Toronto Raptors: Roster power rankings after one quarter of 2020-21 season
By Ben Fisher
9. Pascal Siakam
Coming off a disappointing playoff performance, initial attempts at an early season rebound for Siakam this year couldn’t have gone worse. A five-turnover game was followed by fouling out and leaving the court after an 8-23 shooting effort, earning the 26-year-old a one-game benching. More recently, there were missed game-winning attempts on back-to-back nights. Still, a 32-point night in Phoenix and a first career triple-double have provided hope before a knee injury put Siakam on the sidelines. Siakam is performing well in spurts, but he isn’t playing like a No. 1 scoring option on a playoff team.
8. Matt Thomas
The fair thing to do here would probably be to remove Thomas from evaluation given his inability to find a regular role in Nick Nurse’s rotation, but he’s been making enough plays to where his exclusion from the rotation looks even more puzzling.. Thomas, who has seen a total of 58 minutes of floor time this year, has shot well in what is a very small sample size (47.6 percent from the floor, a whopping 57.1 percent from three). However, all the wings who have leapfrogged him in Nurse’s rotation provide more of a defensive edge.
7. Kyle Lowry
It’s hard to say it’s been a down year for Lowry, but the heart and soul of the Raptors’ franchise might just be showing his age as his production decreases ever so slightly. Sure, there’s still the fiery persona, the leadership, the buried open looks, and the charges taken, but a slight decrease in offensive output may signal a trend more than an aberration. That said, the 34-year-old’s numbers (17.8 points, 6.6 assists, 6.2 rebounds per game) remain well above his career averages, even if they signify a drop from his All-Star form of recent seasons.
6. DeAndre’ Bembry
The challenge in doing this type of exercise after 18 games is that, in some cases, even the head coach doesn’t quite know what he has. That’s clearly been the case with Bembry, who has alternated between mop-up duty roles and DNP-CD’s, save for a 20-minute audition in the first half of the back-to-back against Indiana. Bembry made the most of his opportunity, recording four points, three assists and three rebounds while remaining active defensively. Still, the free agent signee hasn’t particularly stood out for better or worse, not that he’s had much of a chance. Still, when he’s on the floor, he shows defensive versatility and consistent hustle, which is enough to slot him this high given what was expected of him.