Toronto Raptors: Three biggest questions heading into the playoffs

2. Can Toronto sustain their current level of shot making (and will its defense hold up against elite competition)?

Since Marc Gasol joined the OVO Crew, the team has shot the ball extremely well on offense, largely due to the big man’s vision and ability to hit cutters and pick out the right pass.

Toronto has struggled with turnovers since acquiring Gasol, but chalk that up to players getting used to each other. As the team develops chemistry over the next couple of weeks, those numbers should improve.

Turnovers notwithstanding, the Raptors have been blistering hot from beyond the arc since Gasol came over from Memphis.

Led by Danny Green (who has yet to miss a single shot in March), a team that had previously struggled to stay hot from three suddenly can’t miss. Green is over 50 percent in March, Norm Powell is ticking at 45 percent, and Kyle Lowry, after a rough three-month stretch, is shooting 43 percent from downtown since Feb. 1.

The hot shooting will need to stick around in the postseason as opponents look to limit inside scoring on the part of Toronto penetrators.

Defensively the Raptors, specifically the bench, have struggled at times this season to contain the ball at the point of attack. Too often, opposing playmakers are getting into the paint, and either finishing at the rim or kicking it out to open shooters left unchecked by a collapsing Raptors defense.

Toronto’s bench has taken to the unpleasant habit of allowing leads to disappear. Quickly. While the playoffs are primarily an exhibition of starters, bench players also have a job to do. As of late,  Toronto’s second unit has been ineffective on both ends.

That needs to change in the playoffs.