Toronto is off to a blitzing start to kick off the 2026-27 campaign. Sure, the wins came against the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, who aren’t exactly the East’s top competition. But those games have already revealed the team’s greatest strengths, and where it still has room to grow over the 82-game season.
We know what this Raptors team does best. Defense has been the mantra for quite some time, and that hasn’t changed as Toronto starts a new season. Forcing turnovers, getting out on the fast break, disrupting passing lanes and capitalizing on free throws have all helped fuel the team’s success. So has the energy of high-motor youngsters like Collin Murray-Boyles and even modest samples from rookie Allen Graves.
Toronto can switch at will and run downhill with commanding options like Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. Kawhi Leonard’s arrival gives the team another dynamic option for isolation scoring and mid-range offense, while Barnes has looked especially sharp from the mid-range too — particularly in the Raptors’ last game against Washington.
And, as we saw in the season opener against Chicago, Immanuel Quickley’s three-point shooting can be the x-factor that takes this team even further.
Which segues perfectly into the hook of this piece: the Raptors haven’t shot the ball particularly well from three to open the year, and as we know, it hasn’t exactly been their calling card over the past few seasons, either. They went 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) from deep against the Bulls, then just 7-for-34 (20.6 percent) against the Wizards.
Toronto is already rolling ... better shooting from deep could take even them further
Their opponents weren’t exactly lighting it up from three, either, which certainly worked in Toronto’s favor. Still, it was something I paid close attention to against Washington. The Raptors ended up winning by 10 (112-102), but I could sense the Wizards gaining confidence as ready shooters like Trae Young and Tre Johnson helped chip away at the lead and tried to bring the game within reach.
On the positive side, the Raptors have looked impressive thanks to their relentless defensive pressure, improved rebounding (at least so far; we’ll see how it holds up over a full season), and an energy that’s simply hard for other teams to match. Just imagine how much more dangerous they could be if a good chunk of the team started hitting its threes.
It’s one thing for IQ to knock down the big threes, as expected. But Kawhi Leonard has struggled to find his rhythm from deep through the first two games, and Ja’Kobe Walter has too — even as he’s stood out as a major threat off the bench and shown what he could bring in year three.
Toronto’s physical and grinding style has been a pleasure to watch, but better perimeter shooting will be key to finding more balance on offense. The Raptors are already leaning into their strengths, and if they can even moderately improve their shooting to a league-average rate, I stand by my argument: they’ll be an even scarier force in the Eastern Conference.
Add us as a preferred source on Google