When the final buzzer sounded on the Toronto Raptors last season, the team was left deflated on its home court after a crushing last-second Game 7 loss. It was an ending to a season that no one – not pundits, not fans, maybe not even management – could have predicted. After 18 games and a 6-12 record, it appeared as though the Raptors were destined for yet another forgettable season, lodged firmly in the bottom third of the NBA.
Instead, after trading Rudy Gay, somehow everything clicked.
The Raptors stormed to a 42-22 finish, good for a franchise record 48 wins, the Atlantic Division crown and third place in the Eastern Conference. DeMar DeRozan – the longest tenured Raptor, along with Amir Johnson – was selected to his first All-Star team. Kyle Lowry had the finest season of his career, notching career bests in points and assists. Terrence 
Ross and Jonas Valanciunas took strides to define themselves as NBA players, while Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, both acquired in the Gay trade, headlined a previously anemic bench unit. By regular season’s end, a once hopeless Raptors team had an exciting young core of players pushing the experienced Brooklyn Nets to the brink in the postseason.
That’s where the Raptors find themselves as they embark on the franchise’s 20th season. With largely the same roster intact, optimism is running high, fans are excited and expectations are at a level the team hasn’t felt in over a decade. Here are five things to keep an eye on.
1. Celebrate good times. One of the underrated aspects of a successful sports franchise is holding a strong belief that you belong. For the Raptors – a team many NBA fans have forgotten about since the heady days of Vince Carter – it is important just to be seen. The franchise entered a summer filled with speculation as to whether they could maintain the momentum they had built last season. GM Masai Ujiri responded by re-signing all of the team’s pending free agents – first and foremost Lowry, then in quick succession Vasquez and Patterson. The message was simple: The Raptors are serious.
For the first time in years, the Raptors will play nationally broadcast regular season games. Drake, the team’s “Global Ambassador,” will invariably transmit as much of a pro-Raptors message as he can. The team hopes to have DeRozan return to the All-Star Game, along with Lowry. While it is true that the Raptors still lack a true NBA superstar that brings both household name recognition and competitive accolades, they have laid the groundwork for a successful campaign on and off the court.
The question now becomes, will the Raptors shrink from the limelight or embrace their role on a bigger stage?
2. The fate of Amir Johnson. After all of Ujiri’s managerial string-pulling, there is still one discordant note ringing out: the upcoming contract status of Amir Johnson. When the Raptors first acquired Johnson from the Milwaukee Bucks, he was like many lanky big men in the league; full of hops, hustle and heart, but lacking in talent. The Raptors signed him to an optimistic five-year, $30 million deal anyway.
Since then, Johnson has become the crucial element to the Raptors’ defensive efforts – blocking shots, helping on D and striving to grapple with every opponent thrown at him – from the dynamic LeBron James to bruisers like Zach Randolph. His once-maligned offensive game has grown increasingly reliable, with even the glimmer of a 3-point shot. In short, Johnson has managed to play up to the value of his contract.
This season marks Johnson’s chance to fully declare exactly how much he is worth. And with the price tag for talented big men continuing to rise ($10 million each for DeAndre Jordan and Tiago Splitter, just to name two), the value Johnson demands from the Raptors may be very large indeed.
3. Roles for everyone. The Raptors come into the season with 10 players from last season’s team, plus newly acquired veteran Lou Williams joining James Johnson, the Brazilian duo of Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira, and either Greg Stiemsma, Will Cherry or Jordan Hamilton claiming the final roster spot. The maintenance of their team continuity provides well-defined roles for just about everyone.
As such, the Raptors find themselves at a developmental crossroads with two of their youngest players. Both Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas appear ready to make a leap in their mutual NBA careers. The Raptors just need to determine what kind of players each will become for this particular team.
For Ross, the need is shooting and wing defense. Does he have the ability to be more than a “3-and-D” player? It’s 
possible, but with so many ball-dominant players on the roster (DeRozan, Lowry, Vasquez and now Williams) it may be tough for him to exhibit much growth in that direction.
Likewise, Valanciunas seems poised to become a more efficient double-double machine in his third season with the
Raptors, especially after his strong showing in the World Cup. Will the team look to incorporate him more on offense or will he continue to be a third or fourth option? As part of a frontcourt contingent that still lacks a dominant low-post scorer, Valanciunas can be that player.
4. The injury bug. Lost in all the excitement of last season was the fact that the Raptors were extremely lucky on the injury front. The starting five of DeRozan, Lowry, Ross, Valanciunas and Johnson missed a total of 13 games due to injury. The only rotation player who lost significant time was Patterson, who missed a dozen games late in the season.
On the one hand, maybe this suggests that the entire team plays a thoroughly responsible style of basketball, or maybe they just played through pain. The team does have an even deeper and more balanced bench this season, with many players who can contribute in a variety of ways. This certainly helps over the stretch of a long 82 game season.
But on the other hand, it stands to reason that the law of injury averages could win out.
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5. Conference semifinals or bust? Having tasted the first round of the playoffs for the first time in over five years –
and losing a nail-biter of a Game 7 – the Raptors are past the “just happy to be here” stage. Ujiri has done his part to assemble a young, hungry team peppered with enough experience to push expectations as high as they’ve ever been. After the Gay trade last season, the Raptors crafted an identity based on an energetic, never-say-die attitude that has served them well.
It follows then that nothing short of at least a well-fought second-round battle will quell the uproar from Raptors fans. Yes, the top of the Eastern Conference is probably found in the rejuvenated Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, and a true championship run is still very unlikely. But for the Raptors to build on the success of last season, the potential of their offseason and the promise of the assembled talent both on and off the court, any other lesser outcome would feel like an immense disappointment.
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Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Same Page Team, a Toronto-based sports and culture site, and manager of SB Nation’s Raptors HQ blog. His work can be found at The Barnstormer and Bright Wall/Dark Room Magazine. Daniel also appears regularly on Global TV’s The Morning Show to talk about film. In his spare time, he enjoys movies, books, music, basketball and writing comics and screenplays. Follow him on Twitter.
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Amir doesn’t play for numbers or a contract. He doesn’t sign the highest dollar contracts offered just because they are the highest.
He plays to win period. That is what he is all about. If he needs to score like vs the Lakers 32 points the game after Gay was traded or in the 7th game of a playoff serioes 22 points on 11 shots he can score. However, that is not his role. With Ross emerging as the Raptors second option behind DeRozan Johnson probably won’t score any more than last season. He might however rebound a bit closer to his career per 36 numbers and play better defense if his ankles stay healthy. Doing those things does not get you a lot of money but it does help your team win.
Johnson is loyal to a fault. He could ahve signed for more money when he resigned with Pistons but he stayed because they drafted him. Casey has trusted enoough in Amir to make him a critical if not under the radar part of the Raptors success. Amir is also the most popular Raptors pllayer in Toronto Not on the court but for becuse of what he contributes to the city and his relationship with the fans. He isn’t about to give that up for a couple more million a year. Ujiri will resign him if he wants for a home team discount.
“When the Raptors first acquired Johnson from the Milwaukee Bucks”
It’s sloppy things like this that make me stop reading.
But it’s true… Amir was traded from Detroit to Milwaukee originally. Then a few weeks later the Bucks traded he and Sonny Weems to Toronto.
Perhaps you should keep reading. You’d learn things.
Correction: The Gay trade happened when Raptors were at 6-19. After the trade, they went 42-15 (not 42-22) to end their season at 48-34.
You’re confusing last seasons start with the previous season. The Raptors went 4-19 to start the 2012-2013 season. Last year they were 6-12 when they traded Rudy Gay on December 8th last season.