5 Story Lines From The Raptors Season So Far
By Danny McLeod
The Toronto Raptors are now 13 games into their NBA season with a record of 8 wins and 5 Losses. Here are some of the story lines that have emerged thus far in their season.
Kyle Lowry’s Numbers
Last season Kyle Lowry averaged 22 points, 7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. This season he is averaging 13.8 points, 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 0.6 steals per game. Last season he was making 41% of his three’s he was taking and this season he is making 34% of them. Chalking up Lowry’s poor start to Toronto’s “culture reset” aside, these dips are troubling when considering Lowry is now 31 and making over 30 million dollars a season for the next few years. The drop in percentage is more troubling than the dips in overall points. While Toronto is taking vastly more threes as a team Lowry’s ability to convert them will be a key component to this season’s offence.
CJ Kilometres
CJ Miles was Toronto’s key offseason acquisition and he looks to be integral to Toronto’s revamped offence this year. Miles is averaging 6 three point attempts per game and knocking them down at a 40% clip. He is proving a consistent threat from deep and allowing the offence to flow more freely. Against the Houston Rockets last Tuesday he had 19 points in less than 17 minutes and was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. He’s a gunner and he’s here to shoot, plain and simple.
The OG Effect
Rookie Ogugua Anunoby better known as “OG” is making quite the first impression on Raptor fans this season. Through the first 13 games Anunoby is playing nearly 18 minute per game and showing flashes of defensive versatility that the Raptors could sorely use this year after the departure of PJ Tucker in July. If Anunoby can continue his growth and impact on the game he will force his way into the starting lineup sooner or later. Norman Powell could find himself on the outside looking in.
Who’s Got Next?
The second unit has been a surprise this season with many of Toronto’s youth stepping forward and showing they deserve more playing time and are capable of competing with most of the league’s best benches. If Toronto’s new bench-mob continues to maul opponents then Toronto could have some highly coveted trade chips come the Trade deadline this year. Deciding which pieces to hang on to and which to part ways with could be an interesting game of chess for Masai Ujiri this year.
The 42-Million Dollar Man
Norman Powell signed a new 4 year 42 million dollar contract this offseason. After being vastly underpaid by NBA standards these past two seasons many were pleased to see Norm get his raise. However the numbers haven’t been great. Norm is averaging 4 more minutes per game this season but nearly identical points per game numbers (8.3 compared to 8.4 last year). He’s shooting an all-time low of 30% from three point land and attempting an all-time high of 3.3 per game. He suffered a hip pointer against the Celtics and did not play against the Houston Rockets on November 14. It will be interesting to see if Coach Casey keeps him in the starting line-up when healthy with OG Anunoby making a strong case to be a starter with his defense.