Five things to watch for in Raptors season opener against Cavaliers
There are plenty of intriguing questions surrounding the Raptors as they emerge from the most transformative offseason in franchise history.
How will the team fare without former fan-favourite DeMar DeRozan? Is Kawhi Leonard healthy, happy, and ready to be a top-3 player again? Can Kyle Lowry put the disappointment of DeMar’s absence behind him? Can Nick Nurse successfully take this revamped squad to the next level? And last but not least, are the Raptors a legitimate contender for the top seed in the East?
Wednesday’s season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t give us answers to all of these questions, but there are a few things to watch that may offer clues as the Raptors prepare to tip off a new era in Toronto.
Kawhi’s regular-season debut
It didn’t take long for Raptors fans to collectively accept DeRozan’s departure and warm up to Leonard’s potential in Toronto. Before he battled a gnarly quadriceps injury and proceeded to wear out his welcome in San Antonio, Kawhi was widely considered one of the best players in the world. And before we worry about whether or not he’ll stay in Toronto at season’s end, Raptors fans need to know that Leonard is back, playing basketball at the same level that earned him MVP honours during the 2014 NBA Finals.
Kawhi’s preseason performance didn’t offer much more than a small taste of what he’s capable of in a Raptors uniform. In three preseason games he averaged 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2 steals in 22.3 minutes per game. Kawhi’s averaged 30.4 minutes per game throughout his career; if you extrapolate his preseason stats accordingly, Kawhi’s floor appears to hover around his career averages of 16.3/6.2/2.3/1.8.
But that was just the preseason. The games really start to matter Wednesday against the Cavs, and with free agency and a potentially big contract just one season away, Kawhi certainly has a lot to play for. Raptors fans are hoping Leonard’s return to the glory days of 2016-17 — when he averaged 25.5/5.8/3.5/1.8 — begins Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
The opening-night starting lineup
Head coach Nick Nurse said his lineup will likely be fluid throughout the season, which means there’s not much we should draw from his decision on Wednesday’s starters other than the fact that he’s rolling with the matchups.
Nevertheless, the starting lineup on opening night is still a fairly big deal, and with Nurse reportedly interested in prioritizing small-ball lineups, it’s likely Jonas Valanciunas comes off the bench on Wednesday. Which leads us to the next item.
How JV fares coming off the bench
It looks like Valanciunas, who had long been a starter for the Raptors, is going to have to adjust to a new role with the “Bench Mob,” potentially replacing Jakob Poeltl as the centre on Toronto’s top bench unit. As previously stated, the Raptors will work the matchups all season, so JV is likely to still draw a few starts here and there. But Nurse has plenty of options down low — Serge Ibaka will likely start at the 5 on most nights, with JV, Greg Monroe, and potentially even Pascal Siakam earning minutes at centre.
It’ll be an adjustment, but one that JV will likely handle fairly well. While Valanciunas had been a starter in Toronto for years, the big man never quite settled into starter minutes, averaging 25.5 per game throughout his career. He often found himself watching the starters at the beginning of the third quarter, and even late in games, so assuming a bench role in the flow of the game isn’t exactly a new thing for JV. How he responds to a potentially big role change will be interesting, and we’ll get our first taste of it on Wednesday.
Nurse’s rotation
Much has been made about Nick Nurse and the plethora of options he has in Toronto’s roster, and we’re starting to get a sense of how creative he can be. Nurse has two players — Leonard and Siakam — who could potentially play three different positions for this team (there’s been a lot of noise on Twitter about Nurse being fond of deploying Siakam at centre).
The Raptors have a handful of other players who can also play at least two positions, and it’s the options available to him that will allow Nurse to play the matchups on a game-by-game basis. We know Lowry and Leonard will be staples in the starting lineup, but beyond that, everything is up in the air.
We’ll have to wait and see how Nurse’s rotation develops and which players slide their way in and out of the starting lineup, and we’ll get our first look Wednesday.
Norman Powell
When Nurse was introduced as Toronto’s head coach, one of the many questions he had to field was about Powell, who suffered through a disastrous season in 2017-18. “Can Norman Powell be salvaged?”
Nurse wasted little time with his answer, saying he believes Powell can absolutely enjoy a bounce-back season in 2018-19. And things are already pointing in a positive direction for We The Norm: He averaged 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.7 steals and 20.3 minutes in three preseason games, which is much better than the 5.5 points and 15.2 minutes he averaged last season.
With Delon Wright injured to start the campaign, Powell will have the opportunity to show that he deserves a few more minutes on the court. His performance Wednesday won’t likely define his usage throughout the season, but Raptors fans would be thrilled if We The Norm could get off to a good start.
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