Is it too late for the Toronto Raptors to pick up a center?

Is there a need?

As mentioned before, both Ibaka and Gasol have missed significant time this season – a combined 42 games so far. Together, they’ve missed half a season’s worth of games. If there are doubts about their health – especially Gasol’s – then you can understand the need to go out and pick up a center.

Gasol is 35 and coming off two hamstring injuries in quick succession. He returned to the lineup against the Sacramento Kings on the first night of a back-to-back before sitting out against the Utah Jazz the following night.

When one or the other is out injured or resting, the burden of the back-up role falls onto the likes of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – Siakam and Anunoby also split time at the five against the Phoenix Suns and performed admirably.

However, Nikola Jokic was able to manhandle the Raptors during this recent west coast road trip, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and tallying a triple-double. Jokic is a triple-double machine, but he was especially dominant against the center-less Raptors.

Depending on the match-ups, the Raptors could likely find themselves up against Joel Embiid or Brook Lopez at some point in the postseason – both are two of the best centers in the NBA, without a shadow of a doubt. And, if the Raptors are fully healthy or not, both can cause a tremendous amount of issues.

If either Ibaka or Gasol goes down between now and then, the Raptors only have one center heading into those match-ups – that’s a worry. If Ibaka were to go down, the Raptors would lose their best rebounder, and if Gasol were to go down then they lose, probably, their most important defender.

The Raptors pack the paint and force teams to take three-pointers – all while defending the perimeter better than any other team in the NBA. The Raptors also give up the second-least amount of points in the paint per game. A lot of that is down to the interior presence of Gasol and Ibaka.