The Raptors had the greatest season in franchise history last year, winning a team-record 56 regular-season games and a third straight Atlantic Division title. Toronto played with fire in each of the first two rounds of the playoffs but won a Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers in the first round and vs. the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, both games at the Air Canada Centre. But the Raptors ran out of gas in their first conference finals, losing Games 5-6 in blowout fashion to the eventual champion Cleveland Cavaliers. What can be expected from Coach Dwane Casey’s team this year? The Raptors have a wins total of 50.5 on Sports Interaction NBA odds.
Toronto Raptors’ Offseason Moves
Toronto’s biggest move was re-signing All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan to a monster new extension — All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry will be up for a similar deal next summer. There was some concern that the Lakers might lure DeRozan back to his native Los Angeles, but he never wavered in his desire to stay put. DeRozan averaged a career-high 23.5 points along with 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season. His shooting percentage did drop precipitously in the postseason as did Lowry’s. But they form likely the best backcourt in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors also got a potential free-agent bargain in Celtics big man Jared Sullinger. He was set to start at power forward but will miss at least two months after foot surgery on Monday. The former Ohio State star averaged 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds last season.
The team said goodbye to free agents Bismack Biyombo, Luis Scola and James Johnson. Biyombo was very limited on offence but was a monster at times in rebounding and blocking shots in the playoffs, filling in very capably as a starter with Jonas Valanciunas injured. The Orlando Magic gave him some $70 million (U.S.) in free agency. Scola averaged 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 76 regular-season games as a starter. Casey says that Patrick Patterson is the leading candidate to start at power forward in Scola’s place while Sullinger is sidelined.
You can almost consider small forward DeMarre Carroll a new addition as well. He was Toronto’s big free-agent acquisition last summer but was limited to 26 regular-season games due to a knee injury. He will be the primary defender on the LeBron James and Paul George types in the Eastern Conference. Finally, the team signed Casey to an extension through the 2018-19 season.
In the draft, the Raptors took Utah center Jakob Poeltl (basically replacing Biyombo) with the No. 9 overall pick. Poeltl is an old-school back-to-the-basket big man who was the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2015-16. He’s the first Austrian-born player to land in the NBA. At No. 27 overall, the Raptors selected New Mexico State forward Pascal Siakam. He could see more playing time with Sullinger’s injury.
Toronto Raptors 2016-17 Odds
The over 50.5 wins is a -133 favourite on NBA odds. Toronto is -10000 to make the playoffs again and +1200 to miss. Casey is +2800 to win NBA Coach of the Year. Carroll is +4000 for Defensive Player of the Year. Lowry is +5000 to lead the NBA in assists. Valanciunas is +3300 to be No. 1 in rebounding. DeRozan is priced at +4000 to be the league’s top scorer. Poeltl is +4000 for Rookie of the Year.
Raptors 2016-17 Picks
Toronto opens the season at home vs. Detroit on Wednesday as an 8-point favourite and beat the Pistons in both games at Air Canada Centre last season. The Pistons begin the year without leading scorer Reggie Jackson due to injury.
The Raptors are not going to win another division title. Boston, after adding Hawks free-agent Al Horford, will take the Atlantic. But there’s no reason the Raptors can’t finish with the No. 3 or 4 seed in the East and return to the conference finals with good health and a little luck (i.e. avoiding Cleveland until then). Go under that wins total as the front court depth is a moderate issue, but it won’t be under 50.5 victories by much.
