NFL
By: Greg Rector
The Toronto Raptors will be in the play-in portion of the NBA playoffs. The 2022/2023 season has been a roller coaster for We The North. Despite the injuries, the eventual move to having a traditional center, and the rumors about this team’s future, be it, players or coaches, the Raptors will have the opportunity to eventually face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.
How The Toronto Raptors Got Here
The off-season moves didn’t pan out as hoped for the Toronto Raptors. A whole eight games of Otto Porter Jr didn’t do anything for the bench, and the glaring weakness of bench scoring is something that has hindered the Raptors for several seasons. The lack of a true center option outside of second-round draft pick Christian Koloko was finally addressed by acquiring Jakob Poetl. Then the bench scoring has been somewhat figured out by bringing Gary Trent Jr off the bench and bringing Will Barton into the fold. There’s been a major change in the Raptors’ ability to compete on the glass, and once everyone started getting used to one another, the Raptors have gone back to see the scoring spread out amongst more guys.
Nick Nurse
Nick Nurse has hinted at his future somewhat cryptically, but with more options available, he has returned to his normal self since the trade deadline. Still focused first and foremost on his guys putting in the effort on the defensive end of the floor first and letting everything else develop from there, the Toronto Raptors have played a lot better most nights. He can’t fix the poor three-point percentage overall, though. On nights where they shoot decently from three-point territory, the Toronto Raptors are much tougher to put away.
Knowing Their Role
The players seem to have found a groove with one another, and the Toronto Raptors are dangerous when it’s not just a Pascal Siakim or Fred Van Vleet scoring show. OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes are no longer reticent at taking over games. Some nights Barnes is the catalyst for everyone else, and Van Vleet can focus on what he does best catch and shoot jumpers. Siakim makes a double-double absolutely routine regardless of the opponent. Gary Trent Jr, Will Barton, and Chris Boucher can all have hot streaks off the bench. The weakness remains the overall shooting percentage. Too often, there are four and five-minute stretches where they can’t find a bucket if their lives depended on it. If the Raptors make the right decisions when the three-pointers aren’t falling, they will avoid these stretches and be an even tougher opponent.
Murderous Schedule
Having just finished the back-to-back with Charlotte, the Toronto Raptors get a second back-to-back, this time with the Celtics, and then finish the season with the Milwaukee Bucks. If I am not mistaken, the schedule makers did the Toronto Raptors no favors, as they have more back-to-back games than anyone else. It’s been a struggle between the schedule and the lack of cohesiveness due to injury and the original roster construction.
Outlook
I give the Raptors the edge over the Chicago Bulls, and then in the second play-in game, either Miami or Atlanta. Personally, I would rather face the Heat as Raptors versus Heat games are such a chess match between coaches Eric Spoelstra and Nick Nurse. A typical Raptors attack going after Trae Young or Dejounte Murray could also be fun if it’s the Hawks. I think the Raptors’ frontcourt is way better than the Hawks, and for as vaunted as the pair of Hawks guards might be to some Atlanta, trying to stop Poetl, Barnes, Siakim, and Anunoby will be a very tough task for the Hawks. Once the play-in is over, facing either Milwaukee or Boston will be a brutal task in round one. The only hope against either one is for the Toronto Raptors to be supremely difficult for either theBucks or Celtics to score against, play the only way they can in order to win, and that’s to shut down some of the league’s best talents, something I don’t see happening.
As always find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
