Jermaine O'Neal believes that the Raptors have a shot to accomplish something special in Toronto this season.

"Me, Chris Bosh, and Jose (Calderon) sat down after the scrimmage (last week), and it was like, 'Man, we have a real shot here,' " O'Neal said. "We've got a real shot."

"Obviously, we have the talent on paper, and if we mentally believe that and bring that swagger every day, that we're the best team on the floor every time we step on the floor, we've got a shot at doing some great things this year."

O'Neal arrived in Toronto this July in a trade that sent T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and a draft pick to Indiana.

"We just have to remind ourselves ? because we've never been in a situation like this, where we've had so much help and had somebody to really depend on every night ? that this is for a greater cause," said O'Neal. "It's about winning. At the end of the day, if I score two points and we won, and I got 10 rebounds and two blocks, that's great to me."

"I didn't make the playoffs the last two years, had two really tough years physically and mentally, it doesn't really matter. The personal accomplishments don't matter. I understand what I need to do for this team to be successful, and sometimes they're not going to need me to score. They need me to bring the defensive presence."