Basketball
The NBA offseason was kind of quiet in terms of big splash moves other than Kevin Durant being shipped to Houston for Jalen Green. Of course, there were players signing extensions and things of that nature like Luka Doncic getting his deal for $165 million with the Lakers, but there wasn’t a ton of marquee movement.
One team that is quietly building is the Toronto Raptors. They pulled off the trade for Brandon Ingram last season at the trade deadline and now they’ve got a collection of really good young talent in a wide-open Eastern Conference. So, no one should be surprised when the Raptors finally break their playoff drought.
Under the radar roster
If you’re looking for a surprise pick to come up from the ashes in the east this season, it’s the Toronto Raptors. Their roster is sneaky good and the next legit “big three” in the eastern conference. Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and R.J. Barrett could all average 20 points per game and potentially be All-Stars. Barrett is the only one of the three to not become an All-Star yet but did average over 20 ppg the past two seasons.
Their supporting cast isn’t too shabby either with Emmanuel Quickly in the back court along with Gradey Dick and underrated big man, Jakob Poeltl in the front court. Toronto also drafted highly touted prospect, Collin Murray-Boyles in the first round of this year’s draft. While he may not play much early on, Murray-Boyles NBA ready body should see him getting more time on the court as the season progresses.
The Eastern Conference is wide open
Simply put, Toronto has the pieces to get back into playoff contention at the least. Add to the fact of the east being so wide open and it makes perfect sense that the Raptors should be back in the playoffs for only the third time since winning their first NBA Championship in 2018-19. They’ve also missed the playoffs for the past three years.
Looking at the east right now, the Raptors roster looks better than the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. Those are three of the four play-in teams in the east last season which finished just ahead of Toronto. Then you’ve got the Boston Celtics who were the No. 2 seed last season who are almost sure to fall back down the standings without Jayson Tatum this season. The east isn’t nearly as deep as the west so the Raptors should take full advantage of this and make their way up the standings.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic seat will heat up if they don’t
It’s year three of the Darko Rajakovic coaching era in Toronto and the Raptors haven’t sniffed the postseason. Last year they finished the season, 30-52, in 11th place in the conference. They were nine games out of the play-in tournament. Another campaign like that and Rajakovic may be looking for employment elsewhere.
There is no reason the Raptors can’t turn this thing around under Rajakovic with the talent they’ve got on this roster. The east is not the gauntlet teams out west have to run through so this team should be expected to get back above .500 this year. If the Raptors are primarily healthy expect them to challenge for the Central Division crown and at a minimum, wind up in the playoffs for the first time under coach Rajakovic’s leadership.
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