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For a franchise like the Toronto Raptors who are back to playing their home games on their own home floor for the first time since March 2020, their team has been rejuvenated and back with a vengeance as one of contending teams in the Eastern Conference. Fans may forget that the Raptors basically played all their games on the road last season as all their home games were played in Tampa, Florida.
Even with the rough start to their current campaign, coach Nick Nurse has found a reliable and effective rotation that is mainly focused on his first unit. Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby are top three in the whole league in minutes played per game, along with Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr in the top 25, respectively. This five-man unit has been exceptional on both sides of the court with their length, versatility, and most importantly tip-top conditioning.
Chris Boucher, Precious Achiuwa and Khem Birch are numerous second-unit who are some sparingly used guys but find a way to contribute and make an impact in their short stints. With the Thaddeus Young acquisition before the trade deadline, it could lessen the minutes on their starters because the wear and tear may continually increase on their key cogs.
Kristaps Porzingis was emerged as a possible addition, but it was brilliant for Masai Ujiri to not add an injury prone and highly-paid individual on their roster. Porzingis would have limited their cap flexibility and versatility on the court, thus settling for a Swiss-army knife like Young was a terrific swap. Even with a viable return for Goran Dragic, the more ideal or advisable return would have been splitting the expiring contract of Dragic to two reliable wings and guards.
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Nurse has been known to succeed with short rotations come playoff time, but his starters could be exhausted and lose some steam if he decides to continue with this style until the end of the regular season. Their eight-game winning streak was just snapped by the Denver Nuggets tonight via a punctuating block by Nikola Jokic. With their continuous victories, Raptors fans could easily say for Nurse to stick it out as it has resulted to triumphs but the cause for concern is on March, April and possibly even May.
Some role players who would have benefitted in the Raptors system who were not traded before February 10 were Eric Gordon, Myles Turner, or Jakob Poeltl. It seemed unlikely for the San Antonio Spurs to seriously let go of Poeltl, but Gordon and Turner were in the midst of a slew of trade rumors. Gordon would have given more chances for VanVleet and Trent Jr. to take a breather and lighten the load on them with Gordon's impeccable shooting prowess.
Receiving Turner from the Indiana Pacers would have been an upgrade from Boucher or Birch as well due to his sensational shot blocking ability and floor spacing capabilities. Other names who are of lesser value but could have flourished in Toronto are Donte DiVincenzo, Alec Burks, or Kyle Anderson. Nurse's culture has been tremendous, highlighted by the 2019 championship run and these three role players could fit smoothly in the Toronto environment.
With the East powerhouses bolstering their roster as well, it will be a tough road for the Raptors as an underdog in the playoffs, but one must not doubt the unorthodox approach of Nurse in a seven-game series that could cause them to upset one of these extremely talented squads in the conference. Expect the unexpected from an organization who has championship pedigree like the Raptors.
