It’s time to celebrate another successful year for the Toronto Raptors with our regular season awards. First up, who was the Raptors Most Valuable player this season?
The 2016-17 regular season has been a turbulent, exciting and successful one for the Toronto Raptors. Coming off 56 wins last year, the Raptors are on course for another 50-win season. This is an achievement not to be sniffed at, as this will be only the second time in franchise history they have reached 50 wins. This 5-part series will decide who was the Raptors MVP, rookie of the year, best newcomer, most disappointing player and the best win of the year. Let’s begin with the MVP award.
Most Valuable player
Deciding who is the most valuable player (MVP) for the Toronto Raptors is harder than it looks. To decide the MVP, we need to define what MVP is. The MVP is the player who has had the best season this year, not necessarily who is the best player overall. For example, LeBron James is the best player in the league but the MVP is Russell Westbrook (in my opinion). That leaves us with two possible options; Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Let’s explore each candidate’s legitimacy.
The case for DeRozan
The free agency of summer 2016 ushered in a new brave world for NBA contracts and how we view player’s value. There was no question that DeRozan is a maximum salary player and he received a $139 million-dollar contract. When players sign a contract of astronomical levels they usually fail to live up to expectations of the contract. Yet it could be argued that DeRozan put together the greatest season in franchise history.
The mid-range king is averaging career highs in points, free throw attempts, rebounds and player efficiency rating (PER). What makes these results more impressive is the mental and physical load he has carried this season. Lowry missed 21 games with a wrist injury which meant that DeRozan has been the man offensively. Coaches could scheme against him as they knew DeRozan would be the main offensive threat, so they doubled him late him in games and forced other players to step up and win games.
The case for Lowry
Kyle Lowry averaged career highs in points, rebounds and field goal percentage this season. This is all impressive but the most remarkable thing is his shooting from downtown. Lowry is shooting 42% from three-point range and during his absence the Raptors lacked shooting. The second-best shooter from downtown for the Raptors was Patrick Patterson who shot 36% from three. This metric assumes that the player has been on the roster from the start of the season and played at least 50 games. Without Lowry, it is unlikely the Raptors will be able to make a deep run into the playoffs as they need shooting to win tight games.
The case for Lowry is strengthened as the Raptors half-court offense was stagnant and confused without Lowry. Lowry makes players around him better as he knows when to spread the ball around and when to be aggressive. His Basketball IQ is something the Raptors missed sorely and this showed during Lowry’s return against the Pistons when he dropped 27 points and 10 assists in an efficient showing.
The Winner is…
If Lowry had played the whole season then this award would be an easy choice. However, missing 20 plus games at a critical period invalidates his claim for the MVP. The chase for home court advantage is an important part of the season and DeRozan has been spectacular this year. Let’s hope he continues his impressive form into the playoffs.
DeMar DeRozan – You the real MVP.
All Stats from http://www.basketball-reference.com/