What happened to the Raptors?
Just over 18 months ago in June 2019, prior to the great plague of 2020 and before the demise of the giant, lying windbag, the Toronto Raptors celebrated their first NBA championship. It was the high-water mark of 6 winning seasons, and several forays deep into the playoffs. Today, they sit at 7 and 12, good enough for 12th place in the east and 25th place overall in the association.
What has happened to the Raptors in the intervening 18 months? How did we fall so quickly after so many years of success? These are the 2 questions I’m asked more than all other questions together. There is no easy answer. As with most things in life, the fall from grace was the result of several factors, including bad decisions, bad timing and bad luck.
It was only a month after the Championship that the Raptor’s superstar, Kawhi Leonard, headed home to Los Angeles. Leonard had been a calculated gamble that Masai had taken when the opportunity presented itself. In a sense, it was an unmitigated success, resulting in a championship, but when he left, the loss of a superstar, one of the top 3 players in the league, gutted the team’s scoring and much of its personality.
At the same time, the Raptors also failed to re-sign Danny Green, a formidable 3-point threat and strong thread in the Raptors fierce defense and entered the 2019-2020 season significant underdogs to repeat. But pride and the continued immergence of Pascal Siakam and strong play from team heartbeat Kyle Lowry, led the Raptors to a strong record until the suspension of the season due to COVID-19.
Once the season continued, the Raptors looked more like the team most people thought they would be and while they coasted into the playoffs due to their early season success, they exited before even the conference finals.
As constructed, it seemed like only a sharp addition might be needed to return the Raptors to championship form. Surely Pascal would return to form as the all star he was and Norm Powell and Fred VanVleet would surely step up. Masai, with his eye on another prize, had other ideas. With only one year left on his contract, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was a prize Ujiri thought he had a chance to land. In his desire to create and maintain the cap space he needed to pull off such a coup, he allowed both Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol to escape. It represented 2 more prized possessions leaving with nothing in return.
But Giannis re-signed with his club and the disappointment in the Raptor locker room was palpable. Kyle, still the little engine that could, was simply not enough to power the team to success. Pascal hasn’t emerged and in fact looks like he has regressed with his finishing. Norm Powell and Fred have simply not been able to find some consistency.
What’s remaining for the Raptors this season? Unfortunately, more losing than winning. As constructed, the team is hobbled. They lack a consistent finisher and even more concerning, they’re defense has become more permeable.
Probable finish: 11 in the East and out of the playoffs.