By: Adamo Marinelli
Dec. 24, 2020
The Toronto Raptors have built a team with a reputation for excellent defense, transition play, and outstanding bench depth with head coach Nick Nurse.
Nurse is a talented coach with experience in the G-League and in Europe in addition to his tenure as an assistant coach and head coach in the NBA.
The Raptors were always a team that flew under everybody’s radar. For the first half of this decade, they struggled to reach the playoffs. From 2014 until 2018, they were eliminated in early rounds. They struggled especially against Lebron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers. It wasn’t until 2018-19, when they won their first NBA championship. That is when they started getting the recognition they deserved for Masai Ujiri’s effort to build this team’s core and Nurse’s effort to coach this team into a group of resilient hard workers.
This year, the Raptors have a competitive team and have moderate expectations this season. They may not be a championship contender anymore, but they have a lot of talent and can still be a top 4/5 team in the Eastern Conference and can even make it to the second round of the playoffs.
In the last three seasons, they finished first, second, and second in the East. Last season, after the Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard, they were predicted by many to miss the playoffs or to barely make the playoffs. The Raptors finished 53-19, second in the East, and were bested by the Celtics in their title defense. If history tells us anything, the Raptors can exceed expectations and have proven doubters wrong time and time again.
Despite this talent, there are always some analysts who still doubting the Raptors, especially in American media.
Notable losses in free agency include Marc Gasol who signed with the Lakers and Serge Ibaka who signed with the Clippers.
Both losses were significant, but Gasol is 35 years old, nearing the end of his career. His play was declining rapidly in his last year with Toronto.
Ibaka was a prolific scorer in the paint and a great defensive presence around the rim, who blocks shots and gets rebounds. Last season, Ibaka really improved his shooting, especially from beyond the arc.
The Raptors who had no centers left on their roster, splurged by offering Aaron Baynes a 2 year, $14 million deal. Baynes has talent. He averaged 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds last season for the Pheonix Suns. He can take on a heavy workload and can defend in the paint, rebound well, and is an effective shooter, even from downtown. The Raptors can let him go next summer if they need to free up cap space for their long-term plan.
They even brought in forward De’Andre Bembry to a two-year, $3.7 million contract for depth off the bench.
Despite having their plans fall through to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo, they were able to resign several key pieces of their young core.
In addition to bringing back Pascal Siakam on a four year, $130 million deal, they also resigned Fred Van Vleet to a four year, $85 million deal and they just resigned O.G Anunoby to a four year, $72 million deal.
They also brought back Canadian Chris Boucher who is a crucial piece of the youth the Raptors are developing along with Matt Thomas, Terrence Davis, Patrick McCaw, etc.
We haven’t seen a lot from the Raptors’ 2021 draft class because of the limited preseason games and short training camp but Raptors' fans have every right to be excited for the two rookies. In the limited action he did get, Malachi Flynn could create plays with his excellent passing skills, shoot effectively, and defend well in space, even against bigger guys. It makes sense, as Flynn considered to be a solid pick for the Raptors with no glaring weaknesses and is someone who can contribute right away. Jalen Harris’s strengths are athleticism and creating off the dribble but his defense and playmaking can improve.
The most important part of a team’s long term success is consistency. With their young core players like Siakam, Van Vleet and Anunoby resigned, the rookies and younger players developing under veteran leadership like Lowry and Baynes can focus on playing winning basketball. This team has the potential to make some noise this season.
It is an unusual season, as the Raptors are playing in Tampa Bay due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, but if the Raptors stick to their gameplan consisting of a strong, physical defense that causes turnovers, a fast-paced offense that can move the ball and take advantage of turnovers, they can match well with a lot of teams.
In terms of a record, I can see the Raptors winning 48 of 72 games this season. In terms of seeding in the Eastern Conference, I believe the Celtics, Heat, Nets, and Bucks will win 58, 56, 55, and 52 games, respectively, and therefore the Raptors will finish 5th place in the East and would play the Bucks in the fourth round of the playoffs.
Without a doubt, this season will be different, but it will be an exciting season to watch nonetheless.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
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