Toronto Raptors: 2018-19 NBA midseason roundtable
Who is the biggest X-factor for this year’s squad?
Bossetti: I’ll cheat and say Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka. Ibaka struggles as a decision-maker. Siakam struggles as a shooter. Will those flaws get somewhat exposed in the playoffs? If so, Toronto probably can’t overcome that.
Turco: Ibaka was atrocious in the last year’s playoffs, completely unplayable. But, that was stretch-4 Ibaka, not Mr. Career Year Playing The 5-Spot Ibaka! I agree about Siakam’s shooting, but believe it or not, he’s hitting 37 percent from beyond the arc. If he somehow maintains that in the playoffs, this team will be very difficult to defend. However, above them is Kyle Lowry in regards to X-factors and importance of performance. We have seen so far this season when Lowry hits 3s, pushes the pace, is active as a help defender and creates for others, he is among the best at his position. This will be key to their playoff success. I’m not buying the choking excuse for this year’s Raptors squad.
Bossetti: Lowry’s health also has to be a concern. Has been banged up all season and banged up for plenty of prior postseasons.
Go Paolo: The Green Ranger (Danny Green) and anyone else who steps up to hit that critical shot.
Turco: So Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry or Kawhi Leonard? I don’t think there would be anyone else on this roster to trust in late-game situations.
Go Paolo: Green has been Toronto’s most clutch 3-point shooter (40.8 percent). Lowry and FVV’s shooting comes and goes. Miles has disappeared. Ibaka is having a solid year but he’s shooting 30.1 percent from deep. I haven’t been impressed with Kawhi as a closer. Maybe I’m just being nitpicky, but he’s seemed to miss shots, pass up opportunities or turn the ball over in those situations. I admire Freddy’s guts to be that guy. Let’s hope he can come up big when we need him most. This is almost like his playoff debut since he wasn’t 100 percent last season.
Turco: One of Dwane Casey’s biggest mistakes was playing the whole rotation on the last game of last year’s regular season game against the Miami Heat, where FVV got his shoulder injury. “Sixty wins” sounded like a nice round number, but they lost that game and sustained an injury to a key rotation player — one of many reasons for change I suppose. It’s fair to say a lot of Kawhi’s late-game execution mishaps — most notably the time he dribbled off his foot — were due to him being rusty. He has been getting a lot better in close game situations, more so than any other Raptor.
Bossetti: I’d agree with that.