Toronto Raptors starting lineup: Ranking the starting 5
By Duncan Smith
The Toronto Raptors are the hardest hit team of all in this pandemic. For the 2020-21 season, let’s rank the starting 5 of this resilient squad.
Sometimes you really can’t go home again. In the case of the 2020-21 Toronto Raptors, that’s more fact than cliche. In November, the government of Canada barred the Raptors from playing their home games in Toronto in an effort to prevent the unnecessary further spread of COVID-19.
As a result, the Raptors will be playing their home games in Tampa Bay, and the organization is currently still scrambling to get set up in their new existence in Florida. On the court, however, they should be the same consistently overachieving squad we’ve seen in recent years. The remarkable depth the organization produces every season is a big part of that, but as with most great teams, the starting lineup is paramount.
We’ll take a look at the Raptors starting five and rank them from first to last. Starting with No. 1, who shouldn’t be any surprise at all.
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Toronto Raptors starter No.1: Pascal Siakam
A first-time All-Star in 2019-20, Pascal Siakam is the No. 1 starter on this roster going into the new season. Alongside Kawhi Leonard in 2018-19, he took a huge leap as the NBA’s Most Improved Player in a championship season, and last season he jumped yet again. He averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as the clear top option on his team.
Siakam struggled in the NBA bubble, but he wasn’t the only one to not be at the peak of his mental powers in the Orlando restart. He’s certain to take that misadventure and use it as fuel for his fire in the 2020-21 season as he looks to make yet another leap under head coach Nick Nurse.