So much bad stuff
The Toronto Raptors’ season ended as we could have predicted, namely, with double-digit losses, both in Miami against the Heat. At what might laughably be called the high point of 2023-24, on November 24 the Raptors were 8-8 following a home win over the Chicago Bulls. After that, Toronto went 17-49, which is truly pitiful.
While counting on better luck next season may be silly, surely our team’s fortunes couldn’t get worse. Three players, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Jontay Porter, missed time for personal reasons. Porter is gone for good (while bashing the NBA’s rulings can be fun, in this case Porter’s lifetime ban, imposed after an league investigation into his betting shenanigans, was an entirely correct judgement – I pledge never to mention his name again). Quickley will return if the money is right, and Barrett is with us for a while.
The Raptors had more players out of the rotation than in it many times, including building block Scottie Barnes and defensive anchor Jakob Poeltl.
Anyway, you know all this. I want to shift the conversation. Can we take away any gleanings of positive news?
Tell me there were positives, please!
What were the pinpoints of light in an otherwise lost season? Here are a few, in order of importance:
- Scottie Barnes was named an All-Star. Now that he’s had his first taste, he’s going to want it more and more. Hopefully, his positive attitude will rub off on his mates. [I expect a splashy announcement this summer of Scottie’s current contract being ripped up in favour of a multi-year, megabuck deal.]
- Gradey Dick advanced from Summer-League & early-season bust to missing link by Game 82. He showed the skills needed to create/make his own shot, and he’s athletic enough to defend better as he gains experience. The youngster can even rebound nicely. While there are worse fates than having The Next Kyle Korver on our squad, Gradey should be a better two-way player than KK ever was, and soon.
- RJ played better as a Raptor than he ever did as a Knick.
- IQ was frequently brilliant, and seems happy to return.
- Coach Darko Rajakovic didn’t whine about his team’s misfortunes, and never stopped being the leader this young bunch needs. I doubt Masai Ujiri gave much, if any, consideration to moving on from his rookie coach.
- Kelly Olynyk still has a lot of game. I want to see him and Poeltl together. Big to big passing, and pindowns, both leading to easy buckets? Yes, please.
- After a rough start, Bruce Brown presented as an interesting rotation swingman. The Raptors can probably afford either him or Gary Trent, but not both.
- Jordan Nwora flashed some diverse skills. If he wants to return, we could do a lot worse.
Yes, but we lost a lot of games
Indeed we did. There are many leaks to be plugged. We’ll take a look at them next time.
- Tags: Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors
