Jumbo-sized Toronto Raptors are a problem for the rest of the NBA

Luka Doncic passes towards the Toronto Raptors (Ron Jenkins/Getty Photos)

If the remainder of the league is comprised of your conventional purple maple timber, this yr’s Toronto Raptors are the redwoods towering above the competitors. Even with All-Star level guard Fred VanVleet damage, the Raptors have planted their ft because the fifth-seed within the Jap Convention because of some unorthodox lineups and a decisive technique by coach Nick Nurse.

Of the highest eight gamers logging vital minutes with out VanVleet, the shortest of the bunch is Gary Trent Jr., a 6-foot-5 wing whose capability to leap into passing lanes and pester ball handlers has grown exponentially since he was dealt to Toronto on the 2021 commerce deadline. From there, each participant in a big position for the workforce is listed as 6-foot-8 or taller.

There’s an unprecedented development blooming within the jumbo Toronto Raptors.

Size, measurement and athleticism don’t imply a lot with out the practical talent or effort to match. This yr’s Raptors squad is a testomony to the way forward for the NBA. Bigger gamers aren’t simply confined to the basket anymore. To make it in in the present day’s recreation, you want to have talent and finesse as an alternative of leaning on measurement to hold you right into a rotation. Each single one of many Toronto Raptors bigs has some degree of distinctive talent, whether or not or not it’s playmaking, taking pictures, lateral quickness on protection, or a mixture of the three, which they’re utilizing to revolutionize the sport earlier than our eyes.