Title: Analytics on the Raptors: How good can they be when play resumes?
Date: June 8, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, Seth Partnow and I had a discussion about how the Raptors shape up analytically ahead of the NBA’s return to play.
We have spent a good deal of time during the NBA’s hiatus pondering the Toronto Raptors’ past and future. There isn’t much else to do when the present is so uncertain. As the buzz heats up about a potential return to play for the NBA, it’s worth revisiting where the Raptors were back on March 11 and where they might be if and when the NBA resumes play.
As a refresher, the Raptors were 46-18, pretty safely the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference (6.5 games back of Milwaukee and three ahead of Boston). They were tied for third in the league in net rating thanks to a defence that trailed only the Bucks and an offence that was just a shade better than average. And all of this, despite six of their top-seven rotation players missing at least 11 games.
To help us put some of those numbers in more appropriate context and project how the time off might change things for the Raptors, we enlisted the help of Seth Partnow, the former director of basketball research for the Milwaukee Bucks and The Athletic’s resident analytics expert.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 