RAPTORS BLOG: Regular season wrap-up and Sixers series preview
So it’s the end of the regular season for the Raptors. It was a major hit, with more to come (more on that later).
Pascal Siakam has re-established himself as an All-NBA level talent.
Fred VanVleet made his first all-star appearance and had his best season yet.
Gary Trent Jr. and Precious Achiuwa have made great strides forward, Trent is now a bona fide starting guard above average, while Achiuwa has shown he could be a solid starter down the road as well.
Chris Boucher bounced back from a shaky start to become a key part of the bench ahead of free agency.
When healthy, OG Anunoby played the best basketball of his career.
Scottie Barnes has exceeded all expectations and is a franchise changer with plenty of star appearances in his future.
Nick Nurse proved once again with this work that he is among the best of the best (and brought his all-time winning percentage back above 60%) and his staff excelled as well.
— Which brings us to the post-season and a third meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers. Everyone knows how the first two went – Vince Carter missed, the Raptors were slow to get back to that point, and the Sixers made their final NBA Finals appearance.
Then the Kawhi shot happened, the Raptors won the title, and Philadelphia has been juggling the roster to find the right fit ever since.
It’s highly unlikely that this series will be this dramatic or impactful, but you never know what can happen.
– On paper, this looks like a Sixers series win, but that ignores the fact that Joel Embiid just isn’t playing at MVP level against nurse-led teams and that James Harden looks like he’s lost a few steps and will face to an elite defense. .
We’re as high on Tyrese Maxey as anyone, and Raptors fans are gonna hate him by the time this streak is over, but everything tells me Toronto in six, unless Harden paid tribute to Muhammad Ali and rope-a-doping this season in a big way.
The Sixers will live on the free throw line – Embiid and Harden are masters at shooting fouls, the Raptors are extremely aggressive and physical (despite only ranking at 13
and
in fouls per game overall, they were near the top of the NBA in fouls in the first half of the season) and that will help them. They also face a weak shooting team in Toronto and one that has two key players (VanVleet and Anunoby) at less than 100%.
In addition, Philadelphia has the home field advantage.
– Still, all the pressure will be on the Sixers, with a ton on Harden, one of the all-time disappointing playoff players at this point in his career. They’re not a deep team, especially when top defender Matisse Thybulle isn’t available due to vaccination rules.
Looks like a Raptors win.
ANCIENT RAPTOR OF THE NIGHT:
Bismack Biyombo:
Nice to see Bismack back in the league and contributing to a contender. He had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in the season finale.
FORMER RAPTOR OF THE SEASON:
DeMar DeRozan:
DeRozan had the best season of his career at 32, which isn’t easy to do.
He entered the MVP race for the first time, setting career highs in scoring (27.9 per game) and three-point percentage and he had his second-best season in many other categories.
Honorable mention to centers Jonas Valanciunas and Jakob Poeltl.
NIGHT CANADIAN:
Oshae Brissett:
Brissett finished the season strong for the Pacers and in his final game, he lost 28 points, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Brissett hit 5 three-pointers and finished 35% from deep for the season. Brissett averaged 17.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his last 10 games of the year, shooting 39% from three points.
CANADIAN OF THE SEASON:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:
SGA averaged 24.5 points per game in his 56 appearances, which is a new record for Canadian players.
Andrew Wiggins’ highest average is 23.6, Jamal Murray’s high is 21.2, Steve Nash topped 18.8, RJ Barrett averaged 20 this season. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 23.7 last season, despite only playing
CHOOSE THE WATCH:
Toronto will send San Antonio on the 20th
and
or 21
st
draft pick, based on a toss with Denver. Under the agreement, Toronto will receive all 33
rd
choose via Detroit. So they fell 12 or 13 places to get Thaddeus Young
THREE STARS
1 Obi Toppin
2 Chris Boucher
3 Emmanuel Quickley
THREE STARS AGAINST. ROCKETS
1Pascal Siakam
2 Gary Trent Jr.
3 Kevin Porter Jr.
THREE STARS FOR APRIL
Pascal Siakam9 points
Gary Trent Jr 4
OG Anunoby 3
Scottie Barnes 2
chris butcher 2
Fred VanVleet 2
THREE STARS FOR THE SEASON
Pascal Siakam 97 points (What a brilliant year for Pascal, who almost doubled the points of the #2 Raptor).
Scottie Barnes 56 (a Monster rookie year).
Fred VanVleet 53 (He would have been in the 70 point range if he had stayed healthy)
Gary Trent Jr. 35 (Breakout Campaign)
OG Anunoby 30
Precious Achiuwa 13
chris butcher 11
Malachi Flynn 6
Yuta Watanabe 3
Dalano Banton 2
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