Roundtable: Looking back on the Raptors’ 2021-22 campaign

Freddie:

Visionary: Everything about this team is original, imaginative and rewarding. Masai, Bobby and Nurse have been bold and successful, winning and developing at the same time. It’s been great.

Adam:

Satisfying. As Raptors fans, we have obviously been spoiled as fans during the 7-year playoff run before the Tampa Bay experience. Honestly – going through the season we had last year as a fan was worth it for where the Raptors are at now as a franchise.

Kyle:

Charmed. All the little things the Raptors needed to get lucky on – the young guys, the bench, the Stars – came up aces. Scottie Barnes is on a superstar trajectory, Precious Achiuwa looks like next great 3 & D big, and Pascal Siakam has returned to borderline-superstar form – what more could you even ask for?

Matt S.:

Joyful.  No clear expectations, an assumed development season, exceeding anyone’s wildest hopes, and the emergence of our next generation.  This season was a joy to experience.

Jamar:

Manny:

Growth. Remember how it felt to watch Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas grow? This is even better because the team took a gap year, selected the ROY and here we are.

Lucas:

I didn’t expect to see Scottie Barnes at such a high level so quickly, he really exceeded my expectations for his rookie season. Not that I didn’t expect anything from him, far from it, but mostly that he showed an excellent level in his first season. As soon as I saw his attitude at the scrimmages of the draft combine, I immediately understood that he was different, that he was an excellent teammate but above all a true vocal leader on the field in addition to having an impact on the game. He is a winner and the Raptors did well to bet on him.

On the disappointment side, I would say OG. Not in terms of the level of play he has displayed, but for the number of games he has missed on the season. He only played 48 games this season and only played 43 last year because of his injury prone nature. So of course it’s not his fault and it’s even rather reassuring to see that the injuries are not necessarily linked to each other. So we can think that this is a real bad luck for him and I hope he can finally splash us with his talent on a full season next year.

Louis:

I mean, pretty much everyone exceeded or met my expectations. Precious, Gary, Scottie, Pascal, Fred, Boucher — exceeded. Maybe OG, Khem, Thad met my expectations. If anyone disappointed it was really just Goran Dragic, who I unfortunately thought would really help the Raptors. Boy oh boy was I wrong.

Brendan:

I was a vocal Jalen Suggs supporter. Although I believed that both he and Scottie Barnes would be future all stars, I was still very concerned when Scottie’s name was the one that was called on draft night. I watched all of Scottie Barnes’ college games and I don’t think even the most staunch of Scottie Barnes fans expected this season from him. He has been doing things this year that he didn’t even show flashes of at Florida State. The playmaking and rim-finishing was expected, but his shooting improvement as a whole is something that’s rarely seen in prospects like Scottie. I still believe that Scottie’s natural position is point guard, and I would like to see him become a permanent fixture in that role, but many if not all of my concerns about his game have practically vanished. Just give him more opportunities please, he’s ready.

Malachi Flynn continues to be a disappointment. I understand that he’s had some poor injury luck to end the season, but the Raptors’ lack of depth has been a weakness all year long and he still struggled to break into the lineup earlier on. When he did get chances, he was constantly disappointing with inefficient shooting and poor decision making on both ends of the floor. His starts with the Raptors 905 were also wrought with poor performances (averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists on an alarming 37% true shooting percentage). Granted, he had a four-game hot stretch in March when Fred was out with an injury. Two of those games were wins against the Nets without Kyrie and KD, and two of those games were losses against Orlando and Detroit. If you need your 24 year old sophomore guard to be in a starting role against subpar talent in order to produce effectively, it may be time to look in another direction in the very near future. If Flynn was capable of producing even close to a replacement level consistently, the Raptors’ depth concerns would be greatly alleviated. I shed a tear whenever I see Desmond Bane shattering franchise records for the Grizzlies.

Matt D.:

I won’t say I was a Masai/Bobby doubter, but I was a bit worried that Suggs was gonna show us what mistake they made drafting Barnes. Scottie’s play, his IQ, his enthusiasm, his look-back before he dunks… He’s blown past my expectations and made me truly excited for the post-Kyle era. The one player that disappointed me was Dragic. The way he handled the trade to Toronto, then leaving the team to go sit court-side back in Miami… just not something you expect from a vet. What message does that send to younger players, you know?

Freddie:

Almost the entire team has exceeded my expectations. I had a pretty positive projection of the team (6th in the east) before the season started, but the player development and instant success of guys like Scottie, Banton, Champagnie has been incredible to watch.

Adam:

Precious really exceeded my expectations when it came to him. I knew he had potential as a defensive stopper but didn’t project him to be where he’s at offensively at all. What’s even more impressive is his improvement from the start of the season to now. He’s just so sound, so confident and so comfortable in the offence. If there’s anyone that’s disappointed me, it’s probably Malachi. I know he had that decent stretch of games but I was hoping for more from him in his second year. I still think he’s talented but it looks like it’ll be tough to find him consistent minutes on a team as good as this when they’re at full strength.

Kyle:

My go-to answer to this question all year has been Scottie. Everyone knew he’d be successful in Toronto, but unless your name is Matt Shantz I don’t think you were all in on Scottie Barnes. As far as disappointments, it has to be OG Anunoby. Injuries definitely were a factor, but it’s hard to ignore that not only did OG not take the leap we here at RR were promising, its possible he actually regressed this year. Here’s hoping he disproves me with an excellent playoff run.

Matt S.:

Exceeding expectations was the theme of the year, but nothing surprised me more than Dalano Banton not only getting minutes (in stretches) but often being a positive contributor.  I had assumed it would be an entire G-League season for him, and while he showed out during his time with the 905, he also showed with the big club that he has a chance to be a contributor moving forward.

And while he’s looked better late in the season, the player who has been the most disappointing is Khem Birch. I love him, but failing to grab hold of consistent minutes was shocking.  He was supposed to be the reliable vet.

Jamar:

Precious Achiuwa exceeded expectations over last month, I didn’t know what he was. I also only expected 10/6/5 from Scottie and he’s much better than that. OG disappointed me thought he would take a bigger leap, also he’s been out way too much.

Manny:

I’ve been on the GTJ bandwagon from day one and I never plan on getting off. It’s been a thrill watching him get at it on both ends of the floor. I’m giving him all his flowers for the rest of my life and the rest of his.

Nobody really disappointed me. I didn’t have many expectations coming into the season and whenever you have that mindset, you can never go wrong.

Lucas:

The moment of the season that stood out to me the most was most definitely the 124-120 win over the Heat after THREE overtimes. It was a game that lasted forever (even more so here in France where the game ended at something like 6am) but it also showed the DNA of the Raptors, with players who don’t give up despite 55+ minutes of playing time. This game really showed that the Raptors are not a good team to take in the playoffs.

Louis:

Raps beat the Heat in triple freakin’ overtime as VanVleet just goes bananas from deep in the second and third overtimes. So so fun.

Brendan:

Scottie’s 28/16/4 game with 5 steals against Brooklyn.

Matt D.:

I loved seeing Gary’s hot streak, where he was averaging around 30 for five straight games, and him doing pressers dressed like the Terminator. I like when players are unintentionally funny like that. “Is the Zoom call frozen?” “No, Gary’s just not moving.”

Freddie:

The return of Kyle Lowry.

Adam:

I have 3 – Scottie’s game at Boston when he took over, FVV’s game-winner in Philly (LOL), and Pascal’s recent game against Philly when he completely took over.

Kyle:

Although it may not count as part of THIS season, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the excitement of Barnes’ draft night. Scottie was so full of joy when he realized the Raptors believed in him enough to take him at #4, a reaction that was completely foreign to long-time Raptor fans who had to endure so many years of forced smiles on Draft night. It’s enough to make a grown man cry.

Matt S.:

I’m assuming most people will either go with Kyle Lowry’s return or something with Scottie Barnes (toe-to-toe with LeBron??? Come on!), so I have to go off board a little.  It’s likely some recency bias, but Precious Achiuwa getting the defensive rebound against the Philadelphia 76ers, pushing it up the court, and walking into a straightaway 3.

Jamar:

Most memorable moment is probably Kyle’s ovation but from a Raptors perspective their 3OT win in Miami was probably the coolest game.

Manny:

Man how can anything from Scottie not be memorable? This dude plays hard and he’s amazing for the locker room. You see the way Pascal acts like the annoyed big brother and you can’t help but smile.

Kyle Lowry coming back was pretty cool too.

Lucas:

I think Pascal is very deserving of his All-NBA selection, and the Samson Folk article I recently translated reinforces that idea in my head. He had a great season on both sides of the court and was able to carry his team and win to take the Raptors to the playoffs. He showed that he could be the leader of this team and would deserve an All-NBA selection.

Louis:

I’ll go with Nick Nurse for Coach of the Year! There are other possibilities, for sure, but Nurse did a hell of a job. He was given a roster without guards, without shooting, and without initiation, and he turned the team into a defensive menace. He basically reinvented how to play offense by just running in transition and snatching every offensive rebound available. He decided to just … not use a backup point guard. Creative decisions, all. He maximized basically everyone in the rotation, and he squeezed more wins out of this group than I would have thought possible. All while development remained fantastique. Come to think of it, maybe he actually should win Coach of the Year.

Brendan:

Pascal for third team All NBA? Does that count? If not, I’d consider Trent for Most Improved.

Matt D.:

I’d honestly like to get the Guinness people in to measure Boucher’s headband for what might be the largest headband ever worn in pro sports.

Freddie:

All-NBA for Siakam. He’s been so great and had such a wonderful redemption season. It would be max feel-good.

Adam:

I know the COTY was already announced but It would have been nice to see NN win it. He’s just such a great coach and what he’s been able to do with this team with all their new personnel has been incredible.

Kyle:

Precious probably deserves some love for MIP. The magnitude of the jump from a borderline G-leaguer to 6th man on a playoff team is huge. There is no way he’ll win this year, but I’d keep an eye out for him next year in 2023. 

Matt S.:

This is a cruel question. Since I have to choose, I’ll pick Fred VanVleet for All-Defense.  His production on that end is highly underappreciated and this is a few years in the making.  Siakam missing All-NBA would be acknowledged by many as a slight/mistake, but Fred’s defense would remain overlooked.

Jamar:

Pascal will be third team All-NBA. Fred has a smaller shot at 2^nd team all defence.

Manny:

I’m giving Nicky Nurse COTY because he’s the modern-day Harry Houdini. Or at least, the closest thing to.