Here’s the bad news: Toronto is not yet good enough to beat the top teams in the NBA and are firmly entrenched in the second tier of teams.
Here’s the good news: the Raptors are as close to being an elite team as they have been in franchise history and that alone can be reason for an optimistic outlook.
With three loses already to Cleveland Cavaliers, and one each to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto currently doesn’t have a single win against the top four teams in the league (have yet to play San Antonio, but will get our first crack on January 3).
Outside of this group of elite teams though (side note: still not convinced that Clippers are an elite team, but their record indicates otherwise. How can a team be elite when they play Austin Rivers and Raymond Felton for a combined 39 minutes per game? That feels like some unsustainable witchcraft.), Toronto is now 14-2, with their two coming at the hands of the Sacramento Kings (one of which is currently being appealed). That’s a nice record.
Toronto has quality against other second tier teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder (112-102) and Houston Rockets (115-102), and against dangerous teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets, the Raptors have taken care of business against all but the league’s best.
As Toronto lost to Cleveland last night by only 4 (116-112), they remain the only team to have not lost by at least 10 points. In fact, every other team has lost by 10+ points at least twice already (hat tip to Josh Lewenberg for the stat).
It’s easy to get frustrated as the losses pile up against the league’s best teams, but perspective is important. Toronto simply isn’t there yet. Their record shows this, and they’ve simply been outclassed by the elite teams.
The Raptors have also managed to their 14-7 record despite currently being tired for the fourth toughest strength of schedule (according to ESPN), with only Dallas, Houston, and Detroit having faced a tougher schedule through this point in the season.
Life is going to get easier in many ways for Toronto, and as it does it will hopefully provide additional opportunities for growth. It’s tough for young players like Pascal Siakam to chase the likes of Blake Griffin and Kevin Love (and to be switched onto LeBron James), or for Jakob Poeltl and Bebe Nogueira to effectively learn on the job against team’s that force many switches and cuts to the basket.
Toronto also remains the second best offensive team in the NBA at 116.1 points per 100 possessions. For reference of how good that is, if Toronto maintains this pace to the end of the season (seems unlikely) they would be one of only two teams to have an offensive rating above 116. The other? The 2016-17 Golden State Warriors.
The offense is at historic rates, and the defense is slowly starting to come around. Young players are finding their footing in the league, and Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are looking better than ever.
Patrick Patterson is finding his shot to go along with his defense, and even DeMarre Carroll is starting to look like the player the Raptors signed in 2015 as he makes his way toward full health. We will even get to see what Jared Sullinger provides once he returns from injury.
The Raptors remain a far from perfect team, but they are under notice from the league’s elite. No one looks at Toronto as an easy night on the schedule anymore. No one looks at Toronto as a push-over
LeBron on Raptors: “They’ve had our attention for the last couple years. I think they’ve had the NBA’s attention”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 5, 2016
The league’s best teams are coming into Toronto and trying to prove a point. LeBron played a near season high 42 minutes last night. He did so well switching occasionally onto DeMar on defense, and putting up 34 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
Toronto is presently stuck in the second tier of the NBA and is trying to punch their way into being an elite team. The top tier of the league has taken note, which says a lot in how far the Raptors have come as an organization.
