Best Reasons for Optimism with the Raptors

No post yesterday, I'm sorry guys I was really busy at work. Today I considered doing my usual Friday thing where I don't post anything, but with the market taking a fat beating I could use a good distraction! Tough and weird season for the Raptors. After a brutal start against the toughest schedule in the league, the Raptors decided to tank the second half of the year against the easiest schedule. Because of that, the record may suggest that this team is a bottom feeder, but I am here to tell you now that next season will be taken seriously and next season will be a good and fun one for the Raptors. 

Contributions from Young Players

How can you not start with this! You can go back to my report cards post for a more in depth look at all of these guys, but there's a lot to be excited about next season when the Raptors unleash what looks like bench mob 2.0. Jamal Shead has been a joy to watch and he has a bit of a Kyle Lowry type of edge to his game, the perfect guy to be leading second units next season. Ja'Kobe Walter continues to impress every game with his defense and his offense has taken big strides as the season's gone on. Since Feb 1 he's actually shooting 40% from deep while continuing to show really good poise and understanding of the game as a 20 year old rookie. Jamison Battle will be a hired gun in the NBA for a decade, mark my words, that guy can just shoot. Jonathan Mogbo might be the best defender on the Raptors right now and while his offense has a long way to go, you can see a pathway to him being a valuable contributor to a team if his jumper ever gets reasonable. Ochai Agbagi went from total non-contributor to awesome plug and play 3&D guy, he'd slide into the rotation on any team in the league right now. Gradey Dick had his ups and downs, but he showed some great improvement in his shot creation ability especially from the mid range. With how poorly Gradey's first season started, there's no reason to think he can't improve a ton again this off season. All of these guys figure to be role players on the team again next year, and barring a trade or injury, all of them figure to be coming off the bench next season. If they all stay the exact same player they are today, that's already a pretty solid bench that can score, defend and play with high energy. It's not crazy to think at least one of these guys will make solid improvements over the offseason, and I think that could make the Raptors a team with an elite bench next year. They're still lacking a true backup center in the second unit, something maybe the draft can help with, but I can't help but get excited about what all these guys can bring after an offseason together.  

I didn't even mention the likely starters next season. The centerpiece of the rebuild Scottie Barnes is only 23. While he didn't take that superstar leap everyone wanted this season, he showed great strides in improving his leadership, maturity and defense. I'm glad the Raptors spent this year seeing what they had with Scottie as a number 1 option, we may have learned that it isn't the ideal role for him, but that's an important lesson for the future of the team. Just because Scottie probably won't lead a really good team in scoring, doesn't mean he can't be that team's best player and I think all the other elements Scottie brought this season really showed that. RJ Barrett is always going to be my favorite, at 24 years old he did lead the Raptors in scoring and continues to be one of the best rim and transition threats in the league. Immanuel Quickley is only 25 and while he had a tough season with injuries, in the games he has played he showed why the Raptors invested so heavily in him. He's one of the best pull up 3 point shooters in the league and he easily makes the Raptors offense more dynamic. All of these guys are young and will have another season of continuity under their belt. Just like the new bench mob, if none of these guys improve, they're still a pretty solid 3 guys to have in a starting lineup, but it isn't crazy to think 1 or all of them will add to their games this off season. 

Brandon Ingram Plugs a Hole

There was an unbelievable amount of frustrating games early in the season where the Raptors would play great for 46 minutes only to completely fold in the last 2 and walk away with the loss. By December, it was abundantly clear that the Raptors didn't have a closer on their team. RJ is a great scorer for 3 quarters, but when teams lock in on the thing he does well, he struggled to find a counter that was effective. Scottie, for as hard as he works at all the small parts of the game, just isn't a natural scorer in these big moments. Quickley helps a bit with this problem, but he's still a smaller guard who can't just get his shot off over anyone. Next season, the Raptors finally have a go-to scoring option for when games get tight: Brandon Ingram. BI is one of the most talented shot makers in the league and the only guy I would call a true isolation scorer on the team currently. Not only does he help with the late game situations by just having a guy to throw the ball to and ask for a bucket, he also takes a lot of pressure off of Scottie Barnes. Like I mentioned above, Scottie probably isn't the go-to scorer when this team is serious, so it's nice to know the front office went out and got someone who can be. With Ingram, Scottie can exert all of his energy on the defensive end, and go back to being a superstar level glue guy on offense. From what I've seen, I think Scottie can be like a bigger and stronger Andre Iguodala type, and that's a really really good player. Having a guy who can be a shot maker to pair with a guy like that should be a duo that fits together great, I can't wait to see it in action. 

Oh Yeah, They Tanked! They Get a Pick!

For all the whining I did about tanking this season, we're about to finally reap the benefits. With Jakob Poeltl as well, I've now mentioned 11 guys in this article that are good NBA players with skills that should contribute to winning next year even without this pick, so we should be pretty excited as fans that we also are going to add at worst a top 9 pick to this team next season. Fans are so focused on the lottery, and it does appear to be a particularly talented year so that excitement makes sense, but we forget sometimes how good Masai is at finding guys later in drafts. This season the Raptors literally had to bench their undrafted rookie and their 2 second round picks because they were playing so well it was accidentally winning the Raptors games. In a draft class last season that was called one of the worst classes in years, Masai seems to have found 4 rotation players. It's beyond exciting thinking about what he can do in this draft class that's supposed to be awesome. I would be very very shocked if the Raptors don't come out of the draft with at least 1 high impact player, and it wouldn't surprise me if they end up with 2-3. With all that being said, we're looking at a deep team next season with scoring and energy off the bench and starters who all have different complimentary skillsets. You heard it here first, the Raps are winning 50 games next year, count on it!

As always, Go Raptors!