The Toronto Raptors are looking to bounce back after getting eliminated in the Play-In Tournament last season.
Going into this season the Raptors are hoping they can perform better even without Fred VanVleet who the team lost in free agency to the Houston Rockets.
It seems the top two teams in the Eastern Conference are going to be the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. But, besides that, the other seeds seem to be up for grabs.
As the regular draws closer, ESPN released their stats-based win projections for all 30 teams and they project the Raptors will finish eighth with 42.7 average wins:
“Even with the loss of point guard Fred VanVleet in free agency, the Raptors were one of my four teams most likely to improve based on their underlying stats last season. Toronto’s plus-1.5 differential ranked sixth in the East, and that was with opponents scorching the nets from 3-point range, which tends not to carry over. The Raptors also have five players projected with at least 0.8 points per 100 possessions better than average at their position, tied with the Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies for most in the NBA.”
This may be a surprise to some with most media outlets being seemingly low on the Raptors. There have not been a lot of outlets believing Toronto will win a lot of games or make the playoffs.
The talent is not the issue with Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby still in the picture. Not to mention Gary Trent Jr. and Jakob Poeltl back in the fold as well.
After struggling to find consistency last season, the Raptors are banking on new head coach Darko Rajakovic bringing this team to new heights.
It’s hard to judge the team right now, but by February’s trade deadline, there should be a better sense of direction on where Toronto is heading.
B/R gives Raptors offseason an “F” grade
To better put into picture how other outlets look lowly at the Raptors, here is how Bleacher Report views them.
Recently, B/R gave Toronto’s offseason an “F” grade. Explaining that losing VanVleet for nothing, having Siakam and Anunoby set to be free agents and not having a clear direction is the franchise’s hindrance.
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