Toronto Raptors: Lesser bench is the price to pay for a title
It’s well documented that the Toronto Raptors bench is going through a rough patch. However, that’s the price to pay for building a contender.
It’s the familiar denunciation of the Toronto Raptors bench that you’re about to hear. But it remains relevant: the Toronto Raptors bench is not good this season. It has struggled all year and looks set to continue on that path until April.
The bench ranks in the bottom third for most categories, including points, three-point percentage, field goal percentage and plus-minus. Basically, there’s not a lot of scoring going on with this unit. A lot of that could be down to the stop-start nature of the line-up.
The constant reshuffling and tinkering mean consistency hasn’t been something the Raptors can tick off their list of completed tasks, and while it may haunt them for now, it’s the price to pay if the Raptors want to make a deep run in the playoffs.
The trade for Marc Gasol back in February netted the Raptors one of the NBA’s most consistent, and under the radar, performers in Gasol. The price wasn’t cheap, though.
A sum of Jonas Valaciunas, Delon Wright and C.J. Miles was enough to acquire the one-time Defensive Player of the Year, even if it did seem like a king’s ransom.
While it hurt to see a fan favorite like Valanciunas depart after seven years, if the Raptors didn’t have a solid plan to use him, it seems easier to come to terms with. Even if he has found his groove with the Memphis Grizzlies. That wouldn’t have happened in Toronto.
Even the loss of Wright and Miles were hurtful. A close-knit squad was broken up in the name of a championship, though. Tell me you wouldn’t take that opportunity every day of the week, I dare you.
Rotations are shortened as the playoffs approach, we know how the system works. There wouldn’t be room for all three of the departed plus everyone that still resides with the team now. The Toronto Raptors tried that last year, with the success of the Bench Mob, bless their souls.
The results were mixed, and that was with the best bench in the league. This bench has been anything but the best this year. It wouldn’t have worked, plain and simple.
This is basketball, the team with the best players more often than not wins. Depth is great, but once you get down to the nitty-gritty, the starting line-up matters way more than anything else, even with the help of your best rotational men.
Adding Marc Gasol has made this team better, make no mistake. Gasol has the ability to actively make the players around him better, a trait not many players, let alone burly seven footers can attest to. If the Raptors want to win, this was the move that increases those odds.
The proposed starting line-up of Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol has proved the worth of going out and adding another star. In their 87 minutes shared on the court, they’ve posted an offensive rating of 117 with a +11.2 net-rating and a stellar true shooting percentage of 68-percent.
light. Must Read. Whose stock is rising, Norman Powell states his case
It’s only the regular season, but there’s the proof in the pudding, this works. And it will continue to work as the team hurtles towards the playoffs.
The bench may struggle in the meantime, but when it’s all said and done, that’s the price to pay for winning. And winning is the plan for the Toronto Raptors.