Chaos reigns in the NBA.
Look no further than last season’s Finals fighters: The champion Warriors face the fallout of Draymond Green hitting teammate Jordan Poole in practice, while the Celtics are led by a new head coach after the sudden suspension of Ime Udoka for the year just before training camp.
Given that, plus the drama of landlords in Phoenix, the drama of business demand in Brooklyn and more, the question that will define the coming season may well be: Is it possible to reign amid the chaos?
The Toronto Raptors are betting the answer is yes – if this chaos is controlled.
Compared to the teams above, the Raptors’ offseason barely made a splash. When they kick off their home season against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET), it will be mostly the same cast of characters.
The starters will likely be Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. With the exception of opening night, these five have started every game in which they were all healthy a year ago.
WATCH | Raptors eliminated by the 76ers in Game 6:
Philadelphia defeats Toronto 132-97 to win the first-round series 4-2. Joel Embiid scores a game-high 33 points, while James Harden adds 22 points and 15 assists.
Toronto’s most impactful off-season addition might be Otto Porter Jr., a former warrior who is expected to inject some much-needed shots. Perhaps his most notable addition was Juancho Hernangomez, who is best known for playing the role of Bo Cruz in the film. Hustle.
The Raptors spent their only draft pick, a second round, on center Christian Koloko, who was born in the same Cameroonian town as Siakam. Koloko instantly became the team’s only seven-footer.
The bench will feature stable veterans Porter Jr. and Thaddeus Young alongside two very talented but error-prone centers, Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa.
Those are all controlled variables – elements that have proven they can work in harmony as the Raptors captured the East’s fifth seed in last season’s playoffs before falling in six games to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I just feel a bit of urgency, I feel some unity and I feel a real intensity this summer, and I think those are all three really good words for a training camp,” Nurse said during media day. “I think the team is shaping the identity that came out a bit at the end of last year. They know who they are and are looking to expand it. It was a good summer.”
Barnes and Siakam illustrate the experience
The Raptors are a basketball experiment: Instead of “positionless basketball,” Toronto has assembled a roster of players who all essentially play the same position.
That position is loosely defined — reigning rookie of the year Scottie Barnes, seemingly your prototypical six-foot-seven forward, was listed at guard/forward on the team’s season-opening roster.
“I don’t know what position this guy plays. He’s one of those guys who just plays basketball and he’s an amazing basketball player,” Ujiri said.
WATCH | Barnes records a double-double in their win over the Nets:
Barnes hit highs with 28 points and 16 rebounds in a dismantling of Brooklyn.
The same could be said of Siakam, Anunoby, Achiuwa, Boucher and even Young.
Ideally, all of these players can organize an attack, make plays with the ball, and connect on open catching and shooting opportunities. Defensively, they can all bounce back and defend their opponents regardless of size, weight, or speed.
The others bring in enough elements to make it work enough for the Raptors to play their preferred style of basketball – creating turnovers with speed and scale, scoring in transition and ultimately earning more possessions than the other team.
Last season, the Raptors forced the second-most turnovers from opponents while collecting the second-most steals in the NBA.
In a way, it’s refreshingly simple: if you shoot more than your opponent, you’ll likely score more points.
VanVleet key to success
Where the Raptors ran into trouble last season, they converted to these additional opportunities. Toronto’s field goal percentage ranked 25th in the league.
In the middle of the band of 10 players listed between Barnes at 6’7″ and Boucher at 6’9″, VanVleet stands out.
His job is to keep the Raptors afloat, both as a traditional 6’1″ point guard and 38.2 percent three-point shooter for his career. As Barnes and Siakam work to tighten their grips, VanVleet is already in. He’s in control amid the Raptors’ mayhem, able to settle things with a flick of the clutch or a deftly executed pick-and-roll.
WATCH | VanVleet joins CBC’s FrontBurner:
Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet talks to CBC Front Burner’s Jayme Poisson about feeling confident, being a leader on the team and mentoring young people through his scholarship program.
But if VanVleet is somehow the floor of the Raptors, then Siakam and Barnes are the ceiling.
Between the 2019 championship race and the pandemic, the Raptors hadn’t had a normal offseason in four years until last summer. After the previous one, Siakam won the Most Improved Player award.
If there is another jump, it would go a long way to filling the Raptors superstar void. Two possible growth elements for Siakam are ball handling and the ability to create his own shot.
Barnes, meanwhile, is potentially personified. At its best there is tricks of LeBron James as a forward who creates for others while forcing turnovers by playing free safety on defense.
If the 21-year-old experiences a second slump, the Raptors could go back to first-round fodder, or even fall back into qualifying games.
But if Barnes and Siakam advance again, Toronto could have a real run – at least, that’s the assumption.
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