Fansided

The Whiteboard: The Toronto Raptors look like a legit title contender

By Ti Windisch

TORONTO, CANADA - OCTOBER 19: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors looks on prior to the game against the Boston Celtics on October 19, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - OCTOBER 19: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors looks on prior to the game against the Boston Celtics on October 19, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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After their old core reached their ceiling, the Toronto Raptors shook things up. Now they look like the best team in the East.

The Toronto Raptors have had good starts to seasons before. Hell, last year the Raptors were good enough all season long to take the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is first in the conference again, but things actually feel different this time around.

The old Raptors core was good, make no mistake, but there was a large continuity boost involved in their success. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan did their thing for years, with Dwane Casey at the helm as head coach. The 2017-18 season saw the Raptors try a new style, but eventually, the end result was all too similar to the old formula.

DeRozan and Casey are gone, but let’s be clear: this is not a case of addition by subtraction. Both the star shooting guard and the steady presence in the lead chair on the bench were good for the Raptors. What’s happened in Toronto is simply addition by addition — it turns out this Kawhi Leonard guy is pretty damn good at basketball.

The Raptors offseason was defined by risk. Breaking up Lowry and DeRozan was a risk, as was inserting Nick Nurse in the place of Dwane Casey. Adding Leonard, who basically skipped all of last season with the Spurs, was the biggest risk of them all.

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Thus far in the 2018-19 season, all of those risks have paid off in grand fashion. The Raptors are 4-0 and they’ve outscored other teams by 11.3 points per 100 possessions, the best mark of any team in the East or of any team to play at least four games thus far. Leonard looks like the old Kawhi and is averaging 25.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game while essentially knocking the rust off of his game.

Lowry has continued to prove he is one of the best few guards in the East and is averaging a double-double through four games played. The addition of Danny Green to what was already a nice group of wings has made Toronto a terror on both ends, as the Raps rank in the top 10 both in offensive and defensive rating.

The Raptors have looked like a team that could run the table before, but there’s one huge difference between then and now. These Raps have a superstar in Leonard, and that makes all of the difference. Toronto might finally make it to the NBA Finals for the first time ever, and anything could happen once they get there.

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