Limited Upside NBA preview: The Raptors are who they are. Is that good or meh?
Toronto is bringing back the same core we all know well by now. Was it time to reset, or are fans OK with the band returning?
The Toronto Raptors faced a crossroads this summer and decided to bring the band back together, for the most part. Now, they seem stuck in pretty good land. Is that OK? Our two panelists disagree, and it makes for a fun conversation.
Daniel Reynolds, the editor in chief of Raptors HQ, and Seerat Sohi, a terrific freelance writer based in Toronto, join the show to discuss the following:
- Was this year the time to blow it up, or did Masai Ujiri’s handling of the Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka contract situations make bringing the team back together palatable?
- Are they really stuck in place? Is there anything that can jolt them out of the East’s middle tier? And if they are actually stuck, is that so bad?
- How the Raptors’ fate and popularity in the city is tied to the Maple Leafs.
- We all agree that this recent Raptors run has helped rebrand the franchise. Is there more than needs to be done to cement their new reputation, or has this core done enough already?
- Where do Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan stack up in the NBA’s pecking order? Why is it so hard to discuss them rationally?
- Would you rather see Jonas Valanciunas finally break out, or Norman Powell take a major step forward? Who else should we be paying attention to off the bench?
- Serge Ibaka — will he play a lot of center this year? Has his decline been overstated?
- How will they replace some of the key bench players they lost?
- Some more info on how the franchise’s relationship with Drake soured. (Don’t expect to see much of him this year at the Air Canada Center).
- A passionate defense of the “Raptors” nickname.
- Which three Raptors players would you want on your all-time banana boat, i.e. the three players you most want to vacation with?
- Predictions, etc. Will this team tread water or dip?
This podcast was part of the Limited Upside podcast’s 2017-18 offseason series previewing all 30 NBA teams with members of SB Nation’s team communities and other friends of the show. We’ve spent the last two-and-a-half months gauging the temperature of every fan base heading into what should be a terrific NBA season. There’s no better way to understand what makes NBA fans in each market tick.
We began these in August and counted down worst-to-first leading up to the season. Here’s how to listen to them all:
- Nets with Kristian Winfield and Nets Daily’s Anthony Puccio
- Lakers with Zito Madu and Silver Screen and Roll’s Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen
- Suns with Bright Side of the Sun’s Dave King and Evan Sidery
- 76ers with Tyler Tynes and Liberty Ballers’ Kyle Neubeck
- Knicks with Kristian Winfield and Posting and Toasting’s Seth Rosenthal
- Magic with Orlando Pinstriped Post’s Zach Oliver and Cory Hutson
- Kings with Kenny Carraway and Sactown Royalty’s Tony Xypteras
- Mavs with Tim Cato and Mavs Moneyball’s Kirk Henderson
- Wolves with Canis Hooups’ Eric Goldman and John Meyer
- Pelicans with The Bird Writes’ Oleh Kosel and Travis Tate
- Hornets with James Dator and At the Hive’s Nicklaus Denning
- Pistons with John Ketchum, Kofie Yeboah and Detroit Bad Boys’ Lazarus Jackson
- Nuggets with Denver Stiffs’ Adam Mares
- Heat with Kelly Cohen and Hot Hot Hoops’ Surya Fernandez
- Bulls with Ricky O’Donnell and Blog a Bull’s Jason Patt
- Pacers with Whitney Medworth and Indy Cornrows’ Caitlin Cooper
- Blazers with Blazers Edge’s Brian Freeman and Peter Sampson
- Bucks with Kevin McCauley and Brew Hoop’s Mitchell Maurer
- Hawks with Harry Lyles Jr. and Peachtree Hoops’ Brad Rowland
- Grizzlies with Grizzly Bear Blues’ Joe Mullinax
- Thunder with Eddie Maisonet and Welcome to Loud City’s Joshua Broom
- Thunder addendum! Carmelo Anthony trade emergency pod with Eddie Maisonet
- Wizards with Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp and Bullets Forever’s Michael Sykes
- Jazz with SLC Dunk’s Mychal Lowman and James Hansen.
- Raptors with Raptors HQ’s Daniel Reynolds and freelance writer Seerat Sohi
- Cavaliers with Fear the Sword’s Chris Manning and MMA Fighting’s Eric Jackman
- Clippers with Clips Nation’s Lucas Hann and former L.A. video coordinator Mo Dakhil
- Celtics with Paul Flannery and Celtics Blog’s Nick Gelso
- Rockets with The Dream Shake’s Ethan Rothstein and Jeremy Brener
- Spurs with Pounding the Rock’s J.R. Wilco and Bruno Passos
- Warriors with Golden State of Mind’s Bram Kincheloe
