The path for the Toronto Raptors for overachieve vs. expectations in 2023-24

Episode 1498

In Episode 1485, Sean Woodley goes solo to discuss what might need to happen for the Toronto Raptors to overachieve compared to their preseason expectations going into the new NBA season. Building off the argument made by John Hollinger Tuesday at The Athletic about the Raptors being one of the teams he most expects to overachieve compared to their Vegas win projection in 2023-24, Sean details why the pure talent is certainly on hand for the Raptors to do just that, even if the fit between their top players is a major question. How can that poor fit be overcome? Sean gets into how the team's extra depth and added shooting (though it'd still be nice to have more), along with some pet combinations of players could help the Raptors be more versatile in the ways in which they try to win games, and help make the team in something greater than the sum of its parts. Lastly, Sean discusses how a more conservative style of defense that accentuates the individual defensive talent that the roster is loaded with, along with some needed strides from Scottie Barnes and to a lesser extent Gary Trent Jr., could have the Raptors defense sitting among the very best in the league, raising the team's floor substantially.

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