This past week, Toronto sports fans have endured quite a rough series of events—the Blue Jays have been eliminated from the MLB playoffs, and the Maple Leafs foiled the opportunity to hand the Canadiens their first loss of the season. While it is indeed a sad time for Torontonians, there is always a smidgeon of glimmering hope when looking towards the next and upcoming season for any sports team. For the Toronto Raptors, who will be playing their first game of the NBA season on Oct. 28 against the Indiana Pacers, the pressure of the upcoming season is evident.
During the offseason, the Raptors made some stellar moves to acquire some key role players. With the addition of Demarre Carroll, the small forward who played an instrumental role in Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s team-oriented system, the Raptors will greatly benefit from his defensive presence and ability to move the ball. The acquisition of Carroll will allow the Raptors coach, Dwayne Casey, to experiment with a variety of line-ups. That being said, Casey has always been a defensive-minded coach, so the chances are that Carroll’s size and strength will be utilized to prevent superstars from having breakout, record-setting performances (I’m looking at you, Kobe).
To the enjoyment of many Canadians, the Raptors also acquired point guard Corey Joseph from the San Antonio Spurs. The young Canadian played off the bench for the Spurs last season, undoubtedly helping his skill and basketball IQ continue to develop under the numerous veterans on their team. However, Joseph has already received a tremendously warm welcome from fans; even Drake gave him a shout-out in one of his songs this summer. While Joseph is still young and has much to learn, his new role on the Raptors roster will continue to provide a much-needed boost to a stagnant Raptors offense.
Masai Ujiri, the Raptors general manager, examined the weaknesses of his team and sought to improve them during the offseason. One of the Raptors’ main criticisms revolved around not having a solid post player in the four or five spot—while Jonas Valciunas is continuing to grow, a lot of help was needed off the bench to relieve some of his minutes. Ujiri has successfully brought in some post players who can become incredible role players for the Raptors if all goes well. With the additions of Bismack Biyombo, Luis Scola, and Anthony Bennett, the Raptors have bolstered a truly large bench, both in terms of size and depth.
While the new additions to the team will play a crucial role in the Raptors’ success this season, a lot of the pressure has-and will continue to-fall on the main core of the team, namely Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan, who are expected to flourish and lead the promising team. After last year’s disappointing playoff performance against the Wizards, the Raptors are looking to become a strong force in the eastern conference this season.