London 2011: Toronto Raptors Players

Welcome to Part 2 of my preview of the NBA Games in London. The Toronto Raptors will face off with the New Jersey Nets at London's O2 Arena over the weekend of the 4th-6th March.

Next up in the series is a quick look at the players that you might want to look out for playing in Raptors' red.

The Raptors have a number of
quick, young players

DeMar DeRozan: "No Props Needed" is one guy you need to watch. Why? How about this? or this, possibly one of the best dunks-on-a-man I have ever witnessed. Dynamic, athletic, he can jump higher than just about anyone. DeRozan is the future of the Raptors franchise, he's young and popular. Exactly the type of player that the league loves to see play the game. Never a complaint comes from his lips either.

Leandro Barbosa: Another youngster making an impact on the league, Barbosa is recognizable by the half-shirt he wears under his Raptors vest. The powerful Brazilian guard is one of the league's most explosive players, and at 6ft 3in is one of the strongest of his relatively small size.

Andrea Bargnani: Bargnani is one of many Italian players making their name in the NBA, Andrea came from Italian side Benetton Treviso to play his ball in America. One of the NBA's top scoring Centers, Bargnani combines his height (all 7ft of it) and incredible speed for a big guy to score points for fun. Not many Centers can claim to be good ball-handlers too, Bargnani is sublime at keeping that ball in control and doing whatever he wants to do with it. And for a big guy, my goodness can he jump

James Johnson: Any fan who watched the Chicago - Utah pre-season game in London in 2009 knows who Johnson is. In his first starts for Chicago, then-rookie JJ scored the game-winner at the buzzer to seal victory over the Jazz. JJ never really got a chance to shine in Chicago, especially under the new coach who preferred experience to youth athleticism and often left him on the bench, unused. The Bulls realized his dream by sending him off to Toronto where he would be guaranteed the chance to start. Fans instantly warmed to a passionate Johnson as he helped his new team to a win over his former employers in his first-ever game for the Rap's. JJ is quick, he is strong and he can slam a basketball through the hoop as he pleases.