Josh Lewenberg TSN Raptors Reporter Follow|Archive

The Toronto Raptors’ pre-season over/under for wins was set at 48.5. ESPN had projected them to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference behind, among others, the Charlotte Hornets. So it’s not just that league pundits were skeptical of their playoff viability, which would have been understandable given the team’s recent history, but many didn’t consider them to be a threat at all.

In hindsight it’s easy to look back at the naysayers and ask, ‘What were you thinking?’, but they were right to have their doubts. Despite their remarkable regular-season consistency over the previous four years, the Raptors were entering the new campaign with plenty of uncertainty – probably more than they’ve faced since their 2013-14 turnaround.

How would they replace the four veteran role players – nearly half of their rotation – they lost over the summer? How would their young players – relatively unknown commodities at the time – fare in their newly expanded roles? And, most importantly, how would the team take to their mandated system change?

As their regular season comes to a close in Miami on Wednesday, they’ve already clinched the East’s top seed and have a chance to reach the elusive 60-win plateau. To say they’ve been one of the NBA’s most pleasant surprises would be an understatement.

With so many guys deserving of recognition following the best season in franchise history, that brings us to TSN.ca’s third annual year-end Raptors awards. Once again, we asked 12 of Toronto’s players to make their picks for four different team awards – Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man, Most Improved and Most Valuable Player.

Note: Alfonzo McKinnie, Malachi Richardson and the club’s two-way players – Lorenzo Brown and Malcolm Miller – were not surveyed, as they were with Raptors 905 for the G League Finals. No guidelines were given. Players could vote for anyone that had appeared on the roster this season, including themselves.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Players’ pick: Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam: 42% (5)

Jakob Poeltl: 25% (3)

Serge Ibaka: 17% (2)

OG Anunoby: 8% (1)

Fred VanVleet: 8% (1)

Fan pick: Pascal Siakam

(Via Twitter poll)

Pascal Siakam: 66%

OG Anunoby: 18%

Serge Ibaka: 10%

Delon Wright: 6%

TSN pick: Pascal Siakam

A year ago, voting for this award was relatively straightforward. The Raptors’ defence was below league average until Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker showed up in February and turned things around. One of them had to win it. Tucker did, nearly unanimously despite being with the team for just seven weeks.

With the exception of some slippage in late March, the Raps have been one of the league’s best defensive teams this season, pretty much from start to finish. They’ll go into Wednesday’s finale allowing just 103.3 points per 100 possessions – ranked fourth in the NBA. For all the talk of their modernized offence, they’ve actually improved more of the defensive end.

The biggest reason for that is versatility. They’re switching in pick and roll coverage more than ever before, they’re running guys off the three-point line (their opponents attempt the second-fewest threes per game) and they’re challenging shots at the rim (only Portland’s opponents shoot a lower percentage inside five-feet).

Five different guys got at least one vote from the players themselves – Siakam, Poeltl, Ibaka, Anunoby and VanVleet. You could make a pretty compelling case for any of them, in addition to Delon Wright (who is tied for the team lead in steals) and Kyle Lowry (who leads the league in drawing charges).

However, there isn’t a defender on the roster more versatile and consistent than Siakam, who has successfully guarded all five positions (by design) throughout the course of the season. Toronto’s Swiss army knife, Siakam is quick enough to stay in front of perimeter players, long and wiry enough to protect the rim and his motor is second to none. You never see him quit on plays and he thinks the game better than most sophomores, which is especially impressive considering he only started playing basketball competitively when he was 18.

Anunoby may have been the early favourite for this award – a starter that routinely defends the opposition’s best wing player – but he tailed off towards the middle of his rookie season and missed some time to injury. Ibaka leads the team in blocks, many of them of the highlight variety, and probably has the biggest defensive impact when he’s at his best, but his effort is inconsistent.

Poeltl’s improvement as a rim protector in his sophomore season is notable but he still needs to get stronger to best defend his position. Siakam gets the nod for his ability to do it all, all the time.

SIXTH MAN

Players’ pick: Fred VanVleet

Fred VanVleet: 92% (11)

C.J. Miles: 8% (1)

Fan pick: Fred VanVleet

(Via Twitter poll)

Fred VanVleet: 93%

Pascal Siakam: 4%

Delon Wright: 2%

Jakob Poeltl: 1%

TSN pick: Fred VanVleet

Of the 46 five-man units that have played at least 200 minutes together this season, the Raptors’ bench mob ranks fifth in net rating, having outscored opponents by 18.7 points per 100 possessions. They’re not just the best bench in the NBA; they’re one of the most effective lineups, period.

The success of Toronto’s second unit can’t be attributed to any one player alone. That’s what makes them so dangerous. It’s probably also the biggest reason their youngest members were inexplicably left out of the Rising Stars Game at all-star weekend – the votes were split between them. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

All five guys bring something different to the table – Wright, VanVleet, C.J. Miles, Siakam and Poeltl. Who’s the best of them? That depends on the day. They’ve each won games for the Raps this season. So, for the purpose of this award, the better question is: Who is the most valuable?

The only Raptors player that didn’t vote for VanVleet here was VanVleet himself, which speaks to how much he is valued by his teammates. He’s a glue guy – like Patrick Patterson before him – a soft-spoken leader with a high basketball IQ and a knack for doing the little things on both ends of the floor.

However, while Patterson had developed a reputation – fairly or otherwise – for shying away from big moments, VanVleet has shown no such fear. He leads the team in fourth-quarter minutes and has taken and hit some clutch shots.

The Raptors outscore opponents by 12.5 points per 100 possessions with VanVleet on the floor – the best mark of the team’s regular rotation players. When the season began, most casual basketball fans wouldn’t have been able to pick the undrafted point guard out of a lineup.

Now, he’s made a name for himself. Since the Rising Stars snub, he’s done enough to separate himself from the rest of Toronto’s reserves in the race for NBA Sixth Man. Clippers guard and former Raptor Lou Williams will almost certainly win the award again, but VanVleet should show up on several ballots.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER

Players’ pick: Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam: 50% (6)

Delon Wright: 17% (2)

Jonas Valanciunas: 8% (1)

DeMar DeRozan: 8% (1)

Fred VanVleet: 8% (1)

Jakob Poeltl: 8% (1)

Fan pick: Fred VanVleet

(Via Twitter poll)

Fred VanVleet: 55%

Pascal Siakam: 25%

Jonas Valanciunas: 13%

DeMar DeRozan: 7%

TSN pick: Pascal Siakam

If there’s one award – and the voting behind it – that best exemplifies why the Raptors have exceeded expectations in 2017-18, it’s this one. The 12 Toronto players that were surveyed picked six different guys for most improved, which is a testament to the organization’s internal growth. More than half of the team’s rotation players took a step forward this year, including a couple of veterans many thought had already plateaued.

DeMar DeRozan was the TSN pick for this award in each of the last two seasons and may be even more deserving of it this year. At 28 and in his ninth NBA season he continues to get better and evolve as an all-around player (more on that to come).

Quietly, Jonas Valanciunas has put together the best season of his six-year career. This is a huge development for a player that seemed like the odd man out last summer, a misfit on a team trying to modernize itself in today’s pace and space league. But, as any good player does regardless of position or skill set, Valanciunas has adapted.

He was already great at the stuff he did well (rebounding, screening, scoring in the low post), but he’s added to and refined his game. He’s shooting the three now and has never looked better passing the ball or defending the pick and roll – a couple of his biggest weaknesses. His numbers don’t necessarily reflect the improvement but Casey trusts him in situations he wouldn’t have before and JV’s earned it.

VanVleet is the fan pick for this award but, as he’d tell you himself, the biggest difference between this year and last for him has been opportunity. He served as the emergency fourth point guard during his rookie season, spending most of the year in the D-League. Not to say he hasn’t improved, and he deserves full credit for running with that opportunity, but there’s more to his big year than simply getting better.

It’s a subjective award, of course. I generally avoid giving it to guys that didn’t play much the year prior (in this case, VanVleet and Wright) or sophomores, who are expected to grow in their second season (Poeltl).

Here’s why I’ve made the exception for Siakam, who is also a second-year player. It’s not just that he’s gotten better; it’s how he’s gotten better that’s impressive. Amazingly, Siakam is the Raptors’ most improved player without actually improving his biggest area of weakness: his jump shot.

After starting 38 games as a rookie, he became borderline unplayable by midseason as teams began ignoring him on the perimeter, daring him to shoot. However, there’s more than one way to make the defence pay for giving you space, as Siakam has proven this year.

The 24-year-old is blossoming into a point forward, growing leaps and bounds as a ball handler, passer and playmaker, which are developments no one saw coming – even people around the team. He looks like a completely different player than the one we saw last year.

He actually started this season as the 11th man in Casey’s 10-man rotation, only playing garbage minutes in the first three games before an injury to Valanciunas opened up some minutes. He would score a career-high 20 points in the fourth contest against Golden State and has played in every game since, never logging fewer than 12 minutes. His ability to create on the offensive end has allowed him to stay on the floor, unlocking his enormous defensive potential.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Players’ pick: DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan: 100% (12)

Fan pick: DeMar DeRozan

(Via Twitter poll)

DeMar DeRozan: 90%

Kyle Lowry: 10%

TSN pick: DeMar DeRozan

This is the first unanimous selection from the players in the three years we’ve been doing these awards, made possible by DeRozan voting for himself. That was a bit of a surprise – he voted for Lowry the last couple seasons – but I’ve got no problem with it. He’s worked damn hard, gotten better every year and earned the right to call himself the team’s most valuable player. Besides, he’s right.

Up until recently, I had been of the belief that Lowry was Toronto’s most important and irreplaceable player, even though DeRozan was putting up gaudier numbers. For me, the pendulum started to shift when Lowry missed most of the final two months of last season and DeRozan put the team on his back. He’s built on that momentum this year.

DeRozan was the biggest reason most people believed the Raptors’ couldn’t change their offensive stripes. He’s also the biggest reason they have. He’s fully bought into the new system and is no longer just a scorer, set in his old ways. He is taking fewer jumpers from midrange (35 per cent of his total shots, down from 48 per cent last year), shooting more threes (21 per cent of his shots, up from nine per cent) and his assist percentage (25.2, up from 20.6) is the highest of his career. Not only has he improved, again, but he’s done it in a way that’s helped his team successfully change their identity.

It took some time for Lowry to adjust to his new role – playing fewer minutes and handling the ball less, in part to preserve him for the playoffs – while DeRozan, to some surprise, hit the ground running. He has won five Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards, tied with James Harden for most in the NBA.

To his credit, Lowry’s bought in too and, after the slow start, has actually been the better player since early March, as DeRozan’s numbers have come down a bit – which is the reason he’s no longer on the fringe of the NBA MVP conversation.

Still, he’s had the better season and has done it all with a heavy heart. DeRozan has travelled back and forth from Los Angeles on off days at various points to be with his ailing father. He’s also battled depression. Despite his excellence on the court, opening up about what he’s been going through and empowering others to do the same was his most important contribution of the year.

DeRozan's the Raptors MVP, in more ways than one. Be proud of him.

PLAYER BALLOTS

OG Anunoby

Defensive Player: Siakam

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Siakam

MVP: DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan

Defensive Player: Poeltl

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Wright

MVP: DeRozan

Serge Ibaka

Defensive Player: VanVleet

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: DeRozan

MVP: DeRozan

Kyle Lowry

Defensive Player: Siakam

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Siakam

MVP: DeRozan

C.J. Miles

Defensive Player: Siakam

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: VanVleet

MVP: DeRozan

Lucas Nogueira

Defensive Player: Anunoby

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Siakam

MVP: DeRozan

Jakob Poeltl

Defensive Player: Siakam

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Siakam

MVP: DeRozan

Norman Powell

Defensive Player: Siakam

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Poeltl

MVP: DeRozan

Pascal Siakam

Defensive Player: Poeltl

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Wright

MVP: DeRozan

Jonas Valanciunas

Defensive Player: Ibaka

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Siakam

MVP: DeRozan

Fred VanVleet

Defensive Player: Poeltl

Sixth Man: Miles

Most Improved: Siakam

MVP: DeRozan

Delon Wright

Defensive Player: Ibaka

Sixth Man: VanVleet

Most Improved: Valanciunas

MVP: DeRozan