Raptors superfan and stand-up comedian Nathan Caton assesses the 2021-22 season for his team, then takes a look at the 2022-23 campaign for Toronto.
Where does my love for the NBA and the Raptors come from…
I am Nathan, I’ve been a comedian and a Toronto Raptors fan since 2000, when I saw Vince Carter compete in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. It was like the culmination of a perfect storm. I had been a basketball fan since the mid 90s but had never had a team, but as soon as I saw the man nicknamed “half man, half amazing” it all made sense.
I have a lot of family in Toronto on both sides, my dad first took me to Toronto when I was 11 and I fell in love with the city, and now I was watching this guy put on a Raptors jersey doing these amazing, mind – doing dunks…all the stars had aligned in my head. I was a Toronto Raptor. Little did I know the dunk contest would be one of the few highlights as a Raptors fan for MANY years to come!
My favorite players
For ages it was Kyle Lowry – he will always be “Mr. Toronto” and I hope to see him return as a coach one day.
Now, honestly, I don’t have a favorite. I love the elements of each player: I love how Fred Vanvleet aka ‘Mr Bet On Yourself’ went from undrafted to championship winner and now the leader of our team; I love Gary Trent Jr following in his father’s footsteps and how reliable he is beyond the arc; I love how frosty OG Anunoby is – has anyone ever seen him smile? I love the energy and enthusiasm of Scottie Barnes and being excited about how far this kid can go; I like Siakam’s determination. When things aren’t going well for us, he takes a lot of criticism, but if you look at his stats from the second half of the season, he was averaging over 20 points per game.
Last season’s grade: B
The obvious highlight: Scottie. Barnes!
This kid is fire!!! The only thing brighter than his future in the game is the white suit he wore on draft night!
Last season was a development season for us, which I think was just fine. We have a young core, so we need time to let that build. We still made the playoffs and there’s enough to suggest the future is bright. As Raptors fans say, “In Masai (Ujuri) We Trust.”
In terms of disappointments, I would say our lack of a quality big man. We didn’t really replace the big men of Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol from the 2019 championship winning season so we had to play small ball for a lot of the season which was okay until that we meet teams with a dominant quality. big.
Also, our bench depth was lacking for big games, which meant our starters were playing heavy minutes!
Assess the offseason for the boys
A quality big man and keeping that young core together was crucial. There had been rumors that OG Anunoby wanted to leave, but that didn’t happen, which is great. There had also been rumors that we were interested in KD, but that would definitely have meant blowing up our talented young roster, and probably even more – as every Raptors fan’s firstborn must be called KD – that kind thing. So we kept the list together. We didn’t trade for a big star man, but we did draft a young center, so we’ll see what happens.
It’s also worth mentioning that bringing in Otto Porter Jr could be a masterstroke! He will add experience, length and depth, and improve our shot from three. I didn’t see this trade coming, but I’m glad it happened.
Points to Note from the 2022 NBA Draft
Indeed, we picked up the young Christian Koloko. He’s 7-foot-1, so a pretty big one. He was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last season, which fits our philosophy as Nick Nurse plays hard on defense. He’s not ready yet, but with the Raptors having one, otherwise the best development teams in the league, I’m intrigued and excited to see what they can do with him.
The Raptors’ goals for next season
I would say building on last season’s work. Hit the playoffs again and compete even more when we get there. We’re close…maybe just one piece missing and then we can compete for the chip again.
Three forecasts for the coming season…
- OG Anunoby will smile once this season.
- Pascal Siakam rotates so much during a play that he creates his own power supply.
- During a game against the 76ers where the Raps are up 20 in the closing stages of the fourth quarter, Nick Nurse brings in Drake just to rub him in the face of Joel Embiid.
Why should people watch the Raptors?
In the first round of last season’s Eastern Conference playoffs, Pascal Siakam dropped 34 points for the Toronto Raptors in their Game 4 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to keep their hopes alive.
Watching an exciting young group of players develop and improve. Plus, the atmosphere inside Scotiabank Arena is amazing!
