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Toronto Raptors: 6ix Takes – This team must get healthy

By Jordan Skuse

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 1: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball as Royce O'Neale #23 of the Utah Jazz defends during the first half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on January 1, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 1: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball as Royce O'Neale #23 of the Utah Jazz defends during the first half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on January 1, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors – Serge Ibaka (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

The Toronto Raptors boast impressive depth but look like a team in need of reinforcements. Can they survive the next couple of weeks without it?

It’s been an eventful last few weeks for the Toronto Raptors, who despite posting an 8-7 record in the month of December, look like a team that’s starting to really feel the absence of two key cogs.

Both Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry remain out of the lineup which has forced the team to lean heavily on Kawhi Leonard. In the team’s last win, a 122-116 home win over the Utah Jazz, it took career-best performances by Leonard (45 points) and Pascal Siakam (28 points) to come away with the win. The only other player to finish in double figures was Norman Powell (14 points). Simply put, that is not sustainable.

Suffice to say, Toronto must get healthy and get their full cast of characters back into the fold. Their depth is undeniably impressive, but when you’re missing pieces as critical as Lowry and Valanciunas, it’s going to eventually catch up to you.

The Spurs defeat was a perfect example, as the team could’ve used JV’s presence against LaMarcus Aldridge. Meanwhile, Lowry’s return will, among other things, allow Fred VanVleet to move back to the bench, a role he’s much better suited for at this stage of his career.

Heading into 2019 — the unofficial second half of the season — the Raptors remain as good a bet as any to come out of the East. Despite the result on Thursday, I still believe wholeheartedly that Toronto won the summer’s biggest trade (regardless of where Klaw Leonard winds up beyond this season…I know…#coldtake).

Provided the Raptors don’t fall flat on their face in the playoffs, something tells me the Klaw will stay…time for 6ix Takes.

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