Why Raptors fans should sit back, relax, and enjoy the Raptors this year

Coming off a down season where they missed the playoffs for the first time in a while, the Raptors look like a brand new team. The Greatest Raptor of All Time, Kyle Lowry, has left for the Miami Heat. New people have arrived to the team, including Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa. This is the start of a new era in Toronto, but we don’t yet know what’s going to happen.

I have seen many different Raptors fans have many different opinions about how good the Raptors will be this year. Some think we are a top 5 seed. Some think we will be the 12th seed again. I wouldn’t be surprised if we turn out to be either of those. This should be a year with no expectations for the Raptors. I might sound crazy, but let me explain.

The Raptors are building for the future. With younger plays like OG and Scottie Barnes, they have a bright future. They also have some veterans who can either be used as trade pieces or as big parts of this team when the Raptors start to win a lot of games again. The Raptors have a lot of talent on their roster, but we don’t know if it’s all going to work together yet. It could turn out to be really good. It could turn out to not quite work. We don’t know.

This year, the Raptors are doing a crazy experiment. If it works, it could break the NBA (I’m not kidding). Position-less basketball is something that if often talked about, but not always used by teams. The Raptors are testing the boundaries of positionless basketball this year. There is probably going to be a time where the Raptors shortest guy on the court is 6’8 or 6’9. Something like Barnes—OG—Pascal—Boucher—Achiuwa. If that kind of lineup works, then teams won’t know how to stop it. Thats one main reason why we shouldn’t have expectations for the Raptors this year. You could say that this is a testing season, where the Raptors experiment with different lineups.

Another reason to not have expectations for Toronto this year is something I’ve already mentioned. I think the Raptors have one of the widest ranges of potential final standings rank in the NBA. They could be the 5 seed. Maybe even the 3 seed (that’s pushing it though). They could be the 12th or 13th seed. They could finish with less than 30 wins. They could have 50+ wins. We don’t know, and I honestly don’t care. I’d be super happy with the Raptors making the playoffs. I would be happy with having a top 10 pick again.

In conclusion, I think that the sky is the limit for the Raptors this year. Anything could happen, which makes It an exciting year. So no matter what happens, we should sit back, relax, and enjoy watching the Raptors this year, cause one thing is for sure. Its going to be one fun season.