5 key questions about the Raptors
One of the most intriguing off-seasons in Toronto Raptors history is finally over. The 2018-19 edition of the club gathers today for the first time before heading to Vancouver for training camp. We have five big questions heading into the Kawhi Era:
1
What’s Kyle Lowry’s state of mind?
Nearly every advance stat indicates Lowry has been Toronto’s best performer for years now, but he hasn’t said a word since his best friend, DeMar DeRozan, was shipped to San Antonio.
Lowry can be cantankerous and some league insiders believe his attitude could have a huge impact on whether these Raptors meet sky-high expectations.
Lowry now has more help than ever before with Kawhi Leonard, the top overall player in franchise history, on board. DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl might be gone, but in gaining Leonard, strong defender and shooter Danny Green and offensive-minded big man Greg Monroe, the team is — on paper — quite a bit better than previous editions.
The betting here is Lowry will keep his focus on winning (a lot of ) basketball games, though we predict, based on past precedent, he will decline to discuss the big trade at all on Monday. 2
Is Kawhi Leonard ready to reassert himself as an MVP candidate?
When he’s healthy, Leonard is the premier two-way player in the NBA and arguably the best defender (as two defensive player-of-theyear awards attest).
But is he 100-per-cent healthy and eager to prove himself with only a season standing between now and a massive payday?
Leonard only suited up for nine games in his Spurs swan song, averaging 23.3 minutes in those contests. A right quadriceps injury was the main culprit and it might be concerning that he first had an issue with that quad in March 2016. Leonard’s also had calf, hand and ankle issues and a partial left shoulder tear.
Though he only missed 18 games over the previous two years before his lost 2017-18 campaign, Leonard missed an average of 18 games over the three seasons before that. Some of that is San Antonio’s approach to resting players. Some of it a failure to remain healthy.
This is a huge year for Leonard, who has much to prove now that he’s out of the revered Spurs system and away from the guidance of Gregg Popovich, widely regarded as the best coach in the business.
3
How different will Nick Nurse be from Dwane Casey?
The answer is quite a bit. The new head coach wants his team to play faster and be far more aggressive defensively than what we’ve seen.
Toronto was 11th in the NBA defensively after the all-star break last season and flat-out stunk against elite opponents at the defensive end. Nurse and his new staff have a lot of ideas about how to field a disruptive and effective defensive group.
There are a lot of athletic and smart players at Nurse’s disposal.
Pascal Siakam, the poster child for that list, said at Summer League in Las Vegas that while many might wonder how different Casey’s longtime assistant really can be, “it’s a change, he’s his own man and he does things his way.” 4
How tough will managing egos be?
This will take some time to play out, but there’s never been this much talent and depth on one Raptors team. With more experience and a summer of development, last year’s NBA-best bench should be even better.
Nurse talked up OG Anunoby all off-season, but the sophomore might have to become the sixth (seventh? eighth?) man if Nurse does the expected and keeps Serge Ibaka at power forward and opts for the veteran Danny Green at shooting guard.
Greg Monroe is a former No. 7 overall draft pick and has averaged 29 minutes of floor time in nearly 600 career games. He’s going to be playing a lot less and might not be used at all some nights if Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas are both in the lineup and the opponent is relatively small.
C.J. Miles might not see a ton of time, despite his shooting ability, while Norman Powell’s role is unclear. And how do they balance Lowry, hard-charging Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright’s minutes at guard (plus Lorenzo Brown is back and was the G League’s MVP)?
This is a pretty mature, down-toearth group of professionals, but there will surely be some unhappiness down the line.
5
Who will the media rely on for quotes and analysis?
As the conduit to the fans, the media, particularly the beat writers who are around every day, are tasked with getting quotes, analysis and backstory from the players. We can just provide our own thoughts, but that’s wasting our access if done all of the time.
DeRozan stepped up to the plate whenever needed and Lowry played off of that. It’s been welldocumented that Leonard would prefer to just let his play do the talking. Anunoby is laid-back off of the court and won’t go too indepth with his answers. Ibaka rarely speaks.
VanVleet, Miles and Green will be relied upon heavily, along with Jonas Valanciunas.
It won’t be as bad as many people anticipate. Not in the slightest. rwolstat@postmedia.com