August felt like it was seven weeks of nothing this year, but this short stretch of time between preseason and opening night is making August seem like a breeze. The start of the season always elicits a strange combination of hope and anxiety, and this season may be causing me the most of each.
After all, this is the time of the year where every team’s fans are talking themselves into the hope that lies before them. You know…except for Philadelphia fans…they just trust the process.
But the rest of us have at least some form of hope. Whether it be hope for the playoffs, hope in a young player, of hope for a championship at the end of the season. September and October is the time where hope runs rampant.
I do feel hope for this year. As I look at the roster I think they are improved from last year’s group. The team’s defence feels bound for a large improvement., DeMarre Carroll is something I’ve been dreaming about for the Raptors the last 10 years, and Cory Joseph’s handle and ability to attack the basket could transform the Raptors’ second unit.
And these are just a few reasons, among many, for hope on the year ahead. Some are more realistic, while others are cemented in the realm of dreams (I believe in you, Norman!)…but either way the hope is present.
Though for every reason for hope, there is a reason for concern.
I’m trying to mentally ignore these concerns and just enjoy the ride to come, but some of the questions marks are too big to pass over.
For me though, my biggest concern is the matter of the health of the team. An element that is completely unknowable, but causes me to panic when looking at the roster as constructed.
Man Games Lost is a website that not only tracks data such as total games lost due to injury, but also attempts to measure the impact of the loss of specific players. The calculate this through a stat called TMITT (Time Missed Impact To Team). TMITT is largely measured due to the average minutes played by the player who is absent.
According to Man Games Lost and TMITT, Toronto finished last season as the fourth healthiest team in the NBA, ahead of only the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers.
Some health matters are simply luck, and the Raptors appear to have received their fair share last year. But just as some matters are luck, the Raptors’ health could also be attributed in part to Alex McKechnie and the rest of Toronto’s medical staff that has done an excellent job helping players recover from injury, both minor and larger issues.
Although health concerns are always present for every team, an injury to Toronto could have a much greater impact to Toronto due to its roster construction.
Masai Ujiri made it clear from the start of his tenure in Toronto that his value was to fill the bottom of the roster with young talent rather than with established veterans. Just a few short years later and it’s easy to say that this mission has been accomplished.
The end of the bench now consists of Delon Wright (23), Norman “Norman” Powell (22), Bruno Caboclo (20!), Anthony Bennett (22), and Lucas Nogueira (23). It would be tough to find a bottom five that is younger, and all five will likely see extended visits to the D-League for time with the 905s.
Anthony Bennett is by far the most experience of the bunch, having played a total of 1,557 largely disappointing minutes over the first two years of his career. Nogueira played just 22 minutes last season and Bruno topped him with a total of 23, as both Wright and Powell enter their rookie seasons.
Last season saw the Raptors better prepared to handle injuries as they arose, and my fear is that things could get sticky if a regular struggles to find their game (I’m currently looking at you Patterson…), or someone misses significant time due to injury.
I love each of these five bench players and am intrigued to see what each could become in a few years, but I also fear that the need to use them this season may arise.
Tyler Hansbrough, Greg Stiemsma, and Chuck Hayes are no longer there if an added big is needed.
Landry Fields is gone as an emergency wing option.
Lou Williams is gone if an emergency point guard/ball handler is needed.
I love the direction that Ujiri has taken the roster, and agree heartily with his model of filling the end of the rotation with youthful options, but any significant absences from the top 8-10 rotation players could cause us to see minutes being given to a player who isn’t yet ready for such a challenge.
