With the season in jeopardy and the Toronto Raptors likely making changes in the offseason, there’s a possibility that the ceiling of this current team could remain a mystery.
Success only lasts for a minute. Sure, you get the rare occasion where a dynasty like the New England Patriots, Golden State Warriors, or the Chicago Bulls dominate their respective sports but even then, nothing lasts forever. Right now, the Toronto Raptors are as successful as they’ve ever been, but this might be the last time we ever see this exact team together.
The Raptors have everything in place to be successful for the next few years, they’re armed with a plethora of young talent and rising stars who can lead the team to glory over the next few years. Names like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Norman Powell, and Terence Davis – with the bonus of having Kyle Lowry under contract with the team for one more year are surely enough to get the blood pumping among Raptors fans.
On top of that, they have a talented coach in Nick Nurse – one of the best in the league – as well as one of the sharpest front offices in the league. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that the Raptors are the most well-run team in the league. The team was second in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 46-18 and playing some mouth-watering basketball on both ends of the court.
And then the season was suspended.
That’s where we are at right now. The league has been suspended for a month now, with no sign of basketball resuming any time soon. Obviously, that’s the correct decision but that doesn’t make the pill any easier to swallow.
With the season on hiatus, there are a lot of unanswered questions, especially if the season doesn’t resume. If that’s the case, it could well be the last time we ever see this basketball team play together – and that’s a crying shame.
If the season is canceled – something that remains a real possibility – then the likely next step, after re-scheduling the NBA Draft and the date for the new season, would be free agency. For the Raptors, that means potentially parting with a few important members of the team.
Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol are all free agents at the end of the season and could all attract major interest. VanVleet is still just 26 years old and has finally stepped into the role as a starter for the Raptors, averaging 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.6 assists a night in his 48 games in the 2019-20 season.
Ibaka is in the middle of, maybe, the greatest season of his career, averaging a career-high 16 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 40-percent from three on 3.3 attempts per game.
Even Gasol, who has suffered from persistent hamstring problems for the last few months has still been an integral part of the team despite his raw numbers looking less than impressive. His defense is pertinent to the Raptors’ success and their equally impressive defense rating.
It’s unlikely the Raptors can keep all three players this offseason, with one of Gasol or Ibaka most likely departing – it just remains a question of who. If that’s the case, we may never find out the potential of this Raptors team.
It’s often been said this year that this Raptors team may be the most fun team in franchise history – something this writer agrees with. The 2019-20 Raptors have played some spellbinding basketball at times, highlighted by a historic 30-point comeback victory vs the Dallas Mavericks in December.
But, injuries plagued the team throughout the entirety of the season. Terence Davis was the only player to play in every single game this season, with everyone from Kyle Lowry to Marc Gasol missing at least some significant time.
The likes of Marc Gasol and Norman Powell were both recovering from injuries upon the suspension of the league – as was Fred VanVleet. It’s fair to say that this team still had a lot of untapped potential. The fact they had the third-best record in the NBA while dealing with significant injuries is, frankly, incredible.
With the playoffs fast approaching, the Raptors were finding their feet once again after a tough stretch of games. The chance of seeing the Raptors defend their crown this year is slim at the moment, which means this could well be the last time with ever see this iteration of the team step foot on the court.
That could really mean that the ceiling of this team remains a mystery. We all know this team is good – that much is clear – but with injuries and a season on hiatus disrupting their rhythm, we might never know how good they could have been.
The Finals was definitely the goal for the Raptors. This is about retaining the crown. The Raptors had all the tools to do so, but it could well be a stone left unturned if the 2019-20 season is canceled.
There will likely be changes around the roster in the offseason. Players will get older and there could even be an adjustment in style to suit the needs of the team – though that seems unlikely. It’s a shame that one of the most fun seasons in the team’s history might never come to a conclusion and we may never see this group together again – it would have been nice to see just how far this team could go.
Maybe, just maybe, we can.