3 Realistic ways the Toronto Raptors can roar back to life in the East

No. 1: Scottie Barnes makes the leap

To be a really good team right now, the Toronto Raptors need a lot of players to take steps forward. RJ Barrett needs to maintain his level of play from last season, Immanuel Quickley needs to grow, either Davion Mitchell or Jamal Shead need to be ready for reliable rotation minutes from the jump.

The single most important player on the roster, however, is Scottie Barnes. He made a leap last season to being a two-way star and made his first All-Star team. He needs to do so again, becoming unstoppable on at least one end of the court, to ascend to All-NBA status and make the Raptors a true team to be reckoned with.

Perennial playoff teams need a Top-15 type player, and Barnes has the potential to reach that level, perhaps even as early as this season if the stars align. His size, strength and instincts on defense could place him among the top 10 defenders in the league, a shot-blocking hammer roving the court with hands swiping steals left and right. On offense, his upside is as a massive on-ball playmaker who can punish mismatches, laser pinpoint passes to teammates and then operate as the big man when a teammate is handling the ball. His potential versatility is sky-high.

That's obviously a lofty and unlikely outcome for this upcoming season; the Raptors will be dancing in the streets of Toronto if he becomes a Top-15 player period, let alone this season. But the potential is there, and if he reaches it quickly it will help lift the Raptors from a Play-In candidate to a playoff lock.