At the end of the 2007-08 season it was clear the Toronto Raptors had a very good team, but it was also clear they needed help in the rebounding and toughness department. General Manager Bryan Colangelo addressed it the best way possible by sending an extra point guard (T.J. Ford) and a big man who didn't rebound (Rasho Nesterovic) to the Indiana Pacers for All-Star Jermaine O'Neal. Now the Raptors, on paper, have all the tools to challenge the Boston Celtics for Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference titles.

"I think Jermaine is one of the top centers in the league, or power forward, whatever he decides to play," said Anthony Parker. "His addition to our team brings us what we were missing last year. He brings toughness, he brings defensive presence in the paint, and he's a great rebounder. All those things we struggled with last year, so it's very exciting to have him on the team. The organization and the fans are just really excited for another season."

Over the course of the 07-08 season the Raptors outscored, out-assisted, out-shot, and out-just-about-everything-elsed their opponents – except rebounding. At 40.07 boards a night the Raps finished 28th in the league in that category. Their rebounding differential of -1.54 was 22nd in the league.

With Jermaine O'Neal starting in the frontcourt alongside All-Star Chris Bosh, it would stand to reason they will definitely improve those rebounding numbers. O'Neal averaged just 6.7 rebounds a game last year, but he told HOOPSWORLD in Las Vegas he played the last season and a half on a torn meniscus. After taking the second half of the season off, getting healthy, and dedicating himself to getting in the best shape of his life, O'Neal is looking forward to a rebirth.

"I knew that to get back to the level people are used to seeing me play at I had to really take the time off, have a great summer, and then go into the season with a different physical focus and a different mental focus," said Jermaine O'Neal.

"I'm going to come back in a major way next year."

That sounds like good news for Raptors fans. What also sounds like good news is O'Neal's realization of how good he can be when he's healthy and how he can help this team.

"When you look at my stats from last year, people say okay he averaged 13 points and six or seven rebounds a game. That was on one leg. And also, I came off the bench for ten games and only played 20 minutes, so my scoring averages went down. Overall, my numbers have been some of the best in the league the last seven years."

But  what about that Bosh and O'Neal combination? Very few teams in the league have the ability to matchup with a frontcourt as athletic, versatile, and explosive as a healthy Bosh-O'Neal duo.  Even the world champion Boston Celtics don't seem to have the frontcourt depth to handle both of those players.

"It can be scary," O'Neal said of playing with Bosh. "Teams haven't seen that in a while, where you can throw two guys on both boxes who can shoot the 15-foot jump shot, post up, put the ball on the floor... I don't really know who you can double off of because we have three-point shooting on the perimeter so teams are going to have to really roll their sleeves up."

"Chris makes all of our lives so much easier, then you add a guy like Jermaine O'Neal who is the exact same kind of presence - he's going to open things up," said Parker. "You have got to honor him, send two people at him the same as with Chris, and that opens it up for guys like me and Jason Kapono from outside. Beautiful."

It's not just that Bosh and O'Neal make everything else easier on their teammates, but with their experience and leadership abilities they have the young guys juiced as well.

"I'm definitely excited because I learn a lot from Jermaine and Chris in my next two years with the Raptors," said Australian rookie forward Nathan Jawai.

Making Jose Calderon the full-time point guard isn't going to hurt either. Last season he dished 8.3 assists in 30.3 minutes a night while scoring 11.2 points on 51.9% shooting from the field (and 42.9% from three-point range). Being the undisputed starter should push his minutes into the 35-39 per game range, so expect his assists to hit double digits as Bosh and O'Neal give him plenty of options in the post.

While everyone around the Raptors seems excited because of the changes , O'Neal is still going to be cautiously optimistic.

"We're going to have to roll our sleeves up also. We look good on paper, but we gotta get the chemistry. We gotta get that swagger about ourselves that we're one of the better teams in the league. As soon as we get that I think we can be really good, but the work is still yet to be done."

The Boston Celtics have that swagger and it's well-deserved, but the Toronto Raptors don't plan on letting Boston enjoy it for too long.