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Toronto Raptors: 5 Reasons Behind Strong Start

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (7) gets ready as guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and center Bismack Biyombo (8) look on while Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (13) looks on at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Cavaliers 103-99. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (7) gets ready as guard DeMar DeRozan (10) and center Bismack Biyombo (8) look on while Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (13) looks on at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Cavaliers 103-99. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Raptors
Dec 13, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) dribbles past Philadelphia 76ers guard Nik Stauskas (11) in the third quarter at Air Canada Centre. Raptors beat 76ers 96 – 76. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Getting To The Foul Line

Though the Raptors boast a top-10 offensive rating (103.5 points per 100 possessions), it’s a bit of a puzzler how they’ve achieved that mark.

They’re a middling team in field goal percentage (19th) and three-point percentage (14th), which might lead you to believe they’re just taking more shots than their opponents. But Toronto actually ranks 29th in field goal attempts per game, and isn’t getting a lot of second chance points (23rd) or fast break buckets (23rd) either.

So how are the Raptors getting it done offensively? Look no further than the non-stop attack of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, a wrecking ball crew that does its best Miley Cyrus impression on a nightly basis in the backcourt.

Between the strength and newfound agility of Skinny Kyle Lowry and the quick first step and penchant for drawing fouls of DeRozan, the Raptors are hard to stop when they put the ball on the floor.

DeRozan is second in the league in drives per game (12.0) while Lowry is 15th (8.5), and those frequent attacks down the lane lead to 26.7 free throw attempts per game on a nightly basis (fourth most in the NBA). With the Raptors converting all those free throws at a 79.4 percent rate (fifth), they’ve capitalized on their freebies.

Toronto has made the most free throws in the league (552) by a wide margin, and free throws constitute more than one-fifth of their scoring output. Even when they’re not getting to the line, sometimes fun things like this happen instead:

Lowry and DeRozan have accounted for 53 percent of Toronto’s free throw attempts on the season, with DeRozan literally leading the charge by getting to the line 8.3 times per game — the third highest mark in the NBA.

He’s not quite on James Harden‘s level, but he’s close, and that free throw efficiency is a big reason Toronto has a top-10 offense despite being an average shooting team.

Next: No. 3

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