With DeRozan and Gay, the Raptors are an explosive outfit.
With some smart moves over the summer, Rudy Gay and the Toronto Raptors will be aiming to improve on last season’s showing and compete for a play-off spot this time round.
Gay’s arrival from the Memphis Grizzlies sparked a new lease of life into the team last season, but despite an upturn in fortunes it wasn’t enough to ensure a spot in the post-season.
Masai Ujiri has arrived as the new general manager at the franchise to replace Bryan Colangelo, and following his impressive work with the Denver Nuggets there is a great deal of optimism surrounding the future of the Raptors.
While they may have traded Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks this summer, they have made some decent acquisitions in an attempt to improve the overall look of the roster.
Tyler Hansbrough, D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak and Austin Daye have all arrived, and combined with Gay and DeMar DeRozan, they will hope to develop into a better team as the season progresses.
Much is also expected of Jonas Valanciunas this season after signs of progress at EuroBasket with Lithuania, but it remains to be seen whether he can grow into a real presence for Toronto.
Nevertheless, with DeRozan and Gay forming the strength of this team, they certainly have the pieces in place to impress. However, the key to their success will be efficiency, and both men will need to produce on a nightly basis if they are to harbour realistic hopes of a play-off campaign.
Similarly to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the last team preview, Toronto will form part of a group of teams hoping to sneak into the post-season in the Eastern Conference.
However, if you compare them to the competition then it appears that it will take something special for them to be preparing for an extended year.
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