Andrea has been "beasting" when he is on the floor for the Raptors.

Prior to the 2011 – 2012 NBA season, Bargnani was known as a 7 foot big man who would just stand behind the 3 point line and shoot threes. Rarely did he post up or trying to get to the free throw line. He was labeled as a “soft” player. This year with last Dallas Mavericks assistant coach, Dwayne Casey, the culture of the Toronto Raptors is changing. For the last several years, the Raptors have been labeled as a offensive team. Dwayne Casey is trying to change the culture of the Raptors and has made Bargnani post up, take the ball to the basketball, and play below the free throw line. Very similar to what current Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle forced Dirk to do.

Bargnani has been hurt lately, but he is averaging 23.5 ppg 6.5 rpg and shooting about 48% from the field. Here are some highlights of Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors will continue to improve with Bargnani being their go to guy. If they can surround him with the right talent, he can lead the Raptors to greater heights.

Watch as Raymar Morgan receives the initial entry pass but is hounded by Wayne Chism from his right and Scotty Hopson from his left.

He kicks the ball out to Durrell Summers who replaced the original passer after he cut through. Therefore, Chism is forced to follow him to the corner (away from Morgan) and Hopson has to play on ball defense agaisnt Summers (again, away from Morgan).

This allows Morgan to repost once the help defenders are pulled away and have more space to work. He takes adavantage of this as Brian Williams does not bring as strong of help defense, so Morgan has space to operate and he beats his defender and draws the foul.

Too often I see post men give up on the post open when they pass the ball back out. This kickout can catch the defense in a momentary lapse, which the offense can take advantage of and secure the better position. It can also open up space (as seen above) as the help defense shifts as offensive players cut through.

It can be somewhat frustrating to see these young players kick the ball out when they are not open in the post and give up on the play. They just need to learn to not give up on the play and keep fighting for position. Often, the action of kicking the ball out will lead to more openings once they get the ball back.

When this happens, it is a thing of beauty. It’s a simple concept but one that young players who have dominated weaker competition in the post up to this point needs to learn. They master this and they will become deadly in the post.