The Raptors' Tectonic Shift

If you haven’t seen the new Raptors style of play then you probably have no idea what this title is referring to and no it’s not a summary of a terrible movie.

Now if you have seen the Raptors style of play and like it, then put your hand up and wave it around like you just don’t care because you’re in for a frenzy of 3 pointers and it’s absolutely beautiful. Now if you don’t like their style of play it’s probably because you haven’t seen a lot of jumpers fall from beyond the arc and that’s fair but just wait my friends, the NBA is due for a lot of red rain. A Vancouver WINTER IS COMING and the forecast calls for lots of buckets (because it rains in Vancouver.....a lot). Yeah that Game of Thrones pun was off the charts but in all seriousness, we need to take the Raptors new look serious because it’s here to stay like this generations lingo, pretty lit right fam!

With this new look offence you are going to see slippages from the midrange numbers and also a fair amount of 3’s missed but it’s a process that can only lead you in the right direction. It’s going to take a bit of time and the most important thing, trust. Lowry and DeRozan might be the couple of the year in Toronto but they have major trust issues, not with each other but with their young guns. You can argue that the young bench core has outplayed the starters on the both sides of the court but eventually the starting unit is going to figure it out and whether or not it’s in the right direction depends on the power couple. Now at the end of the day there is nothing better than seeing the basketball swing around in the half court like it’s been thrown in an intense game of tetherball, and the result is a wide open three taken by CJ “Masfresco” Miles in the hot corner. For all of you who didn’t take Spanish in school, well welcome to your brief Spanish lesson because mas fresco means “more cool” and it suits CJs demeanour on the floor.

Now back to basketball because there are so many possibilities with this team with its wildcard status and those are always the most dangerous teams, you never know what you’re going to get. They have the capability of speeding up the tempo like a salsa dance with their run and gun, jack it up style of play and they can also slow down the game like your first high school slow dance but with a little more rhythm. DeRozan is always going to be able to attack you in the midrange and get to the free throw line if he wants, because he is a proven scorer but he also has the ability to be a great distributor, Walter White status, and get guys open shots with a little drive and kick action. Getting guys open shots is the easy part but the most crucial part is if the Raptors role players can stay consistent and hit those open jumpers from the arc.

Can the Raptors guarantee you 110+ points a game? Unlikely. Now, can they can guarantee you an exciting season with a future that is bright if they can maintain their new look digs? Heck yes!