God’s Plan: 4 reasons the Toronto Raptors aren’t just a tease this year
By Chris Conner
The supporting cast/defense
The supporting cast of the Raptors has been makeshift over time. They’ve had talented pieces, but no consistent third piece to go around their stars. This season’s cast hasn’t been much different as the production is as fairly balanced as it’s ever been. Normally in the end though, the same story writes itself: show flashes and have big games, but never truly offer enough to overcome bad performances from DeRozan or Lowry.
Jonas Valanciunas has stayed consistent. Newcomer C.J Miles has brought experienced shooting that every playoff team needs. Serge Ibaka has been solid in his first full year starting in Toronto.
We can also rant forever about Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright or OG Anunoby. The difference, however, is they’re better on the defensive side. 2018 has brought head coach Dwane Casey the best defensive team (third in defensive rating) he’s seen in his tenure.
They’re also top-five in offensive rating at 111.0. Not many teams are able to be elite in both sides of the basketball. In addition, DeMar DeRozan has clearly been the best player on the team due to notable improvements in his game, which that leads us to our final point.