The Raptors have crossed the midway point of the season, which means it’s time for hot #content. Part 2 comes out tomorrow.
1. Best surprise of the year?
Tamberlyn: James Johnson: His offense is greatly improved, specifically his ability to drive the paint. I knew he would be a defensive asset, but I didn’t expect his offensive growth as well as his maturity as a team player. (even though he’s currently in the dog house).
Matt: If anyone had told me that at the start of the season that the Raptors would be 27-14 at the midway point of the season, despite the absence of DeMar DeRozan for 21 games, I would not have believed it. Shocking and unbelievable!
Tim C.: Obviously the start to the season. The Raptors spent two months atop the Eastern Conference playing an unconventional style (in this modern NBA era of passing and Thibs-style D), and even stringing together wins during the first half of DeMar DeRozan’s injury absence.
Nick: James “Beast Mode” Johnson. Hasn’t been getting a lot of run lately… Don’t know why. Dude is a major factor and plays hard. Hope it’s because Dwayne Casey is crazy.
Tim W.: There haven’t been any really big surprises this year, but probably the biggest one is Lou Williams getting back to his pre-injury form. Atlanta obviously didn’t think he had much left and gave him up for peanuts, but he’s been one of the most important Raptors for most of the season.
Sam: How quickly this team went from good to elite to vulnerable.
Garrett: Everyone expected James Johnson to be a solid contributor, but nobody expected him to be arguably the second most valuable player on the team behind Kyle Lowry. His recent benching notwithstanding, Johnson’s offence, in particular, has been a revelation – he’s far quicker than most bigs his size, makes good decisions, and might have the best post game on the team.
Barry: James Johnson has been a beast. Hopefully whatever drama is going on behind the scenes is cleared up so he can go back to his regular playing minutes. Need more joints cocked back for the second half of the season.
William: The effectiveness of the offense. Their performance against the Grizzlies was ugly, but on the year, the Raptors have 3rd-best offense in the league. Casey’s system is far from Spursian and assist numbers are terrible, but with a cache of premier shot-makers, the Raptors have made it work. The question still remains: can it work in the playoffs?
Scott: James Johnson. It was a nice addition in the offseason, but I doubt anyone expected him to threaten for a starting position. Part of that is due to Terrence Ross’s sub-optimal play, but still: damn JJ.
2. Pick one player or coach. What does he have to improve on in the second half of the season?
Tamberlyn: Coach Casey to implement everything I want:
- Valanciunas: closing 4Q minutes/touches.
- Ross: first priority is defense. First play every game – go hard to basket (to adjust his mindset/make it habit).
- Passing drills: ball gets passed 10-times before shot (something Spurs do).
- Options for end of quarters based on how opposition aligns or by who has player opponent advantage.
- Add plays for James Johnson.
- Get Amir Johnson some rest so he’s strong, rested and healthy for playoffs.
Matt: Kyle Lowry has been exceptional so far this season and kept the team afloat without DeMar, but his defence has taken a noticeable slide this season. The Raptors need to prevent dribble penetration, and Lowry needs to refocus his attention on this with DeRozan’s offensive return.
Tim C.: Jonas Valanciunas has to start understanding and executing the basic defensive concepts that this team employs. As the last line of defence he has to have a way better sense of what the team is trying to do in their schemes, both considering his status in the team’s future plans as well as his status as the team’s only legit big man.
Nick: Dwane Casey has to draw some sort of plays. Our offensive game plan has to be more than “shake ur defender and score bro.”
Tim W.: Valanciunas needs to improve his consistency. For example, he’s had five 20+ point scoring games this season, and after four of them, he scored less than half his point output the very next game. And there was only one three game stretch where he got consecutive double doubles.
Sam: When it comes down the wire, hero-ball mentality hurts this teams ability to execute. Casey needs to do a better job of 1) creating a play book 2) making sure those plays are ran during the game…also, play Valanciunas a bit more. Basically, I need Casey to start doing his job better…
Garrett: Terrence Ross, my friend – take a breath. Our much maligned dunk contest winner is still oozing with potential, but he’s proven what a lot of people guessed: he’s SO emotional, and he’s prone to riding slumps much more than a veteran would. Consistency from Ross would go a long, long way in balancing out the lineup.
Barry: Casey has to start drawing up plays. Anything. For the love of God and all things holy please design a play that doesn’t involve a Lou Williams isolation to end the quarter.
William: Valanciunas needs to become smarter on defense. If the Raptors are going to do damage in the playoffs, it’s going to need to come with Valanciunas on the court. He needs to show strides on defense to earn minutes.
Scott: Terrence Ross, I beg you to feign interest in the sport for 30 minutes a game. Players consistently shoot better against him and his net rating when on the floor is 1.5. The only rotation player with a lower net rating is JV.
3. How many wins will the Raptors finish with?
Tamberlyn: I said 52 preseason and now I think we’ll surpass that. My guess is 54, but to be completely honest I just want the 50 wins, so the team can check off that milestone.
Matt: I’m going to stick with my initial prediction of 53-55 wins. We’re right on pace and still have nine games remaining within our division, which currently sports a combined record of 44-116 for a .275 winning percentage. Anything less than 50 wins will be a disappointment.
Tim C.: Lets say an even 50. The team has been slumping lately but they are still mostly beating the bad teams they need to beat and they amassed a nice cushion to start the season. Just like they weren’t as good as they were to start the season they aren’t as bad as they’re playing now.
Nick: I said 53 at the beginning of the season because I am a huge homer. Reality has set in a bit more and 48 is my new number.
Tim W.: I believe I guessed 50 wins at the beginning of the season and I’m going to stay with that estimate.
Sam: 50
Garrett: I said 49 at the beginning of the season, and they’d only have to go 22-18 the rest of the way to do that, which seems a teense modest even given the recent slump. Let’s bump it up to 51.
Barry: They’ll still get to 50 wins. It’s gonna happen. Stay positive.
William: I said 50 before the season and I’m sticking to my guns. Raps need to go 23-17 over the remainder of the season.
Scott: 47. The East still sucks, there will be some positive regression to the mean.
4. Most Valuable Player?
Tamberlyn: Kyle Lowry — Carrying the squad has taken a toll on him, but he’s still taking the critical charge, sensing the need to pick up the pace or hit a key shot. Even prior to DeRozan’s injury, Lowry was the catalyst for the majority of our wins. He’s grown as a leader specifically in his patience and guidance, especially with Valanciunas. I’m happy he’ll be an All Star, crazy thing is this year he could really use the time off to rest.
Matt: I’m trying to figure out a way to answer Terrence Ross just to read the outraged comments, but the clear and obvious answer is Kyle Lowry. He has been the leader that Toronto’s needed and kept the Raptors near the top of the East despite missing DeMar for 21 games.
Tim C.: Kyle Lowry. His legs look dead right now but for the first half of the season he carried this team on his back. He has the team’s best ‘sense of the moment’, which not only means hitting big shots but also who to involve in the offence when and what needs to happen to the pace of the game to best benefit the Raptors.
Nick: Kyle Lowry. Do I really have to explain this? Imagine if Demar went down and the keys to this team were in YOLO Vasquez or 2 girl Lou’s hands. The car would wrecked in a ditch.
Tim W.: While Lowry still frustrates me with his penchant for hero ball, he’s the main reason the Raptors have the record they do. He’s been able to turn the chip on his shoulder to his advantage by never giving up and never letting his teammates give up.
Sam: It has to be DeRozan. The unexplained success came to a halt when he was out with injury; his absence from the line-up has hurt the teams chemistry and mojo.
Garrett: Kyle Lowry. The criticisms about his hero-ball in the fourth quarter are valid, but there’s no way this team is sitting where it is without him. He might even have been TOO valuable, potentially burning himself out as he willed the team to win after win while DeMar DeRozan was injured.
Barry: The way Kyle Lowry carried the team while Derozan was injured along with his presumed All Star nod reiterated his position as the team leader. James Johnson’s defence and ability to create on offence has been great too. Lots of value from Johnson but Lowry is the obvious choice for MVP.
William: The answer is Lowry. I should have done a better job with crafting questions.
Scott: Kyle Lowry. We (both the team and the fanbase) wouldn’t be able to function without Lowry’s play during the DeRozan stretch. KLOE forever.
