Pleasant surprises of Toronto Raptors' season to date

We’re a quarter of the way through the NBA season already, and that’s sufficient time to have noted some significant pleasant surprises about the Toronto Raptors.

Biggest surprise?

Jonas Valanciunas is being outplayed by the second-stringer. I write this not simply because of JV’s deeply disappointing effort against the Cavaliers. Everybody has an off-night shooting occasionally. However, JV’s play has not made the advancements we expected of him. In the meantime, Lucas Nogueira has advanced from afterthought to contributor. Can Bebe take the final stride to the starter’s role?

I suggest that notion would have been unthinkable a month ago.

Dec 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors center Lucas Nogueira (92) goes to the basket as he is guarded by Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram (14) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Lakers 113-80. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

A tough roster to crack

After last season, many of us thought swingman Norman Powell had pushed himself into the Raptors’ rotation. Instead, he’s piled up a bunch of DNP-CDs, except when he hasn’t. Huh? When he’s been called upon by coach Dwane Casey, the UCLA graduate has played well.

Earning minutes on a deep Raptors roster has been tough for Norman, as it has for Jakob Poeltl. No one has yet failed for Toronto. What Casey will do when first Delon Wright, then Jared Sullinger, return to action is anyone’s guess.

A late-selection rookie takes over at Power Forward

In the summer, all us Raptors fans were wondering who was going to step into the vacant starter’s role at Power Forward. Then we were mollified by the arrival of Sullinger; next, we learned our new man is injured and unavailable to play for months.

At no point did Your Correspondent consider that our solution was already in uniform. Pascal Siakam, from Africa and the low-profile program at New Mexico State, was NBA-ready. Siakam knows how to play within a team concept, and has a nonstop motor which has helped him pull down a bunch of rebounds and score on run-outs.

If he develops an outside shot, I think he’s got the potential to play small forward.

Dwane Casey loves 3-balls

Just kidding! At his heart, coach Casey loves stifling defense, but he’s smart enough to know which way the wind is blowing in the NBA. The trend towards perimeter shooting could not be better illustrated that the NBA record set on December 1 by the Rockets and Warriors. They each attempted 44 shots from beyond the arc, for a 2-team total of 88. The previous week, the Rockets set the single-team mark with 50 attempts.

The Raptors rank 22nd in 3-ball attempts per game [PG] with 24.3, although the team is connecting at a 39.0% rate, which is third, fractionally behind San Antonio and Cleveland. In fourth is Golden State, so the percentage of makes is a proxy for the overall standings, both top and bottom.

I haven’t any doubt coach Casey is aware of the data and is taking steps to ensure more floor-spacing opportunities for Terrence Ross and Patrick Patterson. Kyle Lowry has been devastating from distance lately and has a permanent green light. Even Siakam has tried a few longer shots.

Not-so-good news

We’ll soon take a look at those things which have not gone so well in Raptors-land.

[all data provided by www.stats.nba.com & www.espn.com, as of Dec. 6]

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Pleasant surprises of Raptors’ season to date

By Brian Boake | Dec 8, 2016