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Toronto Raptors: Possible lineups for the 2019-20 season

By Jordan Fleguel

Toronto Raptors - Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
Toronto Raptors - Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Toronto Raptors – Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

The Toronto Raptors will enter this season as defending NBA champions, but their roster looks a lot different than it did in June. Here are some possible new lineup combinations for the upcoming year.

The Toronto Raptors will begin their title defense this season with a lot of new faces. You know who is gone, and so is Danny Green, leaving two open starter spots that need to be filled.

The Raptors’ most notable offseason additions have been Matt Thomas, Stanley Johnson, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Toronto also acquired big-man Dewan Hernandez in the second round of the NBA draft.

Thomas doesn’t have any NBA experience, although he’s played professionally overseas and briefly in Summer League. His strength is three-point shooting, which is a weakness the Raptors needed to (and still need to) address.

Johnson and Hollis-Jefferson are both former first-round picks who haven’t quite met their respective pre-draft expectations. They’re extremely athletic and talented defenders who are limited offensively. If either of them can have a break-out year in terms of shooting the ball, they’ll earn a consistent role in Nick Nurse’s rotation.

Hernandez is big, long, athletic, and has shown he can hit an outside shot now and then. He won’t have a big role this season, but he will certainly learn a lot from veteran bigs like Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka.

Along with the new additions, the Raptors have an up-and-coming star in Pascal Siakam, and a group of veterans with expiring contracts (Gasol, Ibaka and Kyle Lowry). Hold-overs from last season like Norman Powell, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby will all see an increase in playing time, giving them the opportunity to earn bigger roles.

Just like last year, Nurse will need to experiment with as many lineups as he can to get the most out of this team.

The Raptors roster will likely throughout the season or perhaps even before the start. However, with the team as currently constructed, here are a few lineup combinations Nurse has to work with.

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