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There isn't a lot going on in NBA news today (except for the insane Eddy Curry story, — I think the guy's lying), so I might as well address the hot topic among Raptors fans that I've admittedly been ducking.
So uh... this Bargnani kid... is he for real, or what?
Over the past eight games, he's averaged 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 53 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range. While we'd like to see another couple of rebounds in that average, nobody could justifiably continue to call him a bust if he maintained those numbers for the rest of the season.
Of course, the problem is that his shooting numbers are unsustainable — especially when opposing teams catch on that he can't be left open behind the arc. Bargnani shot 24-for-40 from three-point range over this eight-game stretch. If you reduce that to a more realistic 16-for-40 success rate (40 percent), his scoring numbers would have been 18.3 points per game and 46 percent from the field. I would be more than happy with this kind of production for the rest of the season.
When teams start trying to take away his three-point shooting (which won't necessarily be easy since he's a seven-footer with a pretty quick release), Bargnani will be forced to take more mid-range jumpers and this — not his improving dribble-drives — is currently the biggest flaw in his offensive game, as his NBA Hot Spots chart indicates. (For the sake of readability, I've cropped his 0-for-4 numbers from the two corner trey zones.)
As you can see, his mid-range shooting is less than stellar — in fact, it's downright putrid in a few locations. It's no mystery that the top of the arc is Bargnani's comfort zone and where he does the most damage. But if opposing coaches instruct their players to play Bargnani tight in that area, how will we adapt?
I think this will be the pressing question going forward in terms of whether or not Bargnani can extend his recent success. Well, that and what will happen when Jermaine O'Neal returns to the lineup. Hopefully, Andrea will maintain his solid effort on defense and continue to show some improvements in the rebounding department (he's averaging half-a-rebound more per 36 minutes this season then he did in each of the two seasons prior) so that he can be a positive contributor to the team even when he's not dropping 20-plus points per game. It's safe to say he's going to be a Raptor for at least the rest of this season no matter what, so let's allow ourselves some cautious optimism that the Italian kid might be all right, after all. 
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