Toronto Raptors: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season
2. The bench mob has plenty of upside
Fred VanVleet is not the only Toronto bench player to excel this season, as the Raptors commonly played four or even five bench players together, and such lineups delivered. In all during the regular season, the Toronto bench played 1,738 minutes total, the second-highest mark in the league behind only the Sacramento Kings, and finished with the league’s best bench net rating.
Joining VanVleet in the backcourt is Delon Wright, who is long enough to be a combo forward but skilled enough to be a rotation guard, and could develop into more. Jakob Poetl is a highly competent reserve center, and if the team moved on from Valanciunas this offseason, he could step right into a starting position.
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The breakout star, alongside VanVleet, has been Pascal Siakim. Only six second-year players averaged 20 minutes per game and had a positive BPM (box plus-minus), and two of those six were VanVleet and Siakim. The versatile forward was at times playing backup center, while at others, he was guarding LeBron James one-on-one.
The fifth player in the bench mob alternated between C.J. Miles and Normal Powell. Either way the results were overwhelmingly positive. Units containing the young foursome of VanVleet, Wright, Poetl and Siakim were +14.3 on the season, per Cleaning the Class, in the 98th percentile among all such units.
What is great for Toronto’s future is that they have built a young core even while maintaining success. This is not a veteran bench finding success; the four key players contain three second-year players and one third-year player in Wright. This group can continue to grow and take on larger roles even as the current stars decline or are moved. Even in the midst of painful loss, the Raptors have solace in the future.