NBA – 5 Reasons to Watch the Raptors this Season
Scotty Barnes – Coming off his Rookie of the Year campaign, great things are expected of Barnes this season. A truly rare find, Barnes is a combination of length, skill, attitude, energy and IQ. Not many basketballers have ever had all of these. Think Charles Barkley with a positive attitude. Barnes’s game starts with lockdown defense in part thanks to his 7’3” wingspan, guard level ball handling skills and currently has a small but deadly offensive arsenal. Barnes has a chance to be the best Raptor ever to suit up and potentially top 10 player in the league status. While still very young at just 20 years old, this is a good year to introduce yourself to a player who will be a mainstay in the Raptors lineup for most if not all of the next decade.
Pascal Siakam – Yes, Pascal Siakam. The player that started basketball late, exploded onto the biggest stage during the 2019 finals, became invisible during the bubble, lost his touch for finishing and then, last year returned from injury to end up on the all NBA second team. So the question to be answered is simply: which Pascal Siakam is going to show up this year? If the Raptors are going to make any noise in the Eastern Conference this year, Pascal Siakam is going to have to play All NBA level basketball.
Otto Porter Jr. – Porter flashed so much potential early in his career it seemed destined that he would be an annual all star. But he never found a way to get over that last hurdle and instead took a step back into journeyman territory. The question for Porter this year is what if he finds the right fit in the right system with the right teammates? It is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Otto finds his groove and ends up having a much larger impact on the Raptors than we think.
Nick Nurse – Without a doubt, Nick Nurse has earned the respect of players and management around the league. His fearless approach to trying different lineups and different defensive and offensive schemes earned him a Coach of the Year trophy his first year as a Head Coach and will likely earn him another before long. Whatever the Raptors are, however much talent they have, Nick Nurse will find a way to get the very best out of the team.
Positionless Basketball – Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster have a design for the Raptors that is more than a little unique. They want to play 5 players on the court who can play all 5 positions – positionless basketball. To that end they have constructed a team made up of mainly 6’9” players with wingspans over 7’. It’s really something to watch a long, lanky squad firing the basketball around like a team of point guards. Unique and fun to watch.
Bo Cruz – Alright, not really Bo Cruz but the player who played him on the movie, Juancho Hernangomez. And sure, he’s really not likely to do any more than fight for an end of the bench spot and a few minutes here and there, but hey, who knows. Maybe the magic from the movie will transcend reality and Bo will become a real, honest to goodness all star. ANd if he doesn’t? Well, it’ll still be fun to chant Bo! Bo! Bo!