Toronto Raptors: Five biggest strengths this season

Team Depth

The first item that wasn’t significantly improved during the offseason, the Toronto Raptors were the deepest team in the NBA last year. This season, not much has seemed to change.

During the regular season last year, Toronto ran two five-man units. “The Bench Mob” was coined as Toronto’s youth (And C.J. Miles) played a cohesive, up-and-down style that seemed more fun and impactful than the starters at times.

This season, Nick Nurse appears to adamant on scrapping the hockey-style line changes, for a more traditional substitution pattern. Toronto’s lineups will feature a mixture of bench and starting players at almost all times besides the start of halves.

Although they won’t be playing together as often, the strength of the Raptors bench remains. Toronto had five legitimate options off the bench last season. If Norman Powell can work himself into the fold this year, they’ll have six.

That’s an asset very few teams have. Most teams feel comfortable with their first two or three options off the bench. With more alternatives to rely upon, Toronto can rotate their lineups far better and far more often.

Toronto’s depth will also help them survive an 82-game grind of a regular season. With players like Fred VanVleet AND Delon Wright as backup point guards, giving Kyle Lowry a night off no longer ensures a Raptors loss.

The Raptors depth will somewhat become marginalized during the playoffs as rotations shorten. During the regular season, it’s vital to their success.