Welcome to the Weekly Rap, a resource for getting you caught up on what went down and what’s on the docket in Raptorland.
By now it should be quite apparent that the Toronto Raptors are a pretty damn good basketball team.
But just how good are they?
Right now, the Raptors have the second-best offence in the league (putting up 110.4 points per 100 possessions), the sixth-best defence in the league (98.9 points allowed per 100 possessions) and have the second-best net rating in the NBA (11.6).
These are all impressive figures and are definitive evidence of the high-level at which Toronto is playing, however, these numbers aren’t indicative of the team playing at it’s very best.
For examples of those, look at what the Raptors did against the Milwaukee Bucks, the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers and their fourth quarter with the Memphis Grizzlies.
That was Toronto firing on all cylinders, and was the look of a team that just might be the NBA’s best.
The ability to reach that level is there, but the question remains: can the Raptors consistently reach it?
Record
11-2 (1st in Atlantic Division, 1st in Eastern Conference)
What happened?
Raptors fans took over Cleveland:
What was learned?
Bruno Caboclo is something of a folk hero: When first drafted, Bruno Caboclo wasn’t exactly greeted with great fanfare. But that was then, and times have changed. During the Raptors’ demolishment of the Bucks, Caboclo played his first NBA minutes and promptly blew up Twitter. In the 12 minutes of garbage time the Brazilian teenager played, he scored eight points and had a series of impressive highlights. In the aftermath, a lot has been written about him, and whether Caboclo’s expectations should be raised or not. One thing that can be said for sure is the fan base is behind him and the young man is quickly becoming something akin to a Raptors folk hero.
The Raptors can function just fine without James Johnson: Coming into this past week, there was genuine concern over what the Raptors were going to do with James Johnson out of the lineup. After all, the versatile forward has arguably been the team’s best piece off the bench due to his defensive ability. Over the last three games, however, it seems all of that anxiety wasn’t warranted as the Raptors have performed just fine without Johnson in the lineup, primarily going to a two point guard look with Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez in lieu of Johnson’s normal rotational minutes. This was a combination that worked to great effect last season, and we are seeing similar results early this season.
Upcoming slate
- Monday 7:30 pm – TOR vs PHO
- Wednesday 7:30 pm – TOR at ATL
- Friday 7:30 pm – TOR vs DAL
- Sunday 9:30 pm – TOR at LAL
Storylines to follow
Scorching-hot Lou Williams: Lou Williams set a new career-high against the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night, dropping 36 points off the bench, including 24 first-half points. Williams has been steadily heating up of late, averaging 21 points per game over his last four contests. Can he keep up this torrid scoring pace? If so, he should definitely be in consideration for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award this season.
Raptors still have a lot of areas of improvement: As great as the club has performed, there are still many areas that the Raptors could improve in. For one, the team still struggles mightily out of the gate – a problem that likely won’t be corrected as it seems to be apart of the team’s identity. Secondly, rebounding still remains an issue – the Raptors only pull down 40.2 rebounds per game (sixth worst in the league) with a rebounding percentage of just 48.6 percent (fifth worst). Finally, although he’s the team’s leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan has yet to find his groove. He’s shooting a career-worst 40.5 percent from the field and isn’t getting to the free-throw line as consistently as he did last season. Despite this, DeRozan is the least concerning issue for the Raptors. He’s proven to be reliable and able to get out of funks before, and this time should be no different.