The Toronto Raptors weren’t supposed to win with this core of players. Then they did win, making the playoffs in 2013-14 and briefly looking like the Eastern Conference’s best team last season before the Hawks and Cavaliers firmly stole that title. But winning brings on a funny thing known as expectations and certainly those were blown to bits when the Raptors couldn’t even take a game against the Washington Wizards in the first round.
Toronto Raptors 2015 roster: Raptors retool, but have they already peaked?
The Raptors have most of their future riding on the success of this season.
Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
Now the Raptors are stuck in a weird place: they have a team that was merely days away from being blown up with Kyle Lowry headed out the door right behind Rudy Gay. This same team has now reached two postseasons, but is the first round their plateau? The ugly loss to Washington gave Toronto the impetus to make a few changes, adding DeMarre Carroll to ostensibly improve their defense as Amir Johnson walked to Boston, but it’s perhaps not enough. A lot may hinge on whether Jonas Valanciunas can see marked improvement -- but the Raptors have been saying that for two seasons now, haven’t they?
Toronto’s in a strange place. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess.
LAST YEAR
RECORD: 49-33 (4th in Eastern Conference)
PLAYOFFS: Lost 0-4 in first round against Washington
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 108.1 (3rd)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 104.8 (23rd)
ROSTER
No. | PLAYER | POS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | COLLEGE |
| 3 | James Johnson | PF | 6-9 | 250 | 28 | Wake Forest |
| 4 | Luis Scola | PF | 6-9 | 240 | 35 | |
| 5 | DeMarre Carroll | SF | 6-8 | 212 | 29 | Missouri |
| 6 | Cory Joseph | PG | 6-3 | 190 | 24 | Texas |
| 7 | Kyle Lowry | PG | 6-0 | 205 | 29 | Villanova |
| 8 | Bismack Biyombo | PF | 6-9 | 245 | 23 | |
| 10 | DeMar DeRozan | SG | 6-7 | 220 | 26 | USC |
| 15 | Anthony Bennett | PF | 6-8 | 245 | 22 | UNLV |
| 17 | Jonas Valanciunas | C | 7-0 | 255 | 23 | |
| 20 | Bruno Caboclo | SF | 6-9 | 205 | 20 | |
| 24 | Norman Powell | SG | 6-4 | 215 | 22 | UCLA |
| 31 | Terrence Ross | SF | 6-7 | 195 | 24 | Washington |
| 54 | Patrick Patterson | PF | 6-9 | 235 | 26 | Kentucky |
| 55 | Delon Wright | PG | 6-5 | 190 | 23 | Utah |
| 92 | Lucas Nogueira | C | 7-0 | 220 | 23 |
Coach: Dwane Casey
Assistant coaches: Nick Nurse, Jama Mahlalela, Jerry Stackhouse, Andy Greer, Rex Kalamian
OFFSEASON CHANGES
IN: DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Anthony Bennett, Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Nogueira
OUT: Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansbrough, Greg Stiemsma, Chuck Hayes, Landry Fields
Carroll replacing Johnson is the major move of the Raptors’ offseason, but there was some transition around the edges, too. Nabbing Bennett when he recently was waived by Minnesota might be the most intriguing pickup of all of them, since the former No. 1 pick is still trying to find exactly where he fits in the NBA.
DEPTH CHART
POINT GUARD | SHOOTING GUARD | SMALL FORWARD | POWER FORWARD | CENTER | |
STARTER | Kyle Lowry | DeMar DeRozan | DeMarre Carroll | Patrick Patterson | Jonas Valanciunas |
RESERVE | Cory Joseph | Norman Powell | Terrence Ross | Luis Scola | Bismack Biyombo |
RESERVE | Delon Wright | Bruno Caboclo | James Johnson | Lucas Nogueira | |
RESERVE | Anthony Bennett |
THE KEY QUESTION
(taken from team site)
PREDICTIONS
BEST CASE: By adding Carroll to the wing, Toronto patches up last season’s subpar defense and turns it into an average one, making the top five offense more potent. Bennett finds his way. With a playoff series win -- maybe even two -- Toronto’s faith in this core is justified.
WORST CASE: The defense fails to improve and the offense drops off. Patterson proves incapable of handling the starting power forward position while Valanciunas still fails to improve. With another first round exit, Dwane Casey is fired and the Raptors' future is cloudier than ever before.
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