The AltRaps Blog

PISTONS: Up in the Air
CARLOS DELFINO – It’s too soon to say it’s been a happy ending for Delfino in Toronto, but at least it’s a happy beginning, so far. After a rough patch in the preseason with demanding Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, Delfino has earned his coach’s confidence. He’s not starting, but he’s often finishing games, earning 28 minutes a night – second on the team only to All-Star Chris Bosh – while averaging 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds and leading the team in steals with 1.7 a game.

All pretty nice numbers. I’d be a little concerned if I were the Raptors that he’s shooting 44 percent from the 3-point arc. That number isn’t likely to stay nearly that high. Delfino is way too infatuated with his long-range shooting ability – more than half his attempts this year have come from the arc – and he’s never displayed the type of consistency with it to put much faith in 44 percent.

But the early returns support the notion that Toronto would be conducive to drawing out the best in Delfino. The cosmopolitan feel of the city itself should suit a guy who splits his off-seasons between his native Argentina and Italy, where he played professionally and where his girlfriend calls home, and the international cast of players Bryan Colangelo has assembled in Toronto makes for a good fit.

It didn’t work out for him in Detroit, partly because Delfino never achieved the level of consistency needed to warrant the greater role he felt he merited. You can’t blame that on Flip Saunders, either. Saunders was very patient with him last season, essentially cutting Flip Murray out of the rotation for a good chunk of the season to give Delfino minutes behind both Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton. Delfino needed constant reinforcement, something that didn’t mesh with the blue-collar culture of the Pistons’ locker room. The international flavor in Toronto probably gives Delfino a greater sense of community than he felt as a Piston.