Raptors 2017-2018 Season Review

[Chilikonkarne]

2017-2018 season is in the books so let’s take a moment to review the performance of our Raptors.


Atmosphere in Canada

Let’s start by the beginning : The roster creation.

We ended up the previous season with the below 15 man. Most of them stayed, 2 found a new franchise, 2 moved away from the NBA and one retired

Under Contract : Kawhi Leonard, Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, Brandon Jennings, John Henson, TJ Warren, Nick Johnson, Ray McCallum, Mam Jaiteh, Andrew Dawkins
Out NBA : Kevin Seraphin (Charlotte), Kosta Koufos (Houston)
Out Europe : Marvin Williams, Stanley Robinson
Retired : Francisco Garcia

The movements

With 10 players under contract, we wanted to give more depth. We hired George Hill with our MLE for 2 years and signed Travis with our LLE.
We drafted Juan Hernagomez (#27) and Oliver Hanlan (#37).
No trade was done.

Team performance

The regular season was a success.
Despite a really competitive Atlantic division, we managed to win the division for the first time of the young Raptors history. The 54 wins (66%) are also a great achievement and become the new record for the franchise.
Yet, the team didn’t start so well the season and it took time to find the right balance and strategy. In the last 36 games of the regular season, the team won 29 of them (81%) and Toronto ended-up 3rd best record in the East. Andre Drummond was selected in the All-Star game (3rd player in Raptors history), but Kawhi Leonard was forgotten during the votes.


The man of the playoffs

The playoffs started and we faced the Brooklyn Nets and their dominant center Dwight Howard in the first round. Kawhi showed the league he was an all-star combining 23.4pts (54%), 8.2rbd and 2.0stl well helped by Marc Gasol with 17.4pts (55%), 8.6rbd, 6.0ast and 2.2blk.
5 games later, the Raptors were moving to the second round in the tough Eastern playoffs. John Henson got injured until the end of the season.
The Milwaukee Buck were the next opponents. They just eliminated the second seed Chicago and were looking for another prey. It took 7 games and a notable tactical battle before allowing the Raptors to move to the conference finals. Lebron James was the best player on the court but Kawhi Leonard showed once again, he was a top player in the league. Less scorer but brilliant in defense with 17.3pts (54%), 6.6rbd, 2.1stl and 1.3blk. Drummond was also crucial with 15.7pts (51%), 9.7rbd and 2.4blk.
Then came the best team in the East : The Detroit Pistons. A weird series with 5 games in a row won by the away team. But at the end, the best team made it to the finals. Henson could have changed the story for sure but the backcourt (Kemba, Rubio) was too much for our guards and ultimately we lost the series in 6. Drummond gave everything against his former team 15.2pts (55%), 8.7rbd and 2.3blk but was limited by fouls (28.8min).

Player performance

PG – George Hill (1 year under contract)

Signed for 2 years via MLE, George Hill brought his experience and stability at the point Guard position. Good defender with a decent range, he was also able to step-up during the playoffs when scoring was needed.
He should drop few points in rating during the off-season (32 year old) but he will be most probably our starter point guard next year once again.

SR : 10.7pts, 44%, 4ast, 3.2rbd, 0.6stl, 0.2blk in 26.3min
PL : 12.1pts, 41%, 4.4ast, 2.9rbd, 0.6stl, 0.2blk in 29.8min

SG – Brandon Jennings (2 years under contract)

Jennings is the type of player who can win a game on its own but also shoot 20 times for a mere 6 points. A less talented Kemba who need to be used carefully. His regular season was a satisfaction but he drown during the playoffs.
His use will be one of the principal topic of discussion in the front office team next year but there chances to see him come off the bench where his talent could be even more deadly.

SR : 13pts, 42%, 4.1ast, 2.7rbd, 0.8stl, 0.2blk in 23.9min
PL : 10.9pts, 33%, 3.3ast, 2.7rbd, 0.9stl, 0.1blk in 23.1min

SF – Kawhi Leonard (2 years under contract)

Only player remaining since Chili took the control of the Raptors 3 years and a half ago and Kawhi is still a favorite. Discrete but efficient during all season, he was the main player in the 2 series won over Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
Not change expected for Kawhi next year with one new objective however : His second all-star game selection

SR : 18.4pts, 49%, 1.4ast, 6rbd, 1.6stl, 0.8blk in 33min
PL : 19.4pts, 52%, 1.7ast, 6.5rbd, 1.6stl, 1.2blk in 38.5min

PF : Marc Gasol (2 years under contract)


Gasol proved he was still a great talent

Gasol cannot play the 4, his contract is a liability… When the Raptors decided to move center Marc Gasol to the 4 to create a new kind of twin towers, lot of GMs were skeptical about the experiment.
They probably forgot at that time that Gasol was an extremely intelligent player who could adapt easily. He was our best player during the regular and among the leader in every statistics category.

SR : 14.5pts, 48%, 3.9ast, 7.6rbd, 0.9stl, 1.3blk in 31.5min
PL : 14.9pts, 49%, 3.9ast, 7.6rbd, 1.1stl, 1.7blk in 32.8min

C : Andre Drummond (3 years under contract)

Drummond doesn’t have the most impressive statistics (but who has in this roster?) but he is really good at one thing : winning. He never missed the conference finals since he started his career and is and should remain a defensive anchor in the Raptors organization for years to come.
His regular season was really solid and his all-star selection is the proof. Playoffs started badly again Brooklyn but he was dominant against Milwaukee and Detroit

SR : 14.7pts, 58%, 1ast, 9.1rbd, 0.9stl, 2.2blk in 31min
PL : 13.4pts, 53%, 1ast, 8.3rbd, 0.8stl, 2.8blk in 30.2min

6 : John Henson (3 years under contract)

When your 3rd frontcourt rotation is called Henson, you know you have depth. John was extremely solid during the season but broke his finger during the playoffs.
Could we have reached the finals with Henson subbing in when Gasol or Drummond were in foul trouble?

SR : 9.8pts, 47%, 1ast, 6.4rbd, 0.6stl, 1.5blk in 25.7min
PL : 7pts, 36%, 0.8ast, 5.8rbd, 0.8stl, 1.5blk in 25.8min (4 games)

7 : Nick Johnson (Free Agent, RFA)

A quality sub who proved all year long that he can be trusted, even during the playoffs. His re-signature will be a priority this offseason and he might earn the starter sport starting next year.

SR : 11.6pts, 45%, 1.2ast, 3.2rbd, 1stl, 1.2blk in 25.2min
PL : 10.3pts, 47%, 1.8ast, 2.9rbd, 1stl, 1.4blk in 26.3min

8 : TJ Warren (1 year under contract)


Warren was averaging 19.8pts (52%) and 5.3rbd when starting this year - 16 games

A great offensive threat off the bench, he became really efficient thanks to preferences work. Warren is linked to various rumors trading him this offseason. While the front office like his contribution, he doesn’t have much time left behind Kawhi.
However, the Raptors have no issue to keep him if they feel the return is not worth it.

SR : 10.5pts, 49%, 0.7ast, 2.5rbd, 0.4stl, 0.2blk in 18.7min
PL : 9.1pts, 46%, 0.6ast, 2.6rbd, 0.4stl, 0.1blk in 18min

9 : Ray McCallum (2 years under contract)

The best A/TO ratio in the entire league. McCallum also become more than decent when playoffs come (remember Goran Dragic?). He is a really good backup and his contract make him really valuable.

SR : 5.5pts, 41%, 3.7ast, 1.9rbd, 0.5stl, 0.2blk in 20.1min
PL : 6.4pts, 52%, 2.8ast, 1.3rbd, 0.3stl, 0.2blk in 17.5min

10 : Travis Wear (Free Agent)

He didn’t have much opportunity during the year (46 games) but did a good job replacing Henson during the playoffs. We might try to bring him back next year as 4th frontcourt rotation

SR : 6.6pts, 52%, 0.4ast, 3rbd, 0.5stl, 0.9blk in 14.5min
PL : 7.3pts, 56%, 0.6ast, 3rbd, 1stl, 1blk in 19.4min

11 : Juan Hernagomez (2 years under contract)

A combo forward who can do a bit of everything. He played 9 games (Kawhi injury) only but was more than decent.

SR : 5.9pts, 40%, 0.3ast, 3.2rbd, 0.4stl, 0.3blk in 18.8min
PL : 1pts, 0%, 0ast, 0rbd, 0stl, 0blk in 1.5min

12 : Mouhammadou Jaiteh (Free Agent)

Mam Finally broke the 40% during his last contract year – and it was only during the playoffs. An extremely limited offensive player, Mam is close to elite when it comes to defense.
Unfortunately he doesn’t fit to the plan and will be released this offseason.

SR : 2.1pts, 29%, 0.8ast, 2.7rbd, 0.2stl, 0.4blk in 11.2min
PL : 1pts, 40%, 0.3ast, 2.1rbd, 0.4stl, 0.1blk in 6.5min

13 : Olivier Hanlan (2 years under contract)

The #37 pick didn’t play much (19 games only) but showed he could be a decent backup.

SR : 3.8pts, 41%, 0.4ast, 2.2rbd, 0.5stl, 0blk in 17.3min

14 : Andrew Dawkins (1 year under contract)

He didn’t play this season and will most likely end-up in d-league the next season. A good 3pts shooter, that’s about it.

What’s next?

The Raptors have limited challenges for the offseason as the core is already ready. However :

- The draft could be interesting with the picks #27, #51 and #57
- Re-signing Johnson (RFA) and maybe make a coup with the MLE
- TJ Warren, Brandon Jennings, Andre Drummond and the #27 are all currently discussed in trade. Maybe some changes to be expected here?

[hardenwithnod]

Great season for this team, as there's a lot of good talent on this team. Curious to see what are you guys going to do with an aging Gasol, and Hill.

[Chilikonkarne]

Great season for this team, as there's a lot of good talent on this team. Curious to see what are you guys going to do with an aging Gasol, and Hill.

Probably nothing. Hill has only one year left and will be still a good player next year.
regarding Gasol, he is a top player and i don't epect him to drop that much in his 2 remaining years (the last is a player option). His 20M expiring will be an asset in 2 years.

[hardenwithnod]

i got cha, that makes sense.

[emplep7]

I still really like this team and will always love Drummond. I was actually surprised by the starting lineup you threw at me with Jennings starting. I think this could have gone 7 if you played Nick Johnson or even McCallum in his place and he is an efficiency killer. One of the big reasons I got rid of him was his performance in the playoffs three years ago for us. I want to reunite the big man back home in Detroit though...

[lakeshowak7]

A job well done in my opinion. I think you are a floor general away from taking that step further into the finals. Really balanced team otherwise.

[mgtr81]

I really enjoyed our series. With a healthy Henson, this is a team that can perfectly win a title.

[Chilikonkarne]

I still really like this team and will always love Drummond. I was actually surprised by the starting lineup you threw at me with Jennings starting. I think this could have gone 7 if you played Nick Johnson or even McCallum in his place and he is an efficiency killer. One of the big reasons I got rid of him was his performance in the playoffs three years ago for us. I want to reunite the big man back home in Detroit though...

Jennings was playing only 20 minutes at SG position as Johnson was most of the time on it (28 minutes). But yes, Jennings playoffs were disappointing.

[Chilikonkarne]

A job well done in my opinion. I think you are a floor general away from taking that step further into the finals. Really balanced team otherwise.

Agree, we miss this type of PG. But prices are quite high on the market right now!

[Chilikonkarne]

I really enjoyed our series. With a healthy Henson, this is a team that can perfectly win a title.

Yes, it was great series. East playoffs should be fun again next year as I don't see many teams going for rebuild

[bt]

Very good, even team. I like they way you've stuck with them and built them up.

Unfortunately though, if the Pistons or Bulls remain as is, they're still not on that level but you might have a move or two to breach the gap.

[OneNole]

Very solid season. I questioned the fit of jennings then and question it still. He just doesnt fot with your team nor any team for that matter. I was really surprised you started him over Nick. I would be looking to trade Jennings to get the very best lock down wing you can get.

[Chilikonkarne]

Very solid season. I questioned the fit of jennings then and question it still. He just doesnt fot with your team nor any team for that matter. I was really surprised you started him over Nick. I would be looking to trade Jennings to get the very best lock down wing you can get.

Jennings was fitting well during the season. Our winning strike actually started when I moved him to the starting 5.
He was one of our most efficient player during the regular season with 0.46 evaluation by minute (4th behind Gasol, Drummond and Kawhi).

But the playoffs were another story were his evaluation dropped to 0.34 by minutes. He wasn't good against Brooklyn neither Detroit but had a good run against the Bucks with 13.6pts (38%), 3.4ast and 2.3rbd in 21.9 minutes in 7 games. I agree I should have adjusted my lineup at some point.

I could trade Jennings but lot of people don't like these type of players so his value is rather low. He is an excellent overall player with one weakness => % efficiency. You fix that somehow, you have a great player. Look how Kemba became a MVP candidate.

[hardenwithnod]

Do you think Ray Mccollum will get more minutes at PG this year, as Hill is aging?

[Chilikonkarne]

Do you think Ray Mccollum will get more minutes at PG this year, as Hill is aging?

It depends how much Hill will lose during the off-season.
The split was more or less equal last year with Hill (26), Johnson (25), Jennings (24) and McCallum (20) and I expect something similar this year unless we find another candidate for backourt minutes via draft/trade/free agency