Adamo Marinelli
January 14, 2022
The Toronto Raptors’ season has so far been a tale of two halves. The Raptors started the season 6-3. The Raptors would then go 3-10 in their next 13 games, falling to 9-13 on the season and they were in the basement of the Eastern Conference.
Some of the Raptors’ struggles throughout the season can be attributed to losing key players to injuries and also players missing time after testing positive with COVID-19. However, in their tough 3-10 stretch, they got dominated often. Six of their 10 losses came by over double digits.
In early December, the Raptors season started to turn around. The Raptors would go into Christmas break on a 5-2 run, their only losses coming against the Oklahoma City Thunder by one point and to the then Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets by 2 points in overtime.
After their dominant 119-100 win over the Warriors, to bring their record to 14-15 on the season, 12th in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors were supposed to play two more games against Orlando and Chicago before the Christmas break, but both were postponed as the majority of the Raptors’ roster tested positive for COVID-19.
Scottie Barnes, Fred Van Vleet, Gary Trent Jr., Pascal Siakam, Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton, OG Anunoby, and Precious Achiuwa were among the Raptors’ players who missed time after testing positive. A few members of the coaching staff also missed time.
After the Christmas break, COVID-19 was still hitting the Raptors hard. The only player they got back from the COVID-19 list was Dalano Banton who put up 7 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds in a 144-99 rout at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 26. Four of the eight players the Raptors had available for that game were emergency reserve players.
Their next game against the 76ers saw the team play much better. They also had Siakam, Trent Jr., and Flynn return from the COVID-19 list. Despite the improved play, they lost 114-109.
The Raptors know how serious an extended COVID-19 outbreak can be and they want to avoid it at all costs. In late February 2020, the Raptors had a large COVID-19 outbreak which saw the majority of the team sit out. The team had an abysmal 1-13 record in March 2021 which essentially ended any postseason hopes. The Raptors can make noise in the postseason but will need to stay healthy to get there.
After their loss against the 76ers, the Raptors really got into form. They rattled off 6 consecutive wins against really good opponents like the Clippers, Bucks, Knicks, and Jazz to bring their record to 20-17. In their win streak, they outscored their opponents by 72. Fred Van Vleet showed why he deserves to be in the NBA All-Star game this season, recording over 30 points in five of six games on the Raptors’ win streak; that includes Van Vleet’s first career triple-double against the Utah Jazz where he dropped 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a thrilling win.
Despite a close 99-95 loss, in a back-forth defensive game against the Pheonix Suns - who are first in the Western Conference and have the best record in the league at 31-9 - the Raptors are 8th in the Eastern Conference with a 20-18 record.
With all of their key players off the COVID-19 and a fully healthy roster except for Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr. who are questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Detroit Pistons with a knee and ankle injury respectively, the Raptors have the talent on both sides of the ball to go on a run and further solidify themselves as playoff contenders in the East.
Guys like Fred Van Vleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr. among many others have been consistently good all season for the Raptors when healthy. If the starters continue to perform like at a high-level night in and night out and the bench players continue to provide additional depth to the team by being productive on both sides of the ball when they get put on the floor and if they are able to close out games to give the starters additional rest, this team can be really good in the second half of the season.
This team’s identity is defensive-oriented. Play strong, physical defense, don’t give up high-percentage shots, create turnovers, and score fastbreak points in transition. On offense, they move the ball around to create open shots and create high-percentage shots. This team has the players to adhere to that game plan. If they succeed in running that game plan, they can win lots of games.
They have 44 games left, which is lots of time to get fully healthy, improve, and go on a few big winning streaks to end the season as potentially a top 5 team in the East. There is also the possibility of a collapse, especially if future COVID-19 outbreaks occur, which is something the Raptors want to avoid at all costs.
This team has the potential to make the playoffs and go on a run with guys like Van Vleet, Anunoby, Trent Jr. Barnes, Siakam among others. With plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and a great coaching staff, I can see the Raptors finishing the season 27-17, ending on a 47-35 record, good enough for fifth in the East as long as they stay healthy. But only time will tell.
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