Apart from a rough patch earlier this month it’s been an excellent first-half of the 2016-17 campaign for the Toronto Raptors. Picking up from where they left off last season, the Raps currently sit second-place in the East, where they have been for the majority of the season.
They’ve done it playing a surprising and, from my perspective at least, unexpected brand of basketball— relying heavily on their scoring output which heading into the New Year was among the most efficient in NBA history (despite the club sitting near the bottom of the league in terms of total assists), and is currently tops in the NBA in terms of offensive rating (113.6, 0.2 ahead of Golden State). And while the aforementioned rough patch— losing five of seven on the heels of their tough holiday West Coast trip— exposed some of the defensive flaws on the club that could keep them from closing the gap with title contenders like the Cavaliers and Warriors, the Raptors are rolling again, currently fourth in efficiency differential at plus—7.1 and look poised for another deep playoff run.
So it’s no real surprise that when it comes time to hand out grades for the team and its players here at the mid-way point, the Raptors, for the most part, fared quite well. How well? Let’s find out:
DEMAR DEROZAN
Grade: A
What needs to be said about DeRozan’s outstanding 2016-17 season that we don’t already know? He’s posting career-highs nearly across the board (incl. 28.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game), while repeatedly coming through in the clutch (fifth in the NBA in crunch-time field goals) and carrying the scoring load like never before. And while he set the bar extremely high at the beginning of the season (scoring at least 32 points in 10 of the Raptors’ first 12 games) he’s only marginally slowed down, ranking third in the league in 30-point games.
In short, he’s absolutely proven his off-season mega-deal to be worth it and that, yes, he is capable of carrying a franchise on his shoulders. The only thing preventing DeRozan from getting a perfect grade is his ho-hum defensive rating.
KYLE LOWRY
Grade: A+
While it’s unlikely to result in a third-straight starting spot in next month’s all-star game, Lowry is enjoying the best season of his career. His numbers are up across the board— scoring 22.1 ppg, dishing out 7.2 assists, and grabbing five rebounds per game. But what’s stuck out most is his shooting numbers, which are astronomically higher than ever before— 48 per cent from the field and 44 per cent from beyond the arc. He truly opened eyes with one of the hottest shooting streaks in the NBA this season: Between Nov. 25 and Jan.1 he averaged 4.4 made threes per game- on 8.1 attempts- and shot a ridiclous 54.5% from deep and is a leader on depth
According to basketball-reference, he currently has 7.2 win shares in forty games— that’s more than he registered two seasons ago, and he’s done it in thirty fewer games. All told, Lowry has been a superstar on both ends of the floor for the Raptors.
JONAS VALANCIUNAS
Grade: B-
One of the tougher players to evaluate, Valanciunas has had an up-and-down year that has seen his fourth quarter minutes remain few and far between as Dwane Casey has been more comfortable of late going with reserve Lucas Nogueira (a longer, more reliable defender) down the stretch of games. Valanciunas’ is currently averaging a career-best 10 rebounds per game, but until he can prove he can cover space and better protect the rim, it’ll be hard to carve out the starring role in Casey’s rotation that many fans had envisioned for him by now.
That’s not to say Valanciunas doesn’t bring a lot to the table, and the club is hoping that last week’s monster outing vs. the Celtics (18 points and 23 rebounds) is indicative of his production down the stretch, particularly in the playoffs where the 24 year-old big man proved to be a total game changer during the first two rounds before succumbing to injury.
DEMARRE CARROLL
Grade: C+
He spent the first part of the season gearing back from the knee injury that plagues him in 2015-16, and it took Carroll a while to find his rhythm again. Over the first 30 games his defense (second-worst defensive rating on the club) and shooting (36 per cent from deep) were less than ideal, and he certainly wasn’t providing the edge the Raptors hoped he would when he was their prized off-season acquisition two seasons ago.
The good news? Carroll has caught fire as of late and appears to be as healthy and mobile as we’ve seen in a Raptors jersey. Over his last four he’s averaging more than 18 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 49 per cent from the floor and 40 per cent on eight 3-pt attempts per game. Needless to say, if he can sustain anything close to that production his grade will take a sizeable leap by the end of the season.
LUCAS NOGUEIRA
Grade: A-
Nogueira has far exceeded expectations this season, and is the primary reason why the Raps have been able to weather the Jared Sullinger injury so well. Sully was brought in to play a substantial role on this team, as both a starting PF and backup centre, and his absence would have had a far greater impact on the Raps had it not been for Nogueira’s relative reliability in his place. Tasked with more playing time than ever before— 21 minutes per game, compared to his previous career-high of just over seven— ‘Bebe’ has responded by posting the NBA’s third-best block rate per 36 minutes and, more importantly, has earned his coaches trust— something some around the team didn’t think was possible.
PASCAL SIAKAM
Grade: B
For the most part, Siakam has looked every bit of a 27th overall pick who needs time to develop and learn the NBA game. He often appears lost on the defensive end and follows the ball far too much, and has attempted to show off his mid-range game more than the coaching staff would like. But he gets a soft pass this season given that he was thrust into the starting lineup from day one, and managed to hold on to the gig until recently. A raw rookie who was expected to spend most of this season in the D-League starting for the second-best team in the conference and holding his own? Yup, that works.
CORY JOSEPH
Grade: B-
It’s hard to mask that Joseph, touted as a reliable defender off the bench, is averaging a career-worst 111 defensive rating (an estimation of points given up per 100 possessions when a player is on the floor). Offensively, the backup point guard has shown improvement on the offensive end, particularly from deep (42.3 per cent shooting this season compared to a paltry 27.3 a season ago). Ultimately, Joseph adds a good deal of value to this team as a versatile player with a clear understanding of his role, which is a criminally overlooked aspect of building a winning roster.
PATRICK PATTERSON
Grade: B
A shooting cold spell to begin the season aside, Patterson has been remarkably consistent year-over-year. Casey and the Raptors know what they’re getting from Patterson: A big body with enough mobility to guard a wide-range of skill-sets from opposing bigs who can step out and knock down three’s when open. The Raptors feel it when he’s not in the lineup, a good indication of how important he can be to the team.
TERRENCE ROSS
Grade: B
Yes, his minutes are down (21 per game, the lowest since his rookie year), but that is more the result of sharing the same position as DeRozan, Carroll, and Norman Powell, all of whom warrant playing time. When he does play, however, he’s performed well, posting career-bests in PER and FG%. Ross remains inconsistent— which may always be a knock on him— but as a shooter and scorer off the bench, he’s played his role quite nicely.
NORMAN POWELL
Grade: B
His numbers are more or less in line with his rookie season, but Powell remains a reliable cog in Dwane Casey’s machine. His minutes have been extremely erratic, which makes sense given how many players are above him in the depth chart, but when he does get burn he generally produces. The Raps’ are 7-4 when Powell plays at least 20 minutes, and he’s averaging nearly 14 points while shooting a nifty 49.5 per cent in those 11 games.
JAKOB POELTL
Grade: B-
Like Siakam, Poeltl gets a soft pass because expectations were fairly low in terms of production during his rookie season. He’s managed to notch two starts thus far and already has a signature moment on his NBA resume, but Poeltl is still very much a raw prospect— though the future looks bright. For what it’s worth, he dominated his lone D-League appearance with the Raptors 905 back in November, posting 21 points and 15 rebounds.
JARED SULLINGER
Grade: Incomplete
Sullinger, as you know, has only just began to practice with the club and is yet to play a game after suffering a foot injury in the pre-season.