It is one of the grandest experiments in Raptors history, a combination of two big men each used to being the main man on his team. How it plays out will determine how the season unfolds in Toronto.

Adding Jermaine O'Neal to the front court alongside Chris Bosh gives the Raptors their most potent power forward-center ever, but it's going to take a while to see how it works.

O'Neal, coming off two injury-plagued seasons with Indiana, is a six-time all-star trying to reclaim his spot among the top bigs in the NBA; Bosh is a three-time all-star continuing his ascension in the league. Can they co-exist?

"I think we are really starting to adjust to one another," said O'Neal. "One thing we understand now is that when I get the rebound he is going to run out and when he gets it I will run out. That's kind of the biggest piece of the puzzle when you talk about two bigs that can really score in the box.

"There are going to be times when both of us will go for a rebound, but really the guy furthest from the basket needs to run out quickly because our offense is really set up toward the big getting to the box and really getting into the offense."

Coach Sam Mitchell said he's not worried about how the two get used to each other in the preseason. He puts little stock in the pretend games, preferring instead to wait for the real thing to start.

"I'm not focused on that, I'm just focused on what we're doing as a team. Are we doing the things we've worked on thus far? Those are the things," he said.

"Jermaine and Chris got the entire preseason and everybody else to figure out how they're going to play with each other and get better at doing that. And every day it gets a little bit better."

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