Raptors 2014-2015 Season Preview

If you live in Toronto or what seems like anywhere in Canada you've probably seen the marketing of "We The North" which seems to be working as the Raptors enjoyed playing in packed arenas in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal this preseason. The previous season's Atlantic division champions look to improve upon their success and plant themselves as a definitive threat in the Eastern Conference and the league. Last year was a breakout season for the Raptors as they finished 3rd in the conference and took the Brooklyn Nets Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs and only lost by 1 point. Many are skeptical about DeMar DeRozen and Kyle Lowry continuing their high level of play this season but to those haters I just have one thing to say.

Shush. Pardon my French but I just find it easier to believe they will continue to produce at high level rather than regress. Kyle Lowry was signed to a 4 year 48 million dollar contract and some critics say that this financial security will let Lowry become complacent and regress to his old self pre Raptors. Meanwhile I saw him draw multiple charges during preseason games this year. Preseason. We ain't talking bout a regular game, we talking bout preseason. Lowry loves the Raptors rabid fan base and seems really eager to prove to the world that the Raptors are a team you have to worry about facing no matter what time of the year it is. It's this dedication to the team and the city that the people of Toronto like. See for the entire 20 years that the Raptors have existed they've had issues getting star players to come to Toronto and getting stars who have blossomed in Toronto to stay (Carter, Bosh etc); so having one of the key players who brought  your team to the playoffs decide to stay really excites the fans because that feeling of validation from an all-star calibre player is something that Raptors fans haven't felt before. It's my opinion that Lowry understands that pain Raptors fans have felt and thrives on being able to give Toronto something to cheer about (yes the Leafs and Blue Jays still aren't great). DeMar DeRozan made his first NBA all-star appearance last season and he seems intent on making sure he will make it back there this year. DeRozan looks to have made "mad gains bro" over the summer in an effort to make his drives to the basket even more deadly. DeMar has shown to be a great finisher at the rim but plenty of big men can still get in his path forcing him to lean and attempt a more difficult shot. This year however thanks to his weight gain DeRozan can now finish against the stronger big men which will hopefully lead to more and-one opportunities. This is great considering he shot .824 from the free throw line last season.

As we all know though a team can't hope to win without good role players placed around stars. Thankfully for the Raptors they still have all their talented role players from last year and only seem to have found more. Ross was criticized after the playoff series against the Nets for being too skinny because it allowed Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce to back him down in the post leading to easy buckets. He seemed to have taken the criticism as best he could and simply responded by coming back with more bulk to deal with larger the sg/sf  in the league. Still in case that isn't enough the Raptors went and signed defensive wing James Johnson to help out on that end of the floor. In the case of any issues for the Raptors offensively they signed Lou Williams to help Vasquez and Patterson who will continue to score buckets while not being defensive gaps. The two starting big men for the Raptors Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas will do the same consistent work as last year but will continue to get beaten by more skilled players at the pf and c position. Lucky for them there aren't a lot of dominant big men in the league so most nights this won't be an issue. Although Al Jefferson might drop 40 against the Raptors this season you never know. Again luckily for the Raptors their big men can (and will) get into foul trouble since they have Chuck Hayes, Greg Steimsma, and Tyler Hansbrough, who spent the summer shooting corner 3's apparently, ready to come in and at least hustle hard. I guess Tyler just saw how much people enjoyed seeing Amir Johnson shoot 3's and he thought it would be fun if he could shoot them too. Either way I doubt he will be seeing very many minutes next season but hey it's nice to see that even the players deep into the rotation are working hard to enhance their game. This leaves only the rookies Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira who will also be playing very few minutes but will look cool along the way. 

The Raptors had a 6-12 record before trading Rudy Gay last season and they finished with a 48-35 record (42-23 post Gay). They've only made minor changes to that team during this offseason, ones that on paper will only improve the team overall. For these reasons I believe the Raptors will be breaking that hard fought 50 win mark this year as they finish once again as the the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference.

Oh and the Raptors still have Landry Fields.