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Toronto Raptors: 5 reasons to be excited for 2018-19 NBA season

By Jonathan Turco

TORONTO, ON- SEPTEMBER 24 - Masai Ujiri poses with new Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard (2) and Danny Green (14) as the Toronto Raptors host their media day before going to Vancouver for their training camp. Media Day was held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. September 24, 2018. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON- SEPTEMBER 24 - Masai Ujiri poses with new Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard (2) and Danny Green (14) as the Toronto Raptors host their media day before going to Vancouver for their training camp. Media Day was held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. September 24, 2018. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NBAE via Getty Images) /

5. Season two of the Bench Mob

If you were watching the Toronto Raptors last season, you know how great the Bench Mob was.

This year will be no different, with all members but one (or two, if you count Lucas Nogueira) returning for another season of bench dominance. Last year, the five-man unit of Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl ranked 11th among NBA lineups that played over 100 minutes together.

This year, the cast member replacing Poeltl will be one of Serge Ibaka or Jonas Valanciunas, or in really small lineups, OG Anunoby. The Raptors have more depth with the aforementioned Greg Monroe signing, and the re-signing of G League MVP, Lorenzo Brown, expanding their regular 11-man rotation last year to 13.

With the added depth on the wing, Norman Powell, who had a very disappointing season last year, will be fighting from the bottom for a spot to prove why the Raptors entrusted him with that $42 million extension. The contest for minutes is what most organizations who have the luxury of calling it: “healthy competition.”

What makes the second unit of the Raptors’ so effective is the fundamental understanding of camaraderie among the players on and off the court. It is well documented that the players spend time in the offseason playing in cohesive units during multiple summer runs and during their off-time they do stuff like this:

Last year, when the bench unit took the floor, the free flowing offense — created by then assistant coach and now head coach Nick Nurse — was a combination of modern pace-and-space with capable switching defenders.

This calls for pushing the tempo, creating more turnovers for easy fast breaks, and team-oriented play calling sacrificing okay looks for great ones. Not to take too much out of a preseason game, but it is apparent that style of play is not going to change with the Bench Mob this year either:

https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1046202616294694913

With VanVleet leading the charge and increased talent joining the unit, the Bench Mob is going to be more forceful this season and will be a welcome watch for NBA fans.

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