Toronto Raptors Roundtable: Impressions from the early season
The Toronto Raptors are more than twenty games into the season, and yet, they still have tons of questions waiting to be answered. We asked our contributors the five biggest questions of the season so far.
Currently, the Toronto Raptors are the best team in the NBA. They have an 18-4 record, are top ten in both offense and defense, and trail only the Milwaukee Bucks in point differential.
Some of the Raptors success was predicted. Other areas, came as a complete surprise. Either way, after just over a quarter of the season, we have learned a lot about the Toronto Raptors.
What have we learned so far? What are we still waiting to find out? We asked our top contributors the five biggest questions of the season so far and got their answers.
What has been the biggest unexpected positive for Toronto this season?
Thomas Valentine:
It has to be the revitalization of Serge Ibaka. Gone are the days of Ibaka spending half the game out at the perimeter, he’s back where he belongs: in the paint. Serge has been a quality interior defender in years gone by and placing him at the five allows him to do what he does best. It’s worked tremendously so far. He can still drift out to the three-point line and stretch the court but having him defend and attack in the paint means the Raptors can finally get the most out of him.
Koby Palimaka:
The ‘Center rotation’. The versatility in the choice between Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas has been a big boost to the Raptors so far this season. With two differently sized centers, the Raptors are able to match up big or small without a hitch.
Brian Boake:
I’m going to name two because one is likely to be mentioned by everyone else. The astonishing leap in the performance of Pascal Siakam should vault him into serious Most Improved Player contention. That’s unarguable. What’s not getting sufficient attention is how well Kawhi Leonard is integrating with his new team. While there are occasional hiccups, like passes to nowhere, they are few and far between.
Mike Bossetti:
Since everyone appears to be going cute, I’ll go with the obvious answer. It’s Pascal Siakam. Siakam went from a nice high-energy player to one of the most critical players on the team. He’s averaging 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
Most impressively, is the efficiency with which he is playing. So far this season, he has posted an effective field goal percentage of 66-percent. That ranks him fourth in the NBA among players who average at least 20 mpg.