Raptors injuries expose flaws in how Masai Ujiri built this roster

The Toronto Raptors were excited to be back home when the season started, as it meant finally playing on their true home court after a season in Tampa. Scottie Barnes seems to be a promising draft pick, as his energy and intensity in pre-season made Raptors fans hopeful for the future.

The Raptors may have been in rebuild mode, but injuries have kept the team from performing at its best. It also exposed some of the areas where Masai Ujiri didn’t do the best job of finding depth.

After losing Kyle Lowry, the Raptors looked to Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam as the core leaders for the group. Having had experience in a championship setting, the team did not look like it would struggle to compete in the upcoming season in the manner they have.

After just 21 games, Nick Nurse is not finding the right combination of players nor the consistency in the lineup to win games. The combination of VanVleet, Anunoby, and Siakam have only played three games together, which is part of the reason why the team is struggling. Their replacements have done a subpar job of filling in the gaps.

Masai Ujiri didn’t give the Toronto Raptors a ton of depth.

The Raptors are currently 9-13, a worse record than what they had 22 games into last season. Scoring is scarce, as the Raptors rank 21st in scoring and are in desperate need of some offensive output. The Raptors have struggled at home winning only two out of ten games.

If last season was strange enough, this season has also brought about questions in regards to the roster and playing time. Malachi Flynn doesn’t seem to be seeing any consistent playing time, and Chris Boucher was benched by Nurse after some questionable performances.

The lack of role players is starting to impact Toronto’s record. This team’s best bench shooter is Svi Mykhailiuk, which makes it almost impossible to counter some second-quarter runs. Their best traditional center is Khem Birch, which has contributed to their abysmal paint protection.

Assuming everyone is healthy, the bench still has questions. Dalano Banton is a solid rookie, but he’s not a dynamic offensive player. Yuta Watanabe is still working his way back from injury. Precious Achiuwa is…not playing well right now.

Questions still surround the rough start for the Raptors, and the injuries have played a major role. Ujiri is an amazing personnel guy, but some changes might need to be made before the trade deadline to provide some offensive consistency.

Although it is still early to count the team out, the Raptors need to get healthy to prove that the flaw is in the injuries, not the roster.