The Toronto Raptors are 8-1 in their last 9 games, and tonight’s win against Charlotte is their fourth in a row, tying their previous four-game streak from earlier in the season. It feels like they’ve
won more in the last few weeks than they have in the past few years. So, is this real or just a phase?
The team had new walk-up songs for each player as they announced the starting lineup, the WE THE NORTH giant flag was once again passed through the crowd in the lower bowl, and usually stoic Darko Rajakovic was all smiles pre-game when they panned to him for the coach’s announcement. Plus, with the Raptors’ gorgeous purple city edition court back, it seemed like the vibes were up for a Monday night contest against the Charlotte Hornets.
Vibes were indeed up when they won 110-108.
Are the Raptors’ winning ways sustainable?
Scottie Barnes is putting it all together
Barnes has been on a hot streak lately, doing all of the things he was projected to do when he was drafted No. 4 overall back in 2021. Most recently, he broke a franchise record of longest streak of games with at least one steal and one block – doing it 10 times consecutively. He also recently tied for third place for youngest Toronto Raptors to reach 5,000 career points.
Barnes is currently averaging 19.7 points, just .2 away from his 19.9 points in 2024 that led to his first All-Star Game appearance. He’s also at a career high 50.3% field goal percentage, 1.8 blocks per game, and 1.5 steals per game.
If he keeps this up, he has a great case for another All-Star Game appearance, and also an All-Defense nod at the end of the season.
This is the kind of stuff people have been begging Barnes for, especially in the past few seasons. He definitely stepped it up that ASG year, but the team did not do well that season — a reason he wasn’t given the nod initially and then picked as an injury replacement. Last season, his off-court leadership definitely thrived, but again, the on-court result from the team didn’t match up.
Now, all the stars could be aligning. He could be playing this well AND be doing it on a winning basketball team.
Having a scoring leader like Ingram
Truly, one of the biggest differences of the season is having Ingram on offence. Another guy that can give you 20+ a night, overloads defences, and spaces out the floor for others to operate.
He’s leading the Raptors in points per game with 20.4 per contest, which has had a huge impact on their ability to win games. His 49.3% field goal percentage is his best since he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, beating any of the time he spent in New Orleans. He’s also averaging his highest rebounds per game (6.0) since his first season with the Pelicans.
While his defensive stats aren’t much to get too hype about, that’s not really his role here — it’s Scottie’s. He does what he can when it comes to defensive rebounding, staying active, and contributing to the team defensive schemes, but he’s never going to be a player that racks up blocks and steals like Barnes is, and that’s okay.
It’s his size, his high release point, and efficiency that make him the exact guy the Raptors wanted to acquire at the deadline last season. So far, he’s performing up to those hopes.
Having a real bench helps
The Toronto Raptors bench, led by players like Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jamal Shead, has been giving this team a boost in recent contests. As of Monday night, they rank No. 2 in the NBA in net rating, at +3.9, only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mamu is avergaing nearly 10 points off the bench, shooting 44.8% on three-point shots, leading all players on the team who make 2+ attempts per game.
There’s even been talk among fans of trying to switch around lineups so more of these bench players can start, and play more minutes. While it does not really feel like that is the direction the Raptors will go in, knowing there are those options to go to if the play decreases later in the season is nice.
The Raptors bench also ranks No. 6 in the league in 3-point percentage at 40%, and No. 8 in the league in field goal percentage at 47.4%. This is all despite ranking 20th in the league in total bench minutes.
Is all of this sustainable?
It could be. The Raptors have not had the easiest schedule to start the NBA season, and already have a few upset wins under their belts. They also have a decent chance of advancing in the NBA Cup tournament this year, and a shot at winning the tournament if they keep up what they are doing.
Now at 9-5 on the season, and the first time they have been this high above the .500 level in record since the 2022 season, they have the good start they need to form good habits.
After this brief stint at home, they will now head back out on the road to play Philadelphia before coming home for a four-game homestand. Their Friday night game is an NBA Cup game.
