One of the most exciting up-and-coming teams in the NBA is the Toronto Raptors, and they are expected to play a key role in the Eastern Conference this year. They have a lot of young talent on the roster, but have also sprinkled in players with experience that will play key roles. Re-signing Kyle Lowry was their number one target heading into this offseason, and they were able to do just that along with acquiring Lou Williams from the Atlanta Hawks.

They didn’t make any other moves of note outside of signing, but they were able to re-sign bothandwho were key parts of last years team. Toronto wasn’t looking to make a free agency splash, but acquiring Williams is a very underrated move. He will add the bench scoring that the Raptors needed last year, and will help balance out the game.

It isn’t likely that they will compete for a championship this season, but they will be one of the teams looking to leap up to the third playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. They have the type of roster to surprise some teams in a seven-game series, and could be a team that makes a run to the Eastern Conference Finals despite a lot of odds being against them. Don’t be surprised to see Toronto put together a very successful season.

What five bold predictions can be made about the 2014-15 Raptors?