HOOPSAHOLIC

The Raptors sure did surprise a lot of people last season. There were rumors before the year started that Toronto wanted to "tank" its way to the worst record in the league in order to draft Canadian superstar Andrew Wiggins. Instead, the Raptors did the unthinkable: they actually won. They finished the year with a 48-34 record, and were one of the few bright spots in the Eastern Conference. They were in the top-10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and like Drake told us all.. we weren't ready for the "North Uprising". 

Kyle Lowry emerged as one of the prolific all around point guards last season, averaging 18 points to go along with 7.4 assists and five rebounds. In my opinion, Lowry was the key reason to the surprising success of the Raptors, and will be moving forward. The dude can hoop, it's as simple as that. People have criticized his attitude in the past, but under Dwayne Casey's guidance, Lowry seems to have finally found a home in the NBA. If he can continue that this season, I expect him to make an all-star appearance. 

One Raptor who did make an appearance at the all-star game last year was Demar DeRozan after averaging 23 points to go with his four rebounds and four assists per game. He's one of the more athletic wing players in the league who knows how to put someone on a poster. People have argued over the summer which back-court duo is the best in the league, and I think the tandem of DeRozan and Lowrey should be in the discussion. If those two guys can improve on what they did last year, Toronto could jump even higher than what I ranked them.

Remember that dude who was a lottery pick a few years ago..? I think his name is Jonas Valanciunas. But in all seriousness, Valanciunas played well last season after a sub-par year before. He averaged 11.3 points per game and hauled in 8.8 rebounds to lead Raptors post players in only 28 minutes a night. Dwayne Casey really wants Valanciunas to become a better rim protector, and Casey believes he should aim to be the best in the league. Most of the time when you think of a high draft pick you'd expect them to be one of the best players on the team. In this instance, Valanciunas doesn't have to be that guy with players like Lowry and DeRozan around him.  Valanciunas will continue to improve and I think we will see a great season and career out of the big man. 

Both Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson will fill out the rest of the starting lineup for the Raptors. Many experts believe this will be the breakout year for Ross as he builds off a season last year where he averaged eleven points and shot 40% from three-point range. He was the eighth overall pick in 2012, so the Raptors hope he will continue that improvement. Starting at power-forward, Johnson is a good post player that is known as the "glue guy" on this Toronto team. He's always hustling for loose balls and giving everything he's got, which is why the second round draft pick has had a successful ten-year career in the NBA. Last season he averaged 10.4 points and 6.6 rebounds and if he can continue that production into this season the Raptors will be in good shape. 

The key bench players for the Raptors should be both Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams. Vasquez has proven over his career that he's a reliable contributor at the point-guard position and he will be a solid backup to Lowry. Williams had a down year last season coming off of a knee surgery, but before that Williams was considered one of the more electrifying bench scorers in the league. The Raptors have a lot of solid pieces and if they continue to mesh well together, I expect them to be one of the better teams in the East this season. I project them to finish fourth in their conference and will have home court advantage in the playoffs.