The Toronto Raptors played two of the most exciting preseason games ever recorded, and they both came against the Boston Celtics. It wasn’t a terrible preseason, with some down, but plenty of good with a 3-2 finish. Most everyone had a moment at one point or another, with Dalano Banton in particular playing great from start to finish. To prepare for the entire season, we’ve gathered the collective will and wit of Raptors Republic to talk through the offseason, preseason, and make predictions for the upcoming year. You can find part one here.
How would you rate Toronto’s preseason?
Adon Moss: For the core: I’ve no thoughts. I’m underwhelmed by preseason as a whole.
For Canada: AWESOME. The cross-Canada tour was a huge success (sell-outs in Victoria, Edmonton, and Montreal). Regular season visits to Canadian metropoli should be the next mission. (Though that Montreal floor looked very slippy; I don’t trust hockey-first anything)
For the Young’uns: Vundabar. Camp battles were genuinely competitive. The comeback against Boston and double battles in OT were great experiences and probably SO MUCH fun for them. Seeing growth from guys like Banton, Koloko, and Downtin was encouraging. And I’m happy for Josh Jackson and Gabe Brown and DJ Wilson who all put their best foot forward.
Josh Howe: Aside from the injuries to multiple key figures (including poor Malachi Flynn, for whom a strong pre-season could have sustained some welcome summer momentum), Toronto’s pre-season proved a tasty precursor to the campaign ahead. Impressive Koloko minutes, pushing the pace, Banton’s burgeoning game, and a closeout Barnes/Anunoby thrill-ride highlighted the innumerable reasons fans should be jazzed about this season’s potential.
Simon Broder: Maybe a C-? Despite the record, I was pretty unimpressed. All the offensive problems from last year were there in stark contrast, and the 3-point shooting was absolutely atrocious. Obviously Otto was out, but if Precious continues to struggle shooting the ball as much as he did in preseason, the floor will get a little bit smaller for everybody else. I don’t want to overreact to a few exhibition games, but I’m definitely concerned.
Louis Zatzman: Meh, preseason is what it is as far as player analysis goes. Scottie Barnes can have four disappointing games and then play so well in game five that all that goes out the window. But the Raptors had two games against the Celtics that were as fun as regular-season games, and nobody suffered serious injuries. So I can be happy with that.
Are you happy with how Toronto’s end-of-roster decisions shook out? What would you have rathered?
Adon Moss: Yup. I never had a doubt who the three would be. Josh Jackson did all he could to knock at the 15th spot’s door; he made me think for a second Juancho mighta lost his foothold, but I think Juancho’s guaranteed money, shooting, and experience won out. The Raptors obviously believe in Banton. We would’ve seen the same commitment to Champagnie had he been healthy for Summer League and Preseason. They like these two a lot.
Josh Howe: About a month ago now, I joined Yahoo Sports Canada’s Amit Mann to break down Toronto’s then-upcoming training camp battles. We both settled on Banton, Hernangomez, and Champagnie being the most likely candidates to snag the final three roster spots, which ultimately came to fruition, and I still think those were the correct choices. That said, I do hope Josh Jackson and DJ Wilson find homes with other franchises—as end-of-bench depth, they’re both serviceable pieces.
Simon Broder: For the most part. Banton has looked great, and the final roster spot always seemed like Champagnie’s to lose – despite the hot start, Josh Jackson just doesn’t have enough of a jump shot to be a threat and doesn’t do all the little things Champagnie does to be effective on the margins. I haven’t been particularly impressed with Hernangomez, but you knew with the guaranteed contract it was going to be tough for them to move on from him. I’ll always have a soft spot for DJ Wilson, but he’s just too old to be considered a prospect and he’s not really an impact guy when he’s out there. The only thing I’d really quibble with is that I might prefer if the second two-way behind Dowtin had gone to Brown instead of Harper Jr.
Louis Zatzman: Banton-Champagnie-Hernangomez was my prediction early, and nobody did enough to unseat the incumbents. Josh Jackson came close, perhaps, but the Raptors have youth and upside in Banton and Champagnie and a veteran contributor in Hernangomez. That’s what they usually want from those positions. Banton looks like he could be a very helpful player this season, which is a big win. Any contributions from the back end of the roster matters, and Banton had an incredible offseason and preseason. No complaints from me.
In what ways do you think this upcoming season will be different from last? Will the team take a step forward?
Adon Moss: Less volume for Freddy. There’s too many guys who need/deserve more touches in the context that Freddy, as an off-ball-action shooter guy is going to be so deadly. As opposed to the converse, where things could get very gummy. Also, Raps D is going to be better from the git-go. Recall, as of January 1st last year Toronto was 21st in defensive rating. I’m getting spidey tingles of a Top 10 D all year.
Josh Howe: If the Raptors can make some slight yet meaningful adjustments to their transition attack, they could certainly be a more potent offensive force this season. As I noted in my recent article on VanVleet’s off-ball dynamism, Toronto averaged 20.6 transition possessions per game in 2021-22 (fifth-most in the league), but ranked in just the 20th percentile (1.09 points per possession) overall. Having the guards spend more possessions whipping out to the wing and the bigs rumbling down the center of the court as handlers should help.
Simon Broder: The key, of course, will be how Scottie develops into a lead role. If he can become a focal point of this team offensively, then I think there’s a lot of room for growth. Stylistically, I don’t think the team will play a whole lot differently from last season – they’ll still struggle offensively and have to win a lot of games on the glass – but if the team wants to make a leap, Scottie will be the key.
Louis Zatzman: Broadly, I’m expecting more of the same from the Raptors this season. Ugly offensive basketball, risky-but-generally-successful defensive basketball, and far too much reliance on Siakam and VanVleet. If Anunoby or Barnes or Achiuwa take steps forward, that could change things. But to me, 2023-24 is when the Raptors will contend for a championship, if all goes to plan. This season could be much the same as last season.
Do you think the Raptors will continue their positionless (but in reality, everyone-is-a-power-forward) experiment? Should they?
Adon Moss: Yup. And Yup. I’ve argued why before.
Innovation requires patience and persistence. Toronto’s improved every year pursuing this philosophy and they’d be foolish to turn away from it now. It’s why over-paying for Myles Turner or Jakob Pöltl would never happen and why D-Mitch and KD trades fizzled. Unless, it’s mighty arbitrage, Raptors aren’t budging from their Vision.
Josh Howe: Winning in the NBA requires flexibility. The Raptors realize that, and have set out to fabricate a team of multifaceted basketball players, where positions are no longer relevant and innumerable avenues are unlocked for them to utilize, depending on matchup. It’s a worthy endeavour, though I believe that sprinkling in more traditional personnel (Koloko, for example) is still necessary to tangibly achieve what stands as, for Toronto, a conceptual long-term solution.
Simon Broder: I think the Raptors are committed to the positionless look, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some natural evolution away from that in the next couple of years. It’s just how sports work: you can build towards your ideal vision up to a point, but at some point talent has to win out if you want to get to the next level. But even if they eventually wind up picking up a couple of players who don’t “fit,” I definitely think the ability to go fully positionless will remain an important weapon.
Louis Zatzman: There are holes on the roster, which have been discussed ad nauseum here. Shooting and rim pressure, specifically. If the Raptors can fill those gaps with the Vision 6’9” experiment staying intact, incredible. If they can’t, the theory may well prove to be gimmicky. Toronto needs to be able to score with more ease. The length is great and very helpful, but it can’t come at the cost of other components. I think the Raptors will figure it out and keep the experiment intact, for what it’s worth. But if the two come into conflict, hard questions will be asked and will have to be answered.
Prediction time! As scientifically as possible, can you please offer a record for the Raptors when the season is done and a playoff result?
Adon Moss: 49-33. East is tough, nearly top to bottom. I think Toronto will split a lot of games with the top tier and let some slip against lesser East opponents – as is tradition. They cleared 48 Ws last year despite not having Siakam and OG for spurts and having a rawer Precious and Scottie. This team is well-oiled, deeper, and unified in pursuit of a Playoff push. I don’t think the Conference Finals is unattainable, if the stars align, but I’m also absolutely in love with this team, so I’m biased.
And, as Windybag said, recently,
don’t be surprised if the Raptors make a mid-season move either.
Josh Howe: I have made this prediction on a podcast already this year, and what kind of lily-livered craven would I be if I opted to change my mind now? So, I’ll say the Raptors finish with a 52-30 record and find themselves being ousted in the second round of the playoffs.
Simon Broder: I have the Raptors landing right on 50 wins and the #5 seed in a stacked Eastern Conference. I do think the team has gotten deeper this year and I expect to see some development from Precious and Scottie as well as (hopefully!) better shooting, but with seemingly every other team also adding pieces, I think it’s going to be a grind just to hold onto their place. I have them picking up two extra wins just because they probably won’t have the early-season swoon we saw last year, but there won’t be a lot of easy games in the conference and I could also see it going the other way, where some other teams on the rise are taking wins away from the Raps. So 50 wins would be a very successful year.
Louis Zatzman: The editor’s advantage is that I see everyone’s answers in this space, and everyone else only sees their own. So: wow, a lot of agreement between writers on record. I’m with them, too. 50-32 seems safe, considering both the team ought to be slightly better (and likely healthier, considering how unlucky last season was) but also the improvement across the East. The playoffs will be brutal, but I have the Raptors — depending on who they play, of course — in the driver’s seat to win a series this season. I thought they had advantages over the Sixers that didn’t come to fruition, but the odds are they won’t see a team that dangerous in the first round again. But just one playoff series win for now. Next year is when the fun should start.
