We only scratched the surface of what we can do, what we can become
said guard Gary Trent Jr. during the team’s end-of-season report on Friday.
This team could become very, very dangerous
rated 16-year NBA veteran Thad Young.
This season, the representatives of the Queen City have taken the measure of their potential with a core of young players behind Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. While many pundits saw them winning about 30 games, they won 48 to take fifth place in the East and return to the playoffs after missing them the previous year.
In the playoffs, the Raptors also stood up to the 76ers, surviving elimination twice after losing the first three games. They then demonstrated their fighting spirit.
This season sometimes it felt like we were going to fall apart, but we never let that happen. We always kept on fighting
pointed out Siakam.
We did a good job. We worked hard as a team. Sometimes it wasn’t always pretty, but we didn’t [baissé] arms. Everyone tried their best to help the team. All we can do now is just go back and see what we can do to come back even stronger. It’s not the ending we wanted, but I think there are promises.
The Raptors were defeated in six games by the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, but not without a fight.
Photo: Associated Press/Matt Slocum
Siakam himself has regained his star player airs this year. He was among the top 25 in the NBA in points (22.8), rebounds (8.5) and assists (5.3) per game and he also understood his role as a leader in the locker room and on the field.
Arriving during the season and coming back from an injury it has not always been easy, but with work I have been able to develop during the year and continue to [progresser]. Yeah, I think it was a good season for me too, but there’s a lot more work to do
said the Cameroonian.
Fred VanVleet, the other Raptors point guard with the departure of Kyle Lowry, also upped his game. He had his best season in the NBA with 20 points, 4 rebounds and around 7 assists per game, which also earned him an all-star nomination for the first time in his career.
Behind them, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, all in their twenties, also picked up the pace. Scottie Barnes, drafted 4th overall by the Raptors last summer, impressed so much that he was named rookie of the year.
According to VanVleet, the Raptors have just rooms
to build a winning team. The core of the team is not only established, but has also tasted the vagaries of a full season and playoffs together. He was put to the test.
[Le manque d’expérience] has been a problem for a while. It felt like there was no benchmark, you know, for our young team, but now we have it.
Now is the time. That’s about all we wanted to do when it came to building […] And now, how to put all these pieces together? Can we add some parts? And then how do you make it work, to be the most efficient and lethal team possible? I even think that we can improve without adding anything
he said.
It was weird to be in such an unpredictable season, where nobody thought we would be good but we knew we were. We were playing for a championship, but it was sort of free basketball, so to speak. I think coming back with a more specific goal in mind will help us [l’an prochain] and allow us to fit into our roles and be the most effective team possible.
Chris Boucher was excellent in Game 6 of the series between the Raptors and 76ers on Thursday.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette
No Toronto core player will become a free agent this offseason. The Raptors will however have to replenish their bench of reserves. Chris Boucher and Thad Young, among others, will be able to enjoy full autonomy.
Boucher, in particular, could get more than the $7 million he was making this season. He had an incredible performance of 25 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday, his best game in the playoffs.
I will soon be 30 years old and basketball, one day, it ends so one thing that I will think about is what is the best situation for me and my family. And then, I want to be in the place where I feel good. In Toronto, I always felt good. I told myself that no matter where I go and what decision I make, it’s going to be fixed on that because I play my best basketball when I feel good
he explained.
The Raptors currently don’t have a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. They traded him to the San Antonio Spurs in the deal that allowed them to part with Goran Dragić’s contract. They do, however, have a high second-round pick, the Detroit Pistons, 33rd overall, to add to their roster.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and team president Masai Ujiri did not speak to reporters on Friday. They will report on the season later.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca