Toronto Raptors: 50 Wins A Realistic Goal For 2014-15?
48 minutes of pressure
One thing the Raptors will really have going for them in 2014-15 is depth. This was also a strength last season, but it will be an even greater factor going forward.
The interesting thing is that the depth they will have at every position might be relatively unknown at this point, as the following tweet illustrates.
And no Patterson? RT @william_lou: What happened to Terrence Ross? pic.twitter.com/PGzdbWkeFG
— Doc Naismith ℠ (@DocNaismith) July 17, 2014
When I, like many other Raptors fans and the recently acquired Louis Williams, saw that board appear on NBA TV during Las Vegas Summer League coverage earlier this week, it didn’t take long to notice a couple of glaring omissions.
Missing from the list were Terrence Ross and Patrick Patterson — two names that slide Landry Fields and Chuck Hayes a little further down the depth chart.
The returning starting five of Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Amir Johnson, and Valanciunas gives the Raptors a chance to compete with any other starting unit.
Continuity and chemistry alone should make this group even more formidable as will the factors of growth and development expected from Valanciunas and Ross. As mentioned earlier, a lot will also depend on Lowry and DeRozan picking up where they left off last season.
The second unit also has the potential to be the best we’ve seen in a long time in Raptorland. Greivis Vasquez and Patterson are both capable of starting and not shy about playing in crunch time. Williams will provide scoring punch, while James Johnson and Tyler Hansbrough will bring hard-nosed defense and an understated ability to chip in some points.
This 10-man rotation sets the Raptors up to compete wall to wall — for the full 48 minutes, as the saying goes. The increased strength of the bench should also afford coach Dwane Casey the opportunity to manage minutes a bit more and keep guys like DeRozan and Lowry fresh heading into the playoffs. As an extreme example, the San Antonio Spurs have mastered that approach and shown what the rewards of doing so can be.
Given the depth of the roster for 2014-15 and with the carry over from last season, the Raptors have a chance to hit the ground running.