washington.
Week 6	8-17	23	The Raptors lead the league ... in road games. They've played 16, tying them with Chicago, but will play seven in a row at home after Monday night's visit to the nation's capital. They're also still hanging in there at a decent No. 16 in defensive efficiency (allowing 100.1 points per 100 possessions) to keep Coach Casey sane.
Week 5	7-14	21	Three road wins in the space of a week at Phoenix, Utah and New Jersey? A 25-point outburst from Linas Kleiza in the Utah triumph after he scored just 42 points total in his first eight games of the season? Six wins in January after just two in January 2010? Surprises galore from the Bargnani-less Raps.
Week 4	4-13	28	The compacted season can't go fast enough for the Raps, who are clearly waiting for the draft in June but still have to play 49 games between now and then. They couldn't score with Bargnani and they've lost six in a row without him, posting a high of 91 points in that span.
Week 3	4-9	24	The Raps knew they'd have trouble scoring, especially when Bargnani is out, but they haven't reached triple digits since opening night in Cleveland. The consolation: Dwane Casey has them at a passable No. 15 in defensive efficiency, allowing 99.8 ppg per 100 possessions.
Week 2	3-5	21	The Raps are pretty punchless on O, but they're playing passable D under Dwane Casey without much in the way of new personnel. The bonus: Bargnani is one of six players to date with multiple 30-point games ... along with KD, LeBron, Melo, Kobe and Monta.
Week 1	1-3	24	Bargnani looks sharp offensively and does seem to be submitting the best defensive effort we've seen from him. Which is all the Raps can ask for in this transitional season waiting for Valanciunas, one more top draftee and next summer's cap space.
Preseason	22-60	26	Dwane Casey will eventually change the culture in Toronto, but he'll need some time before it shows in the standings. The Raps' defense-first new coach has no defensive anchor to pair with Bargnani and won't see Valanciunas until next season.
Training Camp	9-23	0	The Raps guarded J-Lin about as well as anyone's guarded him so far. Which we'd celebrate with more gusto if they didn't just lose at home to a Charlotte team that has seven 30-point losses already, something only two teams in the past 25 seasons did more often: Denver in '90-91 (10) and Philly in '93-94 (nine).