The Toronto Raptors find themselves in quite a sticky situation at the moment. While they have won their last two games, coming to 18-23 at the halfway point of the season, the sharp decline from last season’s 48-win peak has brought about a new avalanche of vitriol directed at certain players and trade rumors galore.
The Raptors’ start to the season is a good litmus test to see what sort of Raptors fan you are. The positive ones might choose to look to the fact that many of Toronto’s best players have stepped up in recent weeks, while the pessimistic ones will point to how many winnable games have slipped through their fingers.
The Raptors need to take large chunks of the first half of this campaign, throw them in the trash bin, and start from scratch. The team still has five players capable of being the most impactful leader on the floor in any given game, making them a team that could potentially do some damage.
While a few Raptors players can hold their heads high after a strong start to the season, quite a few are trying to overcome some gnarly numbers and performances on film. Which ones should be applauded for their efforts, and which ones should have their feet held to the fire by Nick Nurse?
Toronto Raptors: Winners and Losers from the first half of 2022-23.
Winner: Pascal Siakam
Amid all the chaos around him, Siakam has put together a year that very few in the NBA have been able to equal. If he sustains this performance, he will likely be named All-NBA for the second season in a row and the third time overall in what has become an illustrious Raptors career.
Siakam has averaged 25.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game with some impressive efficiency numbers. Siakam is firmly in supermax territory, making him the type of player that Toronto will likely build their next half-decade of basketball around.
The Toronto Raptors have a superstar in Pascal Siakam.
What makes this even more impressive is the fact that the Raptors rank near the bottom of the league in many half-court offense categories, per Cleaning the Glass (subscription required). Essentially, Siakam has found a way to be one of the toughest players in the league to defend with minimal support from those around him.
There are times when Toronto can’t get anything going on offense except for Siakam creating moments of individual brilliance. The Raptors may be firmly in the Victor Wembanyama hunt if they didn’t have No. 43 continuing to blossom into an unquestioned star.
Loser: Fred VanVleet
VanVleet has quickly become a very polarizing figure in this fanbase, as his contract situation has more than a few wondering about the validity of trading him for a haul that completely changes the complexion of the roster. He hasn’t exactly shown to be a tremendously efficient player this season, as he is mired in a long drought.
VanVleet may be averaging 18.4 points and 6.3 assists per game this season, but those numbers hide the dirty truth. VanVleet isn’t even making 38% of his shots from the field or 33% of his shots from 3-point range. Toronto is in a perpetual state of waiting for a progression to the mean that never comes.
Fred VanVleet must improve soon for the Toronto Raptors.
VanVleet’s name has been in trade rumors over the last few weeks. On top of the fact that he would get a fairly big haul back in a hypothetical deal while still managing to be able to compete for a postseason spot, VanVleet’s upcoming free agency and contract negotiations could be a thorn in Toronto’s side.
VanVleet has proven he can be a key component of a championship team at his best, but he needs to show that skill more regularly. Turning the offense into a bunch of ill-advised 3-pointers from 30 feet out is not conducive to winning basketball games.
Winner: Christian Koloko
The Raptors likely drafted Koloko with the expectation that he would take a little time to get fully revved up in the NBA, as the Arizona alum was a tremendous defensive player who lacked a versatile offensive style. Instead, Koloko has proven to the rest of the NBA that it was a mistake to let him fall as far as he did.
Koloko has averaged 3.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. While those might not sound like world-beating numbers, the fact that he’s been able to protect the rim and make the Raptors’ aggressive defense much more effective the minute he steps on the floor is a sign that he has long-term starter potential.
Christian Koloko has exceeded expectations for the Toronto Raptors.
The only second-round pick that has outperformed Koloko so far is Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard, who was off the board before him at pick No. 31. While Koloko does need to become a better finisher to keep pace with the rest of his rookies, the fact he’s hit a few jumpers in the last few games shows that he’s getting more comfortable.
The Raptors have been linked to several of the best available centers on the market in the last few weeks, but Koloko has been playing so well that it might be worth it to let it ride with the young gun. Koloko will be a big part of Toronto’s future if he keeps improving.
Loser: Vision 6-9
Ujiri remains 100% convinced that building the Toronto roster with as many switchable forwards as possible is the herald of what basketball is going to look like in the future. Unfortuantely, Ujiri’s roster construction looks less like that of a new dominant force in the NBA and more like a jumbled mess of players with overlapping skillsets.
Despite the best efforts of Gary Trent Jr. and others, Toronto ranks near the bottom of the league in most shooting categories. The Raptors got high on their own supply just a tad here, as they tasked Nurse with taking multiple bad shooters and turning them into noteworthy offensive players. Naturally, they failed.
The Toronto Raptors may abandon “Vision 6-9” soon.
Too much versatility can, in effect, make your team as rigid and redundant as ever. When the offense is struggling, and all Nick Nurse can do is look down at an army of 6-8 forwards who can’t create open shots for themselves, the Raptors’ ability to make in-game adjustments is severely limited.
The Raptors’ big offseason moves were all “Vision 6-9” related, as they retained Chris Boucher and Thad Young while signing Otto Porter Jr. and talking up Precious Achiuwa. Boucher has been wildly inconsistent, Young is seemingly out of the rotation, Achiuwa has missed time, and Porter is out for the year. Ouch.
Winner: The “Tank for Victor” crowd
The small, vocal minority who believes that the Raptors should completely detonate the roster and go after arguably the best NBA Draft prospect we’ve seen in a decade has started to increase in size over the course of the season. The Raptors need to start winning fast, or the decision-makers might join in with this crowd.
The Raptors currently have the seventh-best odds at Wembanyama, though they are 8.5 games away from catching the last-place Pistons and earning the best shot at him. If they want him, they need to step up their efforts to make a run at a game-changer like Wembanyama.
Will the Toronto Raptors land Victor Wembanyama?
Wembanyama is absolutely a prospect worth tanking for. Being a 7-3 center with great athleticism and a soft touch around the basket would make him the top pick most years, but adding some legitimate guard skills in terms of ball-handling and shooting make him a true phenom.
Consolation prize Scoot Henderson may give Toronto a franchise point guard, as he would be an unquestioned top pick in 95% of drafts. The Raptors may want to contend, but the movement to lean further into a rebuild has gained some steam over the last few weeks.