Just How Good Are The NEW Toronto Raptors

Just How Good Are The NEW Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are coming out of summer league and the next stop is going to be training camp before we hit the regular season. As the Raptors off season is basically a wrap, I don’t anticipate anything major happening. I think the biggest move, if there is going to be a move between now and the start of the season, is going to be who will be named the new team president. Will it be Bobby Webster or an external candidate? So, when you look at this Raptors team, just how good are the new Raptors? And I say the new Raptors because of course a key new member will be in the lineup once the Raptors open up their 2025 2026 season and that player is Brandon Ingram. We are going to see a starting five of Quickley Barrett Ingram Scotty Barnes and Yaka Purle. And even if you take Brandon Ingram out of the equation, it’s been a very limited sample size of barbecue with Purle but everybody is healthy which is a great thing to see. The Raptors bench looks promising. Just how good is this team? And will this team be able to get a playoff spot? In this one, guys, I wanted to react to an article that I read the other day by Michael Pina of the Ringer. He put out a piece titled, “Eight takes on the NBA offseason’s most interesting moves.” So, I want to dive right into that one. Before we get started, do me a solid, drop a like on the video, smash that subscribe button for more content just like this. We are on the road to 41K. If you all can hit that subscribe button, it would help me a ton. So, Pina, one of his points in the article, he titled the Toronto Raptors could be dot dot dot pretty good. And I’m going to read some parts of the article and then paraphrase other parts. So he writes, “In the aftermath of Messiah Jiri’s unceremonious exit, it’s hard to separate Toronto’s exorbitant payroll from the talent on its roster. This is a wildly expensive basketball team that’s inexplicably over the tax. At the same time, the Raptors can and maybe even should be a competitive playoff team this season, which is meaningful considering it’s been 3 years since they last competed in the postseason.” And then just to paraphrase, he goes on to talk about how Scotty Barnes had a down year offensively. His three-point shooting fell to 21.7% which Pina marked was the largest drop by any player who logged at least 2,000 minutes. But then he goes on to praise Barnes saying he has the allaround pedigree of an AllNBA candidate. And then he talks about his supporting cast. Of course, you’re going to have Ingram, Quickley, Barrett, Purle, and then you’re going to have some guys from off the bench like Abaji, Grady Dick, Jacobe Walter, CMBB, and then he writes that the most intriguing subplot is the encore relationship with Barnes and Ingram, their relationship, you know, how will it develop? That’s something that’s going to be interesting to see play out. And then he says Ingram can be an ideal second option. And then he does say the Raptors are not a deep team. It needs production from rookie scale contracts and veterans. And then gets into how the Raptors got into the spot as they pivoted away from Van Vleet and Obi and Seakum. And then he ends by saying this. And so here we are trying to parse a team that somehow overbudget and overlooked. I can’t say where the long-term outlook of this franchise stands, but for the 2025 2026 season, I’m probably a bit more hopeful than most about Toronto’s ability to finish with one of the six best records in its conference. So, Peanut is buying that Raptor stock. And when you look at the Raptors, will they be able to obtain that six seed? This is going to be such a fascinating season, guys. and I cannot wait for it to get underway because the very interesting part about this Raptors team is the fact that we haven’t seen this team play together. They are an expensive team. There is going to be expectations for the season unlike the previous two seasons. this team is going to be expected to win or else we can see another makeover at the deadline because it is projected to be a tax team and usually when you are an expensive team you’re expected to be a playoff team because if you’re a playing team that’s not even going to cut it. This team has to be competitive. They got to be right there. And the Raptors are betting big on this group. They are betting big on Scotty Barnes and Brandon Ingram partnership. The biggest thing with that is can Brandon Ingram stay healthy? Can he return to his all-star form? If that happens, that is going to be awesome, of course. And then beyond that, RJ Barrett, what is his fit on this team? There’s question marks about his fit. We know Barrett’s a good player, but is he going to fit well with Barnes and Brandon Ingram? And if that doesn’t work well, is there going to be a move forthcoming? Emanuel Quickley’s got to step it up. He’s got to prove that he’s worth that contract. He’s going to have to take a giant step forward this season. Purtole they locked up. You know what he brings to this team is a stabilizer on both sides. And then the bench is interesting, right? Like we saw with summer league, there’s a lot of good young pieces on this team. And I like the bench. I’m not ready to anoint them benchmob 2.0, but I think they got a chance to be special. Jamal Shed, he’s going to be the team’s primary backup point guard. Jacobe Walter, Grady Dick. I I really look for one of those two to kind of outperform the other and take the reigns of that backup shooting guard role. I’m higher on Jacobe Walter just because I see him as more of a two-way player than Grady. But Grady, you know, he’s going to have to shoot a well. If he doesn’t shoot a well, he can become expendable. And then Abaji too, you know, is he going to be staying put with the Raptors or is that a guy who could be dealt closer to the trade deadline? But, you know, for now, he remains a key piece of the bench, somebody who can defend, shoot, give you that kind of 3 and D production. And then, you know, CMBB, he’s already looking like a player that can come into an environment and and contribute when it comes to winning. And then, you know, Mamu is the backup big. You’re going to have some mobile in there. Overall, this does look like a pretty good group, but we don’t know how this team is going to fare because unlike other teams in the East, those teams have actually had a full sample size playing together. We don’t know what this team is going to give us. So, let’s look at this squad, right? On paper, it looks good. It does. It’s about how they’re going to translate now and mesh together. Where does this team stack up in the East? Now, I’m going to give you my tiers of how I see things right now at the time of this recording. Tier one, I got the New York Knicks, Cavaliers, Magic, and Hawks. I think these are the four best teams in any order in the Eastern Conference. Then the next tier, I got the 76ers, Bucks, Heat, and the Raptors. I do have the Raptors in this second tier. Then the third tier, which could come to many as a surprise. I’m going to actually categorize this tier as the teams who I anticipate will take a massive step back. The Pistons, I don’t like what they did this off season. They lost Beasley and Tim Hardway Jr. I know they replaced them with Lever and Duncan Robinson, but I think they went backwards. Pacers, I think, are going to take a massive step back cuz Hallebertton is that team. I know the Pacers are deep. They still have Seakum in company, but Hallebertton makes that team go. The Celtics, I think they’re going to treat this as a gap year. This might be crazy to say right now, but I think the Celtics are going into the season wanting to be bad, wanting to get a good pick, and then resending the next season with Tatum once he’s fully healthy, cuz Tatum’s obviously going to miss all of this season as well along with Tyrese. And then the Hornets. I like the Hornets a lot. I did a separate video on them. They could even be in that other tier with the Raptors if they do take a massive step forward, but until they prove it to me, I’m going to put them in this tier. And then the bottom tier, the bottom three teams, I think, are going to be the Bulls, Wizards, and Nets. Going back to the second tier. If I think the Knicks, Cavs, Magic Hawks are going to be the four best teams. That leaves five and six. When talking about playoff spots, I think the Sixers are going to be one of those teams because I do think they’re going to be good. I don’t think they’re going to have another down year. I love Edgecomb. I think that team’s going to bounce back in a big way. The Bucks, I know they lost Dame, but I like the Miles Turner pickup. They made some other nice additions. They’re gonna still be competitive. I think the Heat are going to be competitive. Getty Norman Pal, I know they’re going to have to have Tyler Hero point guard if they decide to do that, but the Heat kind of look good. My question is, can the Raptors be better than two of these teams to get that six spot? I think the Sixers are going to be a top five team. So, can they be better than the Bucks and Heat to get that top six? That is the biggest question. And also, this is taking into consideration my theory coming through that the Pistons, Pacers, and Celtics all take a step back. The likelihood of all three of them taking a step back, very, very slim, but it could happen. So, there’s a lot of variables at play here. I’d probably be more inclined to say as of today, the Raptors are going to be a playing team as opposed to anointing them a top six team. But there’s a pathway there. There is a pathway for the Raptors to outperform the Bucks, Heat, Pistons, Pacers, and Celtics and get that sixth playoff spot. That is assuming the top five teams are the top five teams. At the very worst, this is going to be a playing team. I envision a world where it is Raptors Heat in a playing game. Norman Pal going up against his old team in a playing game. That’s the thing, too. Maybe the Raptors get a playoff spot via the plan. Maybe they finish eighth and they beat the Heat in that 78 game and they get the seven seed. Or maybe they fall to nine and they win two playing games to get in as the eighth seed. I’d probably sit here and say the Raptors are going to be a seventh or eighth seed. I’ll do my full playoff predictions as we get closer to, but again, there is a pathway where they do get that number six spot. So, I think best case they get number six. Worst case they’re in that bottom half of the playing. I think realistically and where I’m kind of set right now is they’ll be seventh or eighth most likely seventh and they got to just win a playing game to get in. That’s where I’m at right now with this team. Things can change. My opinion can change, but that’s how I just see things as of now. So, let me know guys. Do you think the Raptors can be a top six team or do you pencil them as a playing team right now? Do you think they can get in? How do you think this team stacks up in the East? And let me know your overall thoughts down below. That is it for me, guys. Drop a like on the video. Subscribe to the channel if you’re new. This is Luke signing off. I will catch you all again in the next

Will the Toronto Raptors make the playoffs?

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