Toronto Raptors
The 2021-22 Toronto Raptors can be defined by overachieving once again, finishing as the #5 seed in the East, making the playoffs and avoiding the play-in.
What did we learn?
The overachieving Toronto Raptors are BACK.
After a lost season in Tampa, the Raptors returned home to The 6 and got right back to their roots. Masai Ujiri has become quite the master of retooling on the fly.
They did lose their face of the franchise in Kyle Lowry to South Beach in the offseason, but Fred VanVleet had been waiting in the wings and studying under Lowry for years, more than ready to take over as the team’s leader and main facilitator.
VanVleet was exactly that, flourishing in the Lowry role, averaging a career high in assists and points per game. He was even an All-Star. And on the day that Kyle Lowry returned to Toronto, Freddy V broke Lowry’s Raptors team record for most 3-pointers in a season. Sometimes the student really does become the master. Freddy V finished third in the NBA in total 3s this season behind only Steph and Buddy Hield.
It helped tremendously that Toronto struck gold with the #4 pick in the draft, Scottie Barnes, who was actually a controversial pick at the time. Barnes was not only a perfect fit for Raptors basketball, but he was the 2021-22 Rookie of the Year.
Barnes was so useful and in so many different ways. If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t think he was a rookie. Somehow, he oftentimes looks even bigger than his 6-foot-9, 227-lb frame. He seemed to get bigger during commercial breaks. There was the game against Brooklyn where Barnes made his first 11 shots on his way to 28 points, 16 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists. About as wild and thorough of a stat line for a rookie as you’ll see.
Still recovering from a torn labrum, Pascal Siakam missed the first two weeks of the season, but once he got going, he got GOING. Spicy P had been mild since the bubble, however, he put his bubble demons long behind him this season, scoring a team-high 22.8 points per game while playing stifling defense with a renewed vigor on that end of the floor.
Siakam was fantastic in the month of March, habanero-level spicy with 25.6 points per game on 52% shooting from the field and 42.6% from 3. Siakam made third team All-NBA, the second All-NBA selection of his career, besting the numbers from his 2019-20 breakout season.
OG Anunoby stepped up as the Raptors #1 guy on offense when Siakam missed the beginning of the season. Anunoby averaged a career high in points, but he missed two large chunks of the season, dealing with a hip injury and a fractured finger. When Anunoby missed games, it threw a wrench into what the Raptors do. The defense in particular took a noticeable step back.
Gary Trent Jr. had a splendid season, and there was the stretch where he was once again The Man Possessed a.k.a. Gary Bubble Trent Jr. Seriously, though, Trent Jr.’s 5-game stretch in January included 32, 32, 33, 31 and 33 points — and a Raptors franchise record with five straight games of 5+ made three-pointers. Yeah, THE MAN POSSESSED!
Nick Nurse was innovative once again, unleashing all hell on the league with his no-center-but-humongous-everywhere-else lineups that attacked relentlessly with length, speed and aggressive ball-pressure to get up and GO in transition.
The Raptors finished with a top-10 defense (top 5 after All-Star), second in points off turnovers and third in transition scoring. Toronto was also second in 2nd chance points and second in offensive rebounds, using that all-around size to their advantage.
Over the last month of the season, no team in the NBA won more games than the Toronto Raptors, a record of 14-4 over the last 18 games that included two 5-game winning streaks.
Going up against Embiid in the first round was a nightmare matchup for the Raptors personnel, but they still won two games after going down 0-3, making all of Philly sweat it out till the very end.
It’s hard to get too excited about a first-round playoff exit three years after winning the title.
But it sure as hell beats playing down in Tampa.
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Additional Notes
Precious Achiuwa had a ton of moments this season that wowed us. Achiuwa can grab a board and just take off. His handles are that good. And for a big guy, his 3-point shot is smoother than a butter shave.
The Raptors rookie that generated all of the buzz was, of course, Scottie Barnes, but Danilo Banton sured popped off the screen. Good things happen when Banton is in the game.
Nick Nurse buried Malachi Flynn until emergency-break-glass type situations arose. When VanVleet missed a late-Feb. game with a knee injury, Flynn scored 18 points, drilled three 3s and dished out 4 assists. He was +42 in 34 minutes!
It should be noted that the Raptors did have to play some games this season without any fans due to Canada’s Covid policy. But the Raptors also benefited from teams being nervous to have everybody travel to Canada and get stuck there.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
The Raptors only have to be 7% better than they were last season. That seems attainable, but the possibility of tanking causes us to lean the other way. Under 36.5 wins.
Raptors 2021-22 record: (48-34)
Nope. The Raptors went right back to their overachieving ways.
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What’s Next?
The Raptors do not have a first-round pick as #20 is sent to San Antonio from the Thad Young deal. But Toronto does have the #33 overall pick of the draft in the second round.
Shore up the bench. Last in minutes and points per game among all reserves, there is a reason why Nick Nurse rode his starters so many minutes.
The Raptors could use a true 5 and some more knock-down 3-point shooting to help the half-court offense going forward.
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Favorite Raptors Highlights of the 2021-22 Season:
Rookie of the Year.
Spicy.
Nick Nurse be wildin’ out sometimes.
