Raptors media day was all about introducing Kawhi Leonard, learning about players’ summer work, and setting goals for Individual players and the team. One of Darko Rajakovic’s goals for the team is to maintain last season’s defensive tenacity.
“Our goal is we got to be a top five defensive team this year again,” Rajakovic said at Raptors media day.
The Raptors finished fifth in defensive rating last season behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics. They forced a ton of turnovers and giving themselves transition opportunities. Maintaining that success is definitely a great goal, especially considering how many Eastern Conference teams will be better this season.
But the Raptors should consider aiming even higher than a top-five defense. They replaced Brandon Ingram with Kawhi Leonard, who is a more impactful defender. Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jamal Shead should all be better and more confident after playing huge minutes in the playoffs and having an offseason to use what they learned to work on their games.
The Raptors have room for improvement, and they should aim for it. Setting their sight on a top-three finish in defensive rating may seem ambitious, but it’s not unrealistic at all.
Defense will still be key for the Raptors
Adding Kawhi Leonard gives the Raptors a higher offensive ceiling, which in turn raises the team’s overall ceiling. Nevertheless, defense will still be the team’s identity and key to success.
Leonard fits well into the Raptors’ defensive scheme with his size and switchability, but the defense will be especially important when he is not playing. Leonard is 35 and a walking injury risk. He will have to miss at least a few games to keep him healthy for the playoffs. When Leonard is out, the Raptors will have to make up for his absence by leaning into their defensive identity and their ability to force turnovers and get easy looks in transition. Otherwise, Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett will have to do a lot offensively to keep the team afloat.
The league is filled with great defensive teams
While the Raptors have the makings of an excellent defensive team, they will have a lot of competition in that area.
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished last season with the best defensive rating and will still be good this season. Assuming Jalen Duren returns to the Detroit Pistons and Victor Wembanyama stays healthy, the Pistons and San Antonio Spurs will also be in the running for a top defensive rating. Moreover, the Miami Heat could be really scary on that end of the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo joining Bam Adebayo.
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