Toronto Raptors: Breaking Down The Bench For 2013-14

The reigning dunk champion could turn into a keeper. Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, basketballschedule.net

Toronto Raptors fans have a team they can finally get excited about. The possibility of a trip to the playoffs is present for the first time in years. Their starting five of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas could be a lot of fun to watch if they all click together in their first full season as a group.

The final three spots are for the taking in the Eastern Conference playoff race with Miami, Indiana, Chicago, New York and Brooklyn leading the way. Toronto will be looking to lock up one of those final three spots and will be relying heavily on their starting five to take them there.

While it is those starters that will be getting most of the playing time and scoring opportunities, the Raptors, just like every other team in the NBA, will have to have some success from its bench. Toronto made a number of moves this summer to bring in some more talent for the bench, but the questions still remain.

Who will be the top bench contributor? Who can step up if somebody goes down with an injury? Where will the scoring come from off the bench?

Let’s take a look at the Toronto Raptors bench for the 2013-14 NBA season and hopefully we can answer some of those questions.

Breaking Down the Bench:

In the backcourt the Raptors have a few options. Backing up Lowry are D.J. Augustin and Dwight Buycks. Augustin spent his first four years as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats, showing versatile play and proving he can be a starter in the NBA. He averages a respectable nine points per game throughout his career but only averaged less than five points last year with the Indiana Pacers.

Augustin flourished in his role as the starting point guard while with the Bobcats but needs substantial playing time to gain quality numbers. Buycks, on the other hand, is a bit of a mystery for Toronto. Buycks has yet to play a minute in the NBA but impressed teams with his play during Summer League action in Orlando. The Raptors were so impressed they signed him to a two-year contract and offered him a shot at winning the backup point guard role, projecting him ahead of Augustin in the depth charts. For more information on what Buycks brings to the table, check out my previous piece on him here.

On the other side of the backcourt, second-year man Terrence Ross will be expected to step up this season. He showed flashes of great athleticism last season but his overall skill isn’t quite there yet. Ross did average around six points per game in only 17 minutes of playing time per game last season, but he’ll need to be more of an overall player for the Raptors this season.

Landry Fields was given a fat contract to play for the Raptors last summer but only played in 51 games and 20 minutes in each of those games. He’s going to have to prove he can stay healthy and produce $20 million worth on the court. He only shot 14 percent from 3-point range last season.

In the frontcourt, newcomer Tyler Hansbrough is thought to be the key man in the rotation. Tyler may not be the most athletic player, but he’s a scrapper and not afraid to mix it up in the paint and get physical. Quincy Acy is also one to get physical in the paint and should compliment Jonas nicely.

Steve Novak is going to be the key 3-point shooter. He’s deadly from behind the arc and is the key piece of the Andrea Bargnani trade with the Knicks this summer. Toronto desperately needs perimeter threat, much like they used to have with Jason Kapono.

Aaron Gray isn’t exactly a household name and doesn’t stand out in any statistical category, but he’s going to be the key reserve behind Jonas at center. His style of play won’t impress many people, but he’s a solid man to have coming off your bench for a few minutes a game.

As a collective unit, the Toronto Raptors bench is not going to strike fear in anybody. There isn’t one player that stands out, but it is full of quality role players and will get their opportunities to show their worth to the organization. Ross, Hansbrough and Novak will be the keys to the reserves this season.

Nobody’s going to expect these bench players to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, but they have a chance to produce for a shot at the playoffs. The attention will be placed on Gay, Lowry, Jonas and DeRozan, but don’t be surprised if the bench players are the ones that bring the Raptors to that playoffs.

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