Toronto Raptors 2022-23 Season Review
The last man standing, Joseph is just entering his prime and we couldn't be happier
The Toronto Raptors go into next season with a decidedly different flavour. It was obvious to most last season that I wanted to honour Chilli’s fantastic GMing job and made very few moves. Nick Johnson was moved in a S&T for Allen Crabbe and Cousins left for Waiters but the core of the team stayed intact all season. Cory Joseph, Jordan Bell, and Mr. Toronto Kawhi Leonard survived a GM with an itchy trigger finger in regards to trades. The season was somewhat of a success and we finished at #5 in the East and lost a tough series to the uber talented Dante Exum and the Atlanta Hawks. It was a bitter pill to swallow and spurned a revamping of the roster. Looking at the East, Boston and Miami are elite and young, somewhat mirroring Phoenix and Sacramento out West. Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit are right up there as well. Washington could vault way up to the top of the conference depending on their FA success. The East is no longer behind the West and the league is filled with talented GM’s, and as such trades have become much harder to come by. Everyone is positioned to either make a run at the title or go down the slow rebuild route (see Lakers/Bucks/etc.).
Carroll will bring his unique brand of shooting and defense and replaces Kawhi as the starting SF
Going into next season the keys to the proverbial car are now firmly in Cory Joseph’s capable hands. What is the common denominator amongst the best teams? Strong, two way play at the PG position. It isn’t necessarily about having a prolific passer at that position proven by Payton’s success with the Kings (who is now on Cleveland). Phoenix doesn’t have an elite PG but he has such a strong supporting cast it isn’t relevant and even Doug has pontificated that an upgrade from T.J. McConnell might be in the works. Joseph mirrors championship lead guards like Eric Bledsoe and Kemba Walker. He can defend at a high level and provides close to elite scoring and efficient offence.
The roster construction makes one thing perfectly clear - this is a team that will defend at a high level. After carefully taking a look at the league we knew making the finals out of either conference would not be easy. As such, we decided to put a heavy emphasis on defence and our team can be defined by our switchability. There are no weak links defensively and we have the versatility there to throw an elite defender at any position. The bench is also quite potent and we are following the model many other GM’s have adopted.
Maybe the best defender in the league and a guy that gives you a bit of everything on the other end.
To say this team is offensively challenged has merit and we have heard from our peers here that we’ll have trouble scoring and no longer have a 1st option offensively. This might be true - time will tell. I don’t put a huge emphasis on high SCR ratings and we believe a ball movement offense and increasing Joseph’s shots and USG% will be just fine for us. We have an elite low post option in Okafor who should develop from a very solid 17/8 w/ 1.7 blks on 49 FG% to a 20/10 threat every night. The rest of the scoring will be by committee.
In terms of the rotation the starting forwards comprise of DeMarre Carroll at SF and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at PF with Okafor at C, and a backcourt of Crabbe at SG with Joseph at PG.
Starting 5
Cory Joseph - 19/3/5 on 45/43/80 [1.4 3PA]
Allen Crabbe - 10/3/2 on 42/36/86 [3.8 3PA]
DeMarre Carroll - 10/4/2 w/ 1.4 stls on 44/39/74 [5.1 3PA]
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 14/8/2 w/ 1.3 blks & 1.5 stls on 54 FG%
Jahlil Okafor - 17/8 w/ 1.7 blks & 0.7 stls on 49 FG%
6th Man
Nerlens Noel - 9/6 w/ 1.4 blks & 0.8 stls on 55 FG% in 23 MPG
Bench
Mike Conley - 9/2/3 on 45/44/82 in 20.6 MPG
Jordan Bell - 7/8/4 w/ 1.1 blks & 0.9 stls on 44 FG% in
Nigel Williams-Goss - Injury Reserve
JP Macura
Antonius Cleveland
We'll be targeting a wing shooter or two in FA to round out the team. We feel this is a team that can compete on both ends and lock down on the defensive end. We wouldn't be shocked if the starting 5 will be intact all season while the bench needs some work and we will do our due diligence on the trade market as well as free agency.
