The Toronto Raptors need to bury 2021 version of small-ball

Centers playing well usually translates well in the postseason.

Teams with dominant bigs usually claim the NBA title. The Raptors and Lakers, who won the last two titles, had prominent bigs in the likes of Ibaka and Davis, respectively. The 2014 San Antonio Spurs beat LeBron James’ with Tim Duncan.

The first twenty years of this decade have seen Shaquille O’Neal win Finals MVP three times three times and LeBron James, a power forward, win it four times. 13 of the last 20 NBA Finals MVP winners have been power forwards or centers, assuming we look at James and Durant as power forwards.

The Raptors need size to contend.

It’s been this way for a very long time in the NBA. It is not that small-ball doesn’t have value, but like any recipe, it doesn’t work if you don’t have the right ingredients or parts.

The Raptors’ lack of size flexibility in 2021 played a large role in the 76ers winning the Eastern Conference and  Toronto missing the playoffs. Joel Embiid is a serious candidate for league MVP poised to hopefully finally lead Philly to a deep playoff run.

It’s time the Raptors bury the small ball strategy or at the very least keep traditional roster options available to match the circumstances during the course of each game.