The 6 Side: Questions with Raptors Rapture
By Chris Conner
We sit down with Raejhon Johnson from Raptors Rapture as he answers a few questions about the Toronto Raptors and their franchise-best season.
As the Toronto Raptors continue their quest for a franchise-best season, times are great in “The 6”. We at HoopsHabit can’t get enough Raptors talk as the playoffs approach. Raptors Rapture and Spark Sports writer Raejhon Johnson was nice enough to sit down with us. Hope you enjoy what was the first of many extensions of The 6 Side.
1. The Toronto Raptors are closing in on their best season in franchise history. Coming into the season was there any indication that they would be THIS good?
Johnson: I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted how good they would be. Dwane Casey has said that he was working on developing a better offense. Focusing less on isolation from DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry and getting everyone evolved. And while that sounds promising, nobody thought the Raptors bench would develop into one of the best in the league either. It’s crazy how much success they’ve found.
2. One reason for the Raps’ success is head coach Dwane Casey. Should he be Coach of the Year?
From constantly being on the hot seat for the Raptors’ struggles to first in the East closing on their best season, give him the credit he deserves. He made the adjustment to the Raptors’ offense that showed us how many young and valuable assets are actually on the team. Besides Brad Stevens I don’t think he has much competition, he deserves it.
3. What’s an underrated factor for the Raptors that you think can take them deep into the playoffs?
A winning mentality and leadership. Hear me out on this one. When the Raptors were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers it was disappointing. But what was really disappointing was DeMar DeRozan’s comments. DeRozan said if we had LeBron, we would win too. It just gives off a hopeless feeling when one of the leaders of your team thinks they can’t win unless they had LeBron on their side. That’s why he’s the king of the East, teams fall apart trying to dethrone him. A team with so much chemistry looking so dysfunctional when they’re against LeBron is a bad sign. It’s all going to depend on how the stars lead the team and their mindset.
4. OG Anunoby or Fred VanVleet?
Fred VanVleet is the spark plug off the bench. Whenever teams put in their bench it’s almost relieving knowing that VanVleet will lead our guys to hold a lead, or increase it. OG Anunoby is a great defensive rookie, and he’s only going to get better. But he still has some of his offensive game to work out. VanVleet could be a starter on some teams and I’m sure Raptors fans would do anything to keep him.
5. Does Toronto finally possess everything it needs to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals?
No doubt. They have one of the best benches in the NBA. They have the best chemistry in the league. They’ve stayed mostly healthy throughout the season. And finally, they’ve focused on making sure everyone gets involved and moved away from the isolations. No longer can teams throw double-teams at the Raptors Stars and dare DeRozan to shoot wide open 3s.
However, Toronto has always gone into playoffs with high expectations and last season it greatly underperformed. The Raps struggled the Bucks without Jabari Parker or Eric Bledsoe, it was a one-man army with Giannis Antetokounmpo. That can’t happen again this season, and Raptors fans have to hope the bench can do what it’s done all regular season if the Raptors stars continue their streaky playoff shooting.
Next: 2017-18 Week 24 NBA Power Rankings
That’s all for our time with Raejhon. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @RaeJohnsonNBA. You can catch Rae’s work on several major media platforms from Sports Illustrated to Bleacher Report.