Toronto Raptors’ five biggest questions going into the 2018-19 season

Going into the 2018-19 NBA season, the Toronto Raptors have a new roster and new questions. These five questions face the team in their pursuit of an NBA Finals appearance.

In 2017-2018, the Toronto Raptors brought back a familiar crew. Yes, there were a few tweaks here and there, but for the most part, the core of previous teams remained the same.

This year, the Raptors have made whole-scale changes: A new coach, a new star player, and a new atmosphere. With those changes, comes new questions. We take a look at the five biggest questions, heading into the 2018-2019 season.

5. Will Pascal Siakam take a leap forward?

Outside of Serge Ibaka, Pascal Siakam is the lone power forward by trait on the Toronto Raptors’ roster.

With the decline of athleticism present in Ibaka’s game, the Raptors will rely on Siakam to take a step forward and seize control of the position.

Having played 20 minutes per game last season, Siakam already began to assert himself in just his second year with the team.

Going into last offseason, Siakam sought to improve his 3-point shot, tweaking his motion in hopes of becoming a factor outside.

The work in preparation for the 2017-18 season resulted in Siakam going from non-existent outside to nearly two attempts per game. Though not prolific, Siakam is adjusting his game to the new NBA, and a further leap would only boost his production.

Offseason videos on his social media have fans clamoring for the production he could provide and the highlight dunks that could come along with it.

Known for his mix of speed and size, Toronto will lean upon Siakam more this season following the departure of Jakob Poeltl.

With Poeltl gone and Ibaka subsequently spending a good amount of minutes at center, it’s very possible Siakam will end up playing upwards of 25 minutes per game.