4 burning questions Raptors must answer before the season starts
By Mike Luciano
2. What will the bench rotation look like?
The Raptors managed to keep some of their bench standouts when Thad Young and Chris Boucher, but the signing of Otto Porter Jr. away from the champion Warriors proved that Masai Ujiri was not going to come out of this offseason without at least one impact newcomer to add some sizzle.
Assuming that Nurse runs a nine-man rotation, names like Khem Birch and the Banton/Flynn duo could be out of the lineup when everyone is healthy. What will Porter’s role be when he fully assimilates? Is Precious Achiuwa going to get a ton of minutes? How will Young and Boucher be handled?
The Toronto Raptors have a brand new bench.
Toronto’s bench ranked near the bottom of just about every category last year, and going into this season with so many strong additions is a sign that this team is simply not going to accept being that deficient when so many other teams in this conference have prioritized depth.
Finding time for so many promising players in one rotation is the dictionary definition of a good problem to have. Achiuwa’s two-way dominance, Porter’s quality shooting, and the 1-2 veteran punch of Boucher and Young should help Toronto be more competitive down the stretch.