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NBA Disney Contenders or Pretenders: Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors will feel confident heading into Florida. The defending NBA champions, with former Raptor Kawhi Leonard, won their first-ever Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy last year. Even with Leonard leaving, the Raptors should be considered a heavyweight in the NBA.

Toronto Raptors: NBA Disney Contenders or Pretenders

Four Players who can Potentially Play at an NBA All-Star Level

Kyle Lowry

The author of this article representing LWOPB awarded Kyle Lowry the honor of being considered the greatest Raptors player in franchise history. He is the all-time leader in NBA All-Star appearances as a Toronto Raptor with six all-star appearances. This includes being an NBA All-Star Game starter in both 2015 in New York City and the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto.

He is also the all-time leader in assists, three-pointers made and steals for the Raptors. Lowry is also third all-time in points scored and sixth all-time in rebounds for the Raptors.

In the 2019-20 NBA season, he is averaging 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. This includes getting a double-double with 26 points and 10 assists in a 121-113 against the Golden State Warriors on March 3rd, 2020.

Because of this win, the Raptors clinched their seventh-straight NBA playoff berth. This is the most consecutive current NBA playoff streak of any NBA team in the Eastern Conference. It is also the largest consecutive playoff streak in franchise history.

Lowry has also stepped up in the NBA playoffs. For example, he had 26 points and 10 assists against the Warriors in game 6 of the NBA Finals to win the Toronto Raptors’ first-ever NBA Championship. He is also the point guard of the team and a good passer with the ball.

Pascal Siakam

Earlier this year, Pascal Siakam became a first-time NBA All-Star. It is hard to imagine this achievement when Siakam was drafted 27th by the Raptors in the 2016 NBA draft. In the 2016-17 NBA rookie season, he averaged only 4.2 points per game. However, he made a dramatic improvement in the 2018-19 NBA season, where he averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game.

This jump allowed Siakam to receive the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award. An award that Siakam might get again. In the 2019-20 NBA season, he averaged 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.9 blocks per game.

He has played extremely well this year scoring 30 or more points 15 times this year. This includes a memorable home opener when all the current Raptors players received their NBA ring. The Raptors home opener was against the New Orleans Pelicans. Siakam had 34 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, and one block against the Pelicans. The Raptors would win in overtime 130-122.

Siakam has also stepped up in the NBA playoffs. For example, in game one of the NBA Finals against the Warriors, he had 32 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. This allowed the Raptors to get their first-ever win in the NBA Finals.

Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell

As good as Lowry and Siakam are, people forget about Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell. VanVleet was undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. However, he has made an NBA career for himself, and like Lowry is a good passer with the ball.

In the 2019-20 NBA season, he is averaging 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. VanVleet had 20 games with 20 points or more in his career. This includes scoring 22 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and one steal against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 22nd. The Raptors won that game 107-95.

Lastly, VanVleet got an NBA vote for the NBA Finals MVP. Hubie Brown of ESPN radio gave him a vote for his defense against Stephen Curry.

This is what Brown said according to Sportsnet:

“He did an incredible job for you offensively, but more importantly, he took (Steph) Curry out of the left corner in the key wins and that alone should’ve gotten incredible ink from guys that were witnessing the game and writing about the games.”

They also have Powell, who is averaging 16.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in the 2019-20 NBA season. He is a player that can score over 20 points. In five of his last six games, he scored at least 20 points. This includes scoring 31 points against the Sacramento Kings on March 8th.

The Raptors have four players, who can produce NBA All-Star numbers on any given night. Yes, either Powell or VanVleet would probably need to sit on the bench because of Lowry. However, there are still three players on the court that can step up.

Depth

It is deceiving that the Toronto Raptors are 24th in bench points according to NBA.com. This is because of the injuries the Raptors have incurred throughout the 2019-20 NBA season. This forced players like Chris Boucher and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to step up as a starting role player.

What is remarkable about the Toronto Raptors is their depth so far in the 2019-20 NBA season. The Raptors have incurred several injuries. In 2020 alone the Raptors have played 30 games according to Louis Pavlakos of raptorsrupture.com. Only six of those games did the Raptors play with a fully healthy lineup.

The Raptors in those six games with a healthy roster have won all six games. More importantly, they have shown they can win even with injuries. They won 17 of the other 24 games this year.

This did not happen by accident. The Raptors are the real deal and are probably the deepest team in the NBA. For example, on December, 22nd 2019, the Raptors completed the biggest comeback in franchise history against the Dallas Mavericks. The Raptors overturned a 30 point deficit to win the game 110-107. In that game Boucher had 21 points, Hollis-Jefferson had 18 points, and Terence Davis and Patrick McCaw both had nine and eight points respectively.

Yes, the rotations will likely get shorter in playoff time. However, that does not mean players will not step up in key situations. This was shown in the 2019 NBA playoffs.

Draymond Green on the Toronto Raptors

Draymond Green, a three-time NBA champion with the Warriors talked after the Raptors game 4 at the Oracle Arena. In that game, he praised Serge Ibaka, who had 20 points and had a 75 percent shooting percentage. This is what he said about the Toronto Raptors according to nypost.com:

“We kind of messed up our coverages a little bit on him, but you got to give him credit,’’ Green said. “He knocked some shots down. Seems like every game it’s somebody else for them.’’

What is important about this quote is somebody stepping up for the Raptors every game. Normally, there are a few players that an NBA team has to worry about in the playoffs in addition to a star player. However, in the Raptors case, you will have to worry about the whole team.

Overview of the Depth and Improvement of the Toronto Raptors

Yes, Leonard and Danny Green have left, but their depth has gotten better this year. Furthermore, Siakam, Powell, and VanVleet have all taken leaps in their games this season compared to last season.

Powell’s growth was probably the most surprising of the four players highlighted on this list. Their bench also can step up. An example would be Davis scoring 31 points against the Chicago Bulls this year. The Raptors would win that game 129-102.

The only question mark one could say was Siakam being a bit inconsistent in the NBA playoffs last year. He is now the best player in the Raptors organization. However, it is also important to keep in mind that unlike last year Siakam is now an NBA All-Star. His points per game have also gone up by 6.7 points per game this year.

Also, other players have also increased their production this year. VanVleet’s points per game have increased by 6.6 and Powell by 7.8 points per game when compared to last year. Lowry’s points per game have also increased by 5.5 points per game in the 2019-20 NBA season compared to the 2018-19 NBA season. Lastly, Ibaka is having a career-high this NBA season in points, rebounds, and assists per game.

Offense and Defense

The Raptors offensive rating is decent, being ranked 12th among all NBA teams according to NBA.com. However, this is a good offensive rating when considering all the injuries the Raptors had. Combined that with their amazing defensive rating, the Raptors are a team to be reckoned with.

The Raptors have the second-best defensive rating according to NBA.com. Their defensive rating is 104.9, which is only behind the Milwaukee Bucks’ 101.6 defensive ratings.

They also rank second in steals according to NBA.com. A big reason for that is VanVleet who is currently tied for third in the NBA with 1.9 steals per game.

Lastly, no one should forget about Marc Gasol, who played a big role in the Raptors championship last year.

This includes his defense on Joel Embiid in the NBA playoffs last year. In the 2018-19 NBA season, Embiid averaged 37 points per 100 possessions. However, according to Owen Phillips of fivethirtyeight.com, Embiid points per 100 possessions went down to 21 points for the first five games in the series. Expect this type of defense from Gasol to continue in the 2020 NBA playoffs.

Overview of the Toronto Raptors: Contenders

The Raptors have traditionally been underrated in the NBA. An example would be the odds given for the Raptors to get the NBA championship. They were tied for sixth-highest odds to win the NBA Championship along with the 76ers according to sportsline.com. This seems quite low.

The Raptors have a much better winning percentage than the 76ers with 46 wins and 18 losses. They have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, which is better than heavyweights the Los Angeles Clippers. This is while the 76ers are many games back with a record of 39 wins and 26 losses.

The Raptors are contenders to win back-to-back NBA Championships. They are the champions and have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. It will be difficult for any team to get four wins in a playoff series against the Raptors.

The Toronto Raptors’ first game will be against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, August. 1st according to Heather Seaman of iHeartradio.ca. This will be the first of the last eight regular-season games before the Raptors play in the NBA playoffs.

The Raptors possess both offense and defense, they have lots of scorers, and are a well-experienced team with chemistry. Lastly, they are the defending champs, which every NBA team should be aware of.

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Raheem Bashir, Site Manager

Raheem Bashir, Site Manager

Raheem Bashir started blogging on a Gmail site called Blogger and has covered sporting events in rugby union/league and soccer. Since then he has become the Last Word on Sports writer for rugby, soccer, and previously basketball. He is also a member of the North American Soccer Reporters and The Rugby Union Writers’ Club. Raheem graduated from George Brown College with a Digital Media Marketing Post-Grad Certificate in 2019. From the same college, Raheem also did a post-grad certificate in Sport and Event Marketing in 2017. Lastly, he did an undergrad Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 2016.

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