Six Raptors storylines to watch with 2023-24 season about to unfold. How many games can this team win?
What is being touted as a new era for Toronto begins with the regular season opener Wednesday at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
What is being touted as a new era for the Raptors — new coach, new attitude, something of a new start with predominantly the same roster — begins with the regular season opener Wednesday at the Scotiabank Arena against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Some points to ponder and things to watch for as it unfolds:
Darko Rajakovic
Darko Rajakovic has coached basketball for about 30 years and he’s been on NBA staffs for about a decade. He’s got a definite style — predicated on quick decision-making and nearly constant off-the-ball movement — he wants the Raptors to play and he won’t waver from it.
But the fact remains this is the first time he’s been an NBA head coach.
Yeah, all the consistent preparation is great. But handling the pressure and intensity of games, and making the immediate decisions down the stretch of close games is not something anyone can fully prepare for.
How he handles it will be crucial.
There will have to be improvement as the season goes on, of course, but the Raptors can’t ease their way into the regular season too much. In the first three weeks of the season they play conference rivals Milwaukee and Philadelphia twice each and Chicago, Boston and Washington.
It’s never too early to start thinking about tiebreakers.
Stay the course
It’s been all puppy dogs and rainbows so far, the system’s working, the results have been promising and they haven’t had a hint of difficulty to deal with.
It won’t last. And as Rajakovic says, it’s going to come.
“We cannot be discouraged if we lose a game here or there, to start to going away from that mentality. We’re still in the process of creating our identity.”
Protect the ball
The Raptors want to play fast. They can’t afford to play loose. Turnovers were a bit of an issue in the pre-season — they had 20 against Chicago and 15 against Washington — and that’s troubling. Some are going to occur because of the style of offence they play and the chemistry they’re still developing but giving up easy baskets in transition off turnovers can cost games.
Keep firing away
On paper, the Raptors don’t look like they have enough three-point shooting in an era that demands it. Some nights they’ll make a bunch and some nights they’ll miss a lot and it’s bound to be a narrative that carries through the season.
But they need to keep taking the open shots in rhythm, even misses can open up driving lanes and getting paint touches and kick-outs are vital to the team’s offensive system.
Keep on believing
There have been times when Pascal Siakam has been a bit ball dominant, there have been times when Scottie Barnes has aimlessly dribbled too much and no one’s ever accused Gary Trent Jr. of over-passing.
But the only way this team is going to have sustained success is by sharing the offensive load.
And that doesn’t mean game-to-game or “I’ll get mine, now you get yours.” It’s got to be on every possession possible and it’s got to be part of the collective DNA.
What’s ahead?
There are simply too many variables to have any real sense of how any season is going to unfold.
How the Raptors evolve, what goes on with their rivals, good health, scheduling quirks and plain old good luck all factor into it.
A case can be made that this team could win 36 games, a case could be made that this team could win 48 games.
And while it’s impossible to tell, this feels like a 44, 45 win team.
