Ranked 9th in the Eastern Conference after 41 games (21-20), the Raptors can still hope for a place in the playoffs. Due to the postponement of several games in December due to an outbreak of COVID-19, they even have a few games in hand on their opponents and could go higher.
The representatives of the Queen City are not likely to fly over the rest of the NBA by the end of the season and win top honors. With the departure of Kyle Lowry last summer, the team looked to the future and the current campaign was meant to be a period of transition.
In this regard, the regime change went well. Fred VanVleet took over the reins of the team. The 27-year-old point guard leads the Toronto squad on the court and in the locker room.
Pascal Siakam joined his teammates late due to shoulder surgery which caused him to miss the start of the season, but he also established himself as a leader eventually. Lately, he even offers the best level of play of his career and could take part in the NBA All-Star Game at the end of February.
Siakam is averaging 21 points per game and leads the Raptors in rebounds (8.4). Month after month he plays more, produces more in almost every aspect of the game and establishes himself as the main option in attack. Against the Bucks on Saturday, he also scored the second triple-double of his career, with 30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. This also confirms that the team did well to bet on the Cameroonian by granting him a contract of $ 130 million.
Speaking of Siakam, the Raptors’ Achilles’ heel this season has been lack of depth. Tested by injuries, including that of the Cameroonian to start the season, the team had to draw on their resources to survive at the start of the season.
The current ranking of the Raptors is also the cost of an atrocious month of November where the team lost 7 of the 12 games on its schedule, while it was among other things affected by a long list of injuries.
Recently, we have seen that when its best players are all healthy, the Raptors can compete with the best teams. They proved it against the Miami Heat on Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, among others.
Faced with these title contenders, VanVleet, Siakam, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher and rookie Scottie Barnes have also confirmed that the future is indeed rosy in Toronto.
We feel like we’re just starting to play together
, Barnes said after the loss to the Heat on Monday night. As soon as we have a complete team, another injury occurs. We rarely have all our players. […] We still have to adjust to each other’s game.
Siakam echoed his words: We continue to progress. We had a lot of adversity, but we are fighting. The more we keep playing together, and if we have everyone […] we can be something special.
Boucher on his last miles in Toronto?
Chris Boucher is playing his fourth season with the Toronto Raptors.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Chris Katsarov
Who says mid-season must also discussions of the trade deadline. The latter has been set for February 10, which means that the hour of decisions is approaching for the leaders of the NBA teams. Logically, Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster should convert a few out-of-contract players for draft picks, among other things.
Before the 2021-2022 season had started, the name of playmaker Goran Dragić was already circulating in the rumor mill. The Raptors veteran, acquired for Kyle Lowry, has only played five games this season and hasn’t played for Toronto since Nov. 13. The question is not whether he will be traded, but where he will land.
The case of Chris Boucher is more interesting as the deadline approaches. A free agent at the end of the season, the 29-year-old Quebecer has proven his worth night after night to head coach Nick Nurse this season, so much so that he is the main player Nurse uses from the bench these days. -this.
Boucher is the Raptors’ biggest bargaining chip this season. At 29, he does not fit into the team’s future plans. Isaac Bonga and Yuta Watanabe would also be of interest to other teams, but at a much lower cost and contribution.
