9/21/09
by: Scott
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In the weeks leading up to the 2009-10 season, I'm going to profile the 11 Raptors who should receive most of the playing time this season. Today, we turn the RaptorBlog spotlight on Marco Belinelli.
2008-09 numbers: 42 games, 21.0 MPG, 8.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.0 BPG, 0.9 SPG, .442 FG%, .397 3P%, .769 FT%
I'll admit to not knowing all that much about Marco Belinelli, but here's what I think I know about him: He's the "Bizarro DeMar DeRozan" — his strengths are DeMar's weaknesses and vice versa. Strengths: Shooting range, ball-handling and playmaking. Weaknesses: Athleticism, rebounding and conditioning.
I gleaned Marco's strengths from the limited game action I've witnessed. As for his supposed weaknesses, I gathered those from various Warriors message boards and comment threads — except for the rebounding thing, which is evident from his craptastic career average of 2.7 boards per 36 minutes. (What's the deal with Italians and rebounding, huh? Do they even practise rebounding in Italy or do they just let the ball roll to a stop before one of the coaches picks it up?)
About his rep for poor conditioning — don't take my word for it, peep the photo accompanying this article. That jersey seems a little tight around the middle, don't you think?
It's still hard to believe that Bryan Colangelo managed to acquire a decent young player for the rotting corpse of Devean George and a little bit of cash. He should settle right into the role of sixth man for the Raptors — providing instant offence off the bench and possibly playing the point once in a while. I expect he'll quickly become a fan favourite among the bad-tan-and-spiky-hair set. 
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