Toronto Raptors: The Final Man

It wasn’t pretty, and it didn’t matter, but the Toronto Raptors returned to the court on Sunday night to tip off the new season. Or at least a new preseason.

The Raptors walked off the court as victors, but that is far from the primary focus for preseason games. Victories are secondary to providing opportunity for Masai Ujiri and Dwane Casey to evaluate what they have on the roster through live game experience.

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The foundation of the team remains the same as the Raptors trotted out a starting lineup that once again featurs

Kyle Lowry

DeMar DeRozan

Terrence Ross

Amir Johnson

and

Jonas Valanciunas

Toronto doesn’t even have significant questions when it comes to their bench rotation (outside of minute allotment, which is a fluid concept through the season). Lou Williams, who scored 11 of his 12 points during the fourth quarter on Sunday, was brought in to function as the teams sixth man, while James Johnson returns to Toronto as a defensive minded wing who can guard larger small forwards. The Raptors also were able to re-sign both Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson (missed Sunday’s game with a sore hand) during the offseason as both were instrumental to the success that Toronto experienced last year.

The above mentioned players are the primary nine man rotation, leaving the remaining six roster spots to be filled by development projects (see, Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira) or situational assets for specific match-ups (hello Tyler Hansbrough, Chuck Hayes and in theory, the expiring contract of Landry Fields).

Barring any unforeseen trades, that brings the Toronto Raptors to a total of 14 players that have confirmed spots on opening night. It’s been a long time (ever?) since the Raptors have had this type of stability entering a season. Normally training camp is full of uncertainty, from who will start at small forward (Joey Graham and the Young Gunz!) to whether Toronto will ever have the point guard position solidified (Roko Ukic…you crushed our dreams…).

The only debate this year is who will be selected for the final roster spot: Will Cherry (PG), Jordan Hamilton (SG/SF), or Greg Stiemsma?

The three couldn’t be more different from each other, leaving Ujiri and Casey with an interesting selection process ahead of them as none of the three aforementioned players will directly compete on the court.

If Sunday night was any indication, Cherry appears to have the biggest hill to climb. Not only do the Raptors have Lowry and Vasquez entrenched at the position, but Casey also gave Lou Williams opportunity to run the offense at times, leaving Cherry out if the picture as a DNP (Did Not Play) — coach’s decision.

Cherry will still be given a chance this preseason to prove that he can make the leap from the Canton Charge of the D-League, but if Toronto is already viewing Williams as a third-string PG then Cherry will be auditioning for other rosters unless he can put together an incredible performance.

This leaves us with a battle between Stiemsma and Hamilton.

Hamilton brings with him solid shooting ability, having hit 35.8 percent of his shots from long distance through his career. Although this number doesn’t put him among the league’s elite, it would make him one of the better shooters on the Raptors roster as only four players returning from last year’s roster shot better from long range last season: Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez, Terrence Ross and Patrick Patterson.

The biggest problem for Hamilton is the positional depth that Toronto has on the wing. With DeRozan, Ross, Johnson, and Williams requiring minutes, and Casey’s willingness to play lineups that feature Vasquez playing off ball alongside of Lowry, minutes on the wing are going to be limited.

Stiemsma played 55 games last season for the New Orleans Pelicans, and averaged 18.3 minutes per game. During that time Stiemsma’s opponent attempted 5.6 shots at the rim but only scored at a rate of 51.5 percent, a number that mimics players like Marc Gasol (51.2 percent), Derrick Favors (51.3 percent) and his new teammate, Jonas Valanciunas (51.4 percent). This, coupled with his size, is the big reason that Stiemsma was the first big off the bench on Sunday. He is exactly the type of player that Casey can use to pair up against someone like DeMarcus Cousins.

But there is a reason why Stiemsma was available for only $1,000,000, and it was one full display in Sunday’s pre-season opener. Stiemsma fouled out of Sunday’s game in just 17 minutes. 17 minutes! In fact, last season only two players committed more fouls than Stiemsma (3.1) in less than 20 minutes worth of action. Those players? Alexis Ajinca and JaVale McGee.

And yet, I would be shocked if Stiemsma was not the final selection for Toronto. The Raptors have a serious need for center depth behind Jonas Valanciunas. Hayes, despite being a relatively effective defensive option, is still desperately undersized, and Lucas Nogueira is an unproven rookie. Amir Johnson is a more than capable at center, but keeping him healthy is a top priority and his minutes there should be limited for this reason.

Above all though, whenever you can add someone to the roster who can get opponents to punch him in the face, you have to do it.

No frontcourt pairing in the league would draw as many punches as Stiemsma and Hansbrough. Just another fun story-line to a season that should be full of them for the Toronto Raptors.