It is easy to describe the Toronto Raptors as boring. While the franchise is in the midst of the best run since its inception, some high-profile playoff flameouts color the fact that Toronto is riding a wave of four consecutive seasons with 48-or-more victories and back-to-back seasons with 50-plus wins. Coming into the 2017-2018 campaign, the Raptors were seen, at least to some degree, as an Eastern Conference also-ran, in part due to the fact that, well, they didn’t do anything “new” in one of the NBA’s craziest offseasons in recent memory.
Toronto returned the dynamic duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan at the top with an interesting supporting cast headlined by the likes of Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell. The Raptors’ big move of the offseason was to effectively jettison DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn but, aside from that, this group is remarkably reminiscent of a 51-win team from a year ago. While the development of youth in supporting roles has been key, the Raptors have quietly rattled off four straight victories to claim an 11-5 record and, perhaps more importantly, a top-five net rating (+7.1) in the entire league.
Should this be a surprise? Absolutely not. Skeptics will point to the fact that this certainly isn’t the first time that Toronto has been impressive in the regular season and playoff success has eluded them in part because of the struggles of the team’s leading duo. Still, the Raptors are doing it this year with a more balanced attack, overriding what has been a shaky start from Lowry and utilizing growth from Powell and youngsters like Jakob Poeltl and rookie OG Anunoby.
In short, the Raptors look the part of a top-four team in the East yet again, even if they are destined to be overlooked with the far more intriguing units in Boston, Washington and even Milwaukee in pursuit of Cleveland. Toronto isn’t sexy but they are certainly effective as a group and, while the question of what that actually means through the prism of title pursuit remains, there is real value in putting out a consistent, 50-win product on an annual basis for a franchise that simply did not have that under previous regimes.
Where do the Raptors land this week in our Dime Power Rankings? Well, let’s find out.
1. Boston Celtics (16-2, Last week — 3rd)
No, I don’t actually believe that Boston is the best team in the NBA. With that said, the Celtics haven’t lost a game in more than a month and knocked off the Warriors in a head-to-head match-up this week. If that isn’t the recipe for unseating Golden State at the top of this list, it just wasn’t going to happen. Don’t worry, it will flip back again when/if the C’s ever actually lose.
2. Golden State Warriors (13-4, Last week — 1st)
There are no actual concerns with a Warriors team that has won 9 of 10 games. I promise you that. For good measure, simply note that Golden State’s net rating (+13.1) dwarfs that of any other team in the Association.
3. Houston Rockets (13-4, Last week — 2nd)
Much like Golden State, Houston has a recent loss to an Eastern Conference contender (Toronto) but, aside from that, the wins keep flowing. The most recent, a 22-point win in Memphis, was certainly strong as well.
4. Toronto Raptors (11-5, Last week — 8th)
I don’t have it in me to vault the Raps ahead of the Rockets, even with a recent head-to-head win. Still, Toronto’s “boring” accomplishments will likely continue on the way to 50-plus wins.
5. San Antonio Spurs (11-6, Last week — 5th)
There couldn’t be anything less sexy than what the Spurs are doing, but posting an 11-6 record (with some real wins) without Kawhi Leonard is genuinely awe-inspiring. If you took this roster away from Gregg Popovich’s system, it would be hard to envision more than a .500 result but, in the end, magic happens in San Antonio and that is continuing this season.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-7, Last week — 14th)
Cleveland’s defensive rating (109.4) remains the worst in the NBA and five straight victories only paper over that legitimate concern. The Cavs are still good at basketball when they want to be but, unlike previous seasons, there is no established safety net of even competence on the defensive end. We’ll see if that changes.
7. Washington Wizards (10-7, Last week — 6th)
The Wizards are too flippant with their regular season effort for a team that has never won anything. That needs to be said. Washington is also a good basketball team when they provide a bit of energy.
8. Detroit Pistons (11-6, Last week — 4th)
Detroit was already going to drop a spot or two after two losses earlier in the week. Then, the Pistons lost by 28 at home to the Cavs. There is no shame in losing to LeBron and company but that showing didn’t speak well for SVG’s team.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-7, Last week — 7th)
The Wolves fall behind the Pistons after… losing to the Pistons. In fact, this spot might be overrating a team that is currently being outscored for the season. Blind faith, perhaps?
10. Portland Trail Blazers (10-7, Last week — 11th)
Everything comes down to whether you buy Portland’s defense continuing to operate at a high level. I really don’t but, in the same breath, the offense hasn’t risen to the heights that we expect just yet. It’s been a weird but successful start.
11. Denver Nuggets (10-7, Last week — 13th)
The Nuggets have been alarmingly bad on the road but, in true Denver fashion, things are going well at the Pepsi Center. There are also signs that the Nuggets are finally running more of the offense through Nikola Jokic, meaning order is being restored.
12. Indiana Pacers (10-8, Last week — 23rd)
Break up the Pacers! After basically giving up on Indiana as a thing, four straight victories have us remembering they exist again. The team’s next game (at home against Toronto) should tell us a bit about whether this recent run is real but the Pacers didn’t just fade into obscurity willingly and that is encouraging.
13. Philadelphia 76ers (9-7, Last week — 12th)
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are preposterous and Robert Covington is out of his mind. Not everything is translating into full-blown success from a team perspective but, when Embiid turns heel on Donovan Mitchell on the way to a win, you’re willing to overlook some things.
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (7-9, Last week — 9th)
The Thunder are sixth in net rating. The Thunder are 7-9. I think it’s safe to say there has been some negative luck involved but OKC is also contributing to its demise with late-game meltdowns and two recent road losses (to quality teams) didn’t fix the problem. I’m not worried but we have to dock them for now.
15. New Orleans Pelicans (9-8, Last week — 16th)
I know, Pelicans fans. You just beat the Thunder. Before that, though, New Orleans lost by 32 points in Denver. All of the results matter.
16. Milwaukee Bucks (8-8, Last week — 15th)
We haven’t learned a ton about what the Bucks will ultimately look like with Eric Bledsoe but a 32-point road loss to Dallas (!) isn’t ideal from the perspective of the present. On the bright side, we can look forward to Bledsoe returning to Phoenix later this week.
17. New York Knicks (9-7, Last week — 18th)
It is going to take more than 16 games for me to buy that the Knicks are a quality team but there are positive signs. Namely, Kristaps Porzingis has been that good this season.
18. Charlotte Hornets (7-9, Last week — 19th)
Charlotte dropped six straight before rallying with back-to-back wins but the most recent result (a 118-102 win over Minnesota) is the reason for this move in the pecking order. Oh, and it helps to have Nic Batum back in the fold.
19. Miami Heat (7-9, Last week — 21st)
The Heat have been frustratingly bad this season and the pile of money invested in various free agents looks to be going largely to waste. As we’ve seen, though, Miami is capable of turning it on for long periods of time and they need a run like that to inspire additional confidence.
20. Memphis Grizzlies (7-9, Last week — 14th)
Three straight losses in the absence of Mike Conley (and five straight overall) mean that Memphis is in free fall. This is a team that is ill-equipped to deal with absences from either Conley or Marc Gasol and, in short, we’ve already seen that come to fruition.
21. Orlando Magic (8-9, Last week — 17th)
Losing five straight to erase a lot of goodwill isn’t the best recipe. To be fair, four of those losses were to current playoff teams but you have to go out of your way to be excited about what Orlando has done recently.
22. Los Angeles Lakers (7-10, Last week — 24th)
The Lakers are… not terrible! L.A. sits in a tie for 21st in net rating (-1.7) and, somehow, this is a top-five defense. That isn’t going to continue but the offense should improve to balance things out and you have to assume that Lonzo Ball will figure some things out as well.
23. Utah Jazz (7-11, Last week — 20th)
Quin Snyder’s team has dropped four of six without Rudy Gobert and, even if there are peripheral signs of encouragement, it’s tough to envision Utah hanging around long enough without the big man in the middle. Hurry back, Stifle Tower.
24. Phoenix Suns (7-11, Last week — 26th)
Phoenix is (somehow) operating as essentially a .500 team in the post-Earl Watson era. I’m not sure that’s real but it’s not as ugly as you may think if you understandably tuned out from Suns basketball after their early disaster.
25. Brooklyn Nets (6-10, Last week — 25th)
The absence of D’Angelo Russell will hurt from a shot creation standpoint but it also should help Brooklyn’s defense to stabilize. This isn’t a good basketball team but they’ve shown (repeatedly) that this is a team boasting the ability to stay competitive on a nightly basis.
26. Los Angeles Clippers (5-11, Last week — 22nd)
Woof. There are injuries in the mix for the Clippers but nine consecutive losses can only be described with dread. Is L.A. actually this bad? No, but digging out of a 5-11 hole to make a playoff run in the West seems rather unlikely.
27. Atlanta Hawks (3-14, Last week — 27th)
From a peripheral perspective, the Hawks don’t appear to be as bad as their record indicates. Atlanta’s losses are largely competitive and that matters but there is only so much credit to be given for lambasting Sacramento at home.
28. Dallas Mavericks (3-15, Last week — 29th)
Dallas nearly played spoiler against Boston on Monday but, well, they didn’t. The Mavs continue to sport the worst record in the league and, even with signs of life, it is tough to place any trust until we see the bounce-back many project.
29. Sacramento Kings (4-13, Last week — 28th)
Sacramento owns (easily) the worst net rating in the league and, frankly, they “deserve” the No. 30 spot after a 46-point loss to the Hawks. That is basically an impossible result but, in the next game, the Kings rebounded with a (random) quality win over Portland to avoid complete and udder futility.
30. Chicago Bulls (3-11, Last week — 30th)
The Kings are jarringly bad but, frankly, it seems as if the Bulls are worse. Yes, Chicago knocked off the Hornets at home this week but it is more difficult to struggle in this way while playing in the East and there isn’t a lot of optimism to look to on this roster. Zach LaVine can’t return soon enough.
