Toronto Raptors Have Found Their Leader
In their brief 20-year history, the Toronto Raptors have struggled to make a deep postseason run. They’ve had some great draft picks but they weren’t able to form a contending team around them. Vince Carter and Chris Bosh, two of the the Raptors’ franchise players, chose to go to greener pastures after years of disappointing playoff exits.
This past offseason, the Raptors were able to re-sign their prized free agent point guard, Kyle Lowry, and look like they have what they’ve been looking for for so many years – a franchise player who is committed to staying in Toronto.
The diminutive Kyle Lowry has been on fire over the last five games, averaging 28 points, four rebounds and eight assists per contest, including a career-high 39-point game. They’ve been without DeMar DeRozan for the past four games, but it’s encouraging for the Raptors to see what Lowry’s capable of.
He has also been very efficient, only turning the ball over 1.8 times a game this season, good for nearly a four-to-one assist to turnover ratio – Chris Paul-like numbers. Although it’s still early, Lowry has even been mentioned in MVP discussions.
The Raptors are off to a 15-5 start and have looked great so far but they need to address a few areas if they want to contend this season. They don’t have a veteran post presence that’s capable of consistently producing. Without a true rim protector and a low-post scoring threat, it’ll be an uphill battle in the postseason against teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards.
Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson have shown that they can be relied on to score at times but aren’t known for being consistent threats in the post. Especially against teams like the Cavaliers and Bulls with great frontcourts and superstar talent, the Raptors will have a tough time in a potential playoff matchup against them in the Eastern Conference.
Their defense has also been subpar, ranking 17th in defensive efficiency, but they are the second-ranked offense in the league. They seem to have a similar dilemma the Memphis Grizzlies have, except the Grizzlies’ problem was their offense that has been holding them back the past few seasons.
While their fast start has many people impressed, there are a few reasons for concern for the Raptors. They’ve lost their second-leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan to a somewhat serious groin injury and they’re 2-2 in their last four games without him. With a mediocre defense and a serious blow to their offense, it’ll be hard to sustain their fast start.
The Eastern Conference has also been no comparison to the Western Conference in terms of the caliber of teams in the playoffs. The East-leading Raptors at 15-5 have an identical record to the defending-champion Spurs, currently fifth in the West. This isn’t even considering the difficulty of schedule for the Spurs, since they have the grueling task of facing off against Western teams 52 times and Eastern teams only 30 times, and vice versa for the Raptors.
Some may call the Raptors title contenders but even with a healthy DeRozan, it’ll be a tall order to make a deep playoff run. They definitely are taking steps in the right direction though. The good news is that the Raptors are expected to make moves to bolster their roster within the next couple months.
Masai Ujiri has proven that he’s a shrewd general manager and has made some great moves, including trading Rudy Gay last season. This trade allowed DeMar DeRozan to prove that he’s capable of being a reliable 20-point scorer, and it worked out for the Kings as well.
With the expiring contracts of Amir Johnson, Landry Fields, Chuck Hayes, Lou Williams and Tyler Hansbrough, the Raptors have valuable trade assets they could parlay into key pieces for a postseason run.
While a championship run may not be in the cards this season, the Raptors are a young, hungry team that has a talented core in place that will be good for years to come.