Midseason thoughts on the roster.
1. DeMar DeRozan takes 300 three-pointers a night on his own outside of practice, and is now a threat from behind the arc. He has improved his game every year, and unlike some selfish stats-obsessed players, he has totally bought into the "culture reset" of more passing and fewer iso plays. He's not just a perennial all-star, but is now establishing himself as the greatest Raptor of all time. It has a been a pleasure watching his evolution, the relentless building up of strength upon strength. He just keeps getting better. A couple years ago I thought he was a one-dimensional player with a limited offensive ceiling. Now I think he's on the cusp of being among the elite five or six players in the league, if he isn't already. Can't say enough about how lucky we are to have him in Toronto.
2. Kyle Lowry's minutes are down to 32 per game from 37 last year. Obviously he's being saved for the postseason. I think he's past his prime, and he can still be frustratingly inconsistent, but sometimes he gets hot. The Raptors will not go anywhere in the postseason unless he gets hot more often than not.
3. Last year I had the impression that Serge Ibaka wasn't all that thrilled with how Toronto petered out against Cleveland, and he never really seemed in sync with the team, but this year he's been a revelation. The three-point shooting is good, but that midrange jumper is golden and the shot-blocking is fantastic.
4. Every time I think that Jonas Valanciunas is expendable in light of the terrific play of Lucas Nogueira and Jakob Peoltl he comes up with a great game like tonight against the Bucks. Is he a post-up dinosaur who doesn't fit in with the current era of speed and three-point shooting, or is he still a vital cog? I guess he affords the Raptors the luxury of having a traditional center to use against teams where that would be an advantage, and he sits when the team needs to be speedier.
5. OG Anunoby is an athletic rookie playing with the steadiness and maturity of a veteran, and he has a decent three-pointer. Great potential there.
6. I've been in love with Delon Wright since he first stepped on the floor two years ago, and it's terrific to see his capability now that he's finally injury-free (knock on wood). He's got length, is a great defender, and knows how to drive to the hoop. I suspect that he'll be taking over from Kyle Lowry in the next couple of years to become the the Raptors' number-one playmaker.
7. Fred VanVleet? Wow. Where'd he come from? Last year I thought he was on the D-League track to Europe, but this year he's shown impressive quickness and a savvy ability to get to the hoop. He's a real upgrade over Cory Joseph as the second-team point guard.
8. Pascal Siakam is another wonderful young player with athleticism up the wahoo and tantalizing potential. He could turn into an X-factor guy, a Dennis Rodman-like figure except with better offense and without the North Korean connections.
9. I love Jakob Poeltl's shot-blocking and defensive presence. Did the Raptors luck out in the draft this year or what? Seems like a solid kid, the kind of bench player you need on a winning team.
10. CJ Miles has one job, and everybody knows what that job is. When he comes in and does his job he's like a three-point turbo-charger. Has the potential to make the Raptors a scary good team.
11. Every time Lucas Nogeira comes into the game he blocks shots and gets easy alley-oop buckets on passes from Kyle Lowry. The team really seems to hum when he's in the game. What am I missing? Wouldn't he be a better fit in the starting five than Jonas Valanciunas? Though he's not the offensive player than Valanciunas is, he's a better defender. Shrug.
12. I feel sad for Norman Powell. He's talented and strong, but he's losing the game in his head, and now he's fallen out of the rotation. Wouldn't be surprised to see him as part of a trade.
Masai Ujiri is without a doubt an absolute basketball genius. It was a total poker bluff when he gave Terence Ross that big contract, as it inflated Ross's value and allowed Ujiri to get Ibaka (the Magic are finding out that Ross is the same disappointment that he was in Toronto). He also kept the core of the team together when there might have been a real temptation to blow it up, and that turns out to have been the right move. The Raptors have a deep roster very reminiscent of the great post-millennial Spurs teams, where the second unit comes on the floor and charges things up with athleticism and great defense.
Funny how there weren't too many hopes about this year following the excitement of the surge of 2015-16 and then the disappointing postseason of 2016-17. There was a sense that the Raptors had reached their ceiling, but now all of a sudden they have their best record ever to this point in the season and are looking legitimately dangerous. They're 16-3 since late November, and are really on a roll. Of course the real litmus test of where the teams stands will be the two home games against Cleveland and Golden State coming up next week.
I can't recall the last time I've felt such anticipation. Against all odds, the Raps this year are the most exciting they've ever been.
Last edited by rousseau; Jan 6, 2018 at 6:51 PM.
Reason: Typos
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