After a busy off-season that saw much change, the Toronto Raptors are set to open their exhibition schedule Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Thanks to the new faces acquired via free agency, trades and the draft, the Raptors have a number of questions heading into their pre-season schedule that could prove paramount to the team’s success when the ball is tipped for real on Oct. 28.
Here are five things to watch as pre-season unfolds.
Re-finding the team’s defensive identity
When the Raptors first made the playoffs under head coach Dwane Casey in 2013-14 they did so thanks to a top-10 offence and top-10 defence. Last season that top-10 offence remained (third-best in the league, actually) but the defence cratered, with the team finishing 22nd in the NBA, a figure most glaringly obvious in Toronto’s sweep at the hands of the Washington Wizards.
Casey has always prided himself as a defensive coach but has never really had the players to fully implement the game he wants to play. Now, thanks to the acquisitions of DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo and excellent team defender Luis Scola, the Raptors coach should have the personnel required to shut the door on teams the way he’s always wanted to.
Thus, entering pre-season it will be interesting to see how quickly the team is able to find its old defensive identity with its new defence-first players. There will obviously be an adjustment period as far as defensive communication goes, but Toronto needs to sort these issues out in pre-season in order to get off to a good start when the regular season tips off.
Floor combinations
Perhaps the most important part of pre-season for any team is figuring out the rotations and lineups that will be run out, but for a team like the Raptors, with so many new faces, it’s absolutely vital.
Right now the projected starting lineup looks something like Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Carroll, Patrick Patterson and Jonas Valanciunas. However, Patterson isn’t guaranteed this spot and there could be a lot of competition for it.
The team’s hinted at playing Carroll at the power forward spot at times when it goes small, but what does that mean exactly? Then there’s the issue of Biyombo and Valanciunas. Can they be played together?
All of this and more should be cleared up over the next three weeks.
Bruno and Bebe
The progress of the intriguing-yet-still-very-raw Brazilian duo Bruno Caboclo and Lucas “Bebe” Nogueira is also worth monitoring.
They both showed flashes in the Summer League this year with Caboclo averaging 12 points per game – albeit on 35.1 per cent shooting – and Nogueira putting up 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
At the moment it’s unclear whether they’ll start the season in Toronto or get more consistent playing time in Mississauga, Ont., with Raptors905, but while they’re still suiting up in a Raptors uniform it’ll be interesting to see what steps forward, if any, they took from July to now.
The 2015 draft picks
Perhaps the most fun from a fan perspective when going through the long pre-season is tracking the progress of the team’s draft picks and gauging whether they can make an immediate impact or not.
The Raptors took guards Delon Wright and Norman Powell in June’s draft and each have a chance to slide into the rotation immediately because of their commitment to the defensive end. Powell, in particular, is worth keeping an eye on as the second-rounder may end up as the draft’s biggest steal.
Anthony Bennett and other fours on the bubble
Will Anthony Bennett show enough to a crack roster spot? If the embattled Canadian forward wants to have a shot he’ll have to fight through a couple other power forward prospects.
Toronto signed Michale Kyser and Ronald Roberts to deals in the off-season and they will prove to be the biggest road blocks in Bennett’s way. Both play the four in a more traditional manner than Bennett does, but that isn’t to say he doesn’t have a chance to impress as he’s much more athletic and comes with a far higher ceiling.
It’s entirely possible that all three of these players will end up starting the season on Raptors905, but you can bet they’ll all be making a serious effort to impress. An effort that could prove entertaining to watch in the pre-season.
