The Toronto Raptors have Kawhi Leonard, their leader as one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, making them a must-watch in 2018-19.
After a well decorated 2017-18 NBA season, the Toronto Raptors will look upon to improve from a franchise-record of 59 wins. Having made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, the Raptors look poised to make another run at a championship with newly acquired championship pedigree talent in Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from the San Antonio Spurs.
While the majority of the 2018-19 roster looks mostly intact, replacing fan favorites in DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl left most fans scratching their heads when the trade was announced in July.
The question marks surrounding both Kawhi Leonard’s and Danny Green’s health are causes for concern. Leonard only played nine games last season and Green playing through a misdiagnosed groin injury.
When healthy, Leonard was third in MVP voting in 2016-17, and NBA Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, two-time All-NBA First Team selection and former NBA champion (2014). It is safe to say, as amazing DeMar Derozan was for Toronto, acquiring Leonard is a major upgrade in talent, especially on the defensive end of the court.
The core currently consists of a mixture of veterans and young guns looking to make even more of impact this season. The newly acquired veteran talent of Green, Leonard and free agent Greg Monroe will join the fellow starters, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, Serge Ibaka and second-year “Mini-Leonard” OG Anunoby, alongside a bevy of bench studs to add to the team’s depth.
This roster brings a lot of athleticism in a mixture of veterans and young talent, length, energy, and once newly promoted head coach Nick Nurse implements his style of play, an enormous amount of 3-pointers.
The goal is to make the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance, but before we talk playoffs, here are some reasons to be excited for the Toronto Raptors this season.