The Toronto Raptors are a very good basketball team.
But given the off-season effort the team put in to assemble its current squad, and with expectations raising to championship-or-bust levels, is that good enough?
Currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference by mere percentage points, it certainly seems like Toronto has the talent and ability to take the East and reach its first-ever Finals, but the team probably wouldn’t go beyond that, as the Golden State Warriors are hitting their stride and once again rounding into championship-favourite form.
So then, if you’re Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster and Co., how do you manage to take your team over the top?
The NBA trade deadline is just a few days away, taking place on Feb. 7, and could offer the Raptors some solutions. Should they decide to go down this path, here’s a quick look at what they’re in need of this season.
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Three-point shooting
Coming into the season, many thought the three-ball would’ve been a big source of strength for this Raptors team.
How could it not, right? Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet both shot at least 40 per cent from outside last season, C.J. Miles came just as advertised, and OG Anunoby and Delon Wright ended up being pleasant surprises with their outside stroke. Combine this with the additions of known-marksman Danny Green and all-around superstar Kawhi Leonard, and on paper this was a team that should be killing opponents from beyond the arc.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse thought the same, encouraging his team to hoist them up at every opportunity and increase the number of attempts from last season’s 33 per game.
A sound plan in theory, but one that didn’t take into account the setback in three-point percentage the Raptors hit this season.
At the moment, Toronto ranks ninth in three-point attempts, taking 33.3 per game, but is only 18th in percentage, shooting 34.8 per cent from deep in the season.
This is because, while Green and Leonard came as advertised shooting-wise, all the other guys mentioned before regressed – badly.
It’s a situation that Nurse couldn’t have foreseen, and it has become the biggest issue affecting the Raptors, with beautiful ball movement setting up an open corner three, and eventually ending in an ugly brick, or those signature Lowry pull-ups that sometimes don’t even find the rim.
The Raptors need three-point-shooting help in a bad way, and could use it from basically every position, but where it’s most needed is probably from the wing, as these three-point woes have most frustratingly been personified by Miles’ and Anunoby’s inconsistent seasons.
Anunoby has had to deal with personal issues all year long, which hasn’t allowed him to find any rhythm, and Miles has just been plain off for all but brief flashes throughout the season.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, they can’t really wait for these two guys to get right, as having wing players to help space the floor is just too important. Therefore, if Toronto wants to go after three-point shooting, the first area it should look for should be the shooting guard or small forward position.
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A bench big
Three-point shooting should be the No. 1 priority for the Raptors if they decide to make a deadline move, but another area of need is big-man depth.
Obviously, with Anthony Davis’ name floating out there, it’s fun to dream, but that’s not a scenario you can necessarily bank on. Instead, the Raptors’ true target should be a big man who can help shore up the team’s bench.
The decision to move Pascal Siakam from the bench to a starting role this season has worked out brilliantly for Toronto, but has come at the expense of the team’s once-highly touted “bench mob.”
Jonas Valanciunas has stepped in admirably, taking his new bench role in stride, but he remains out of the lineup with a thumb injury, and it’s not certain how well he’ll be able to bounce back when he does return.
As such, the Raptors would be wise to look into acquiring another big man – either a power forward or another centre – as some extra insurance, seeing as how it seems pretty clear that guys like Greg Monroe and Chris Boucher aren’t the answer at the moment.
Additionally, acquiring some extra front-court help could potentially strengthen the Raptors’ weak rebounding. Toronto ranks 17th in the league, averaging 45 boards per game, and this flaw has come back to bite them against teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, whom they may see in the post-season.
Getting someone who can help clean up the glass isn’t a bad idea.
An independent shot creator
The final area of need the Raptors should be looking at are guys who can create their own shots.
While it’s true that the Raptors have a lot of talent, this is mostly in the context of a team setting. When analyzing one-on-one ability, the only real standout is Leonard.
This may seem fine, but there are times in games when the bench unit is out there and they’re getting absolutely stymied by opponents in the half-court. This is where having someone other than Leonard who can break a defence down and finish by himself could be so valuable.
The egalitarian style of basketball the Raptors like employing when Leonard isn’t on the floor can work, but it’s still important to understand the pecking order of things in terms of offensive options.
Adding someone who can find a look for himself when everything else breaks down could be a nice security blanket for the Raptors and their bench unit.
