RAPTORS' PROMISING SEASON COMES TO AN END

NBA / Basketball

Written by Eddie Huband

It was an anti-climactic ending to the Toronto Raptors’ season on Thursday, after valiantly fighting out of a 3-0 series deficit to push Philadelphia to a game 6.

Things were close in the first half, with Toronto trailing by just one point at the break, but in the third quarter, the Sixers finally broke their spirits, outscoring them by 20 in the frame en route to a runaway victory.

Source (Background Photos): Getty Images

While it wasn’t a pleasant way to end things, this season as a whole was an overwhelming success for a franchise that has become the gold standard in player development and creating culture.

Toronto finished the year 14 gamers over .500, a mark that smashed their preseason over/under totals set by Vegas. Scottie Barnes earned rookie of the year awards, Pascal Siakam played the best basketball of his career, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. had some great moments in their continued development. There’s a lot to be excited about with this team moving forward.

Looking ahead to the offseason, don’t expect Toronto to make any splashy moves. They love their core of Barnes, Siakam, Trent, Achiuwa, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby, and they’ll be banking on continued internal development above all else to raise the ceiling for next season.

Barnes in particular seems primed to take a big step in year two, which is usually the year great players take a leap. Barnes’ poise and playmaking ability are way beyond his years. His jump shot needs the most work, but even that aspect of his game was way better than initially expected, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue to develop the outside shot as he progresses.

Though they’re content with their young core, that isn’t to say Toronto doesn’t have areas they need to improve the roster.

The glaring hole is at the centre position. The chic-small ball lineup with VanVleet and a bunch of 6’10 athletes worked in the regular season, but in the playoffs, Joel Embiid, along with the Philly guards were able to take full advantage of Toronto’s lack of rim protection.

No disrespect to Khem Birch, who plays hard, but if this team is going to take the next step they need an upgrade in the form of an athletic centre who plays defence and fits the mould of this evolving young roster.

Who that player is you ask? Well, in a perfect world prying restricted free agent Deandre Ayton away from Phoenix would be great, but that’s likely out of Toronto’s price range.

Clint Capella is a semi-realistic option. Even though he isn’t a free agent, he’s heading into the last year of his deal with Atlanta, who could be a team looking to make some moves after a disappointing season.

On the free-agent market, Ivica Zubac from the Clippers would be a decent cheap option as a stop-gap.

Regardless of who it is, they just need a big body that can plug up the lane for 25 minutes a night.

In addition to frontcourt help, another scoring guard would be ideal. Fred VanVleet’s body broke down in the second half of the year in large part to the fact that he led the league in minutes through the first few months.

They need to find a way to take some of the load off of VanVleet so he’s fresher come postseason time, and it was also clear in the Philly series that they don’t have nearly enough shot creation at the guard spot.

A third guard to compliment VanVleet and Trent would help with both of those issues. When looking at the upcoming free agents, Jalen Brunson clearly fits perfectly with what this team needs. For a cheaper option, someone like Jeremy Lamb could also be a player of interest.

Work needs to be done on the edges, but the structure is there for a Toronto Raptors team that will be poised to go further than the first round in 2023.