Toronto has spent the cash and drafted young talent, so what's next?

The Toronto Raptors fit the profile of a team that really should be going for it all at this time. They've two most likely All-Stars in their primes, and they just opened the vault in cost-free agency for any fantastic positional match who turns 30 this summer season.(click here to buy NBA 2k16 MT)

And soon after two straight first-round playoff losses, such as an embarrassing sweep against the Washington Wizards last season that nearly resulted inside a coaching modify, the Raptors are hungry to prove their guard-heavy brand of ball can win in April and May possibly.(come to 2k16 MT) t

"It's cool to produce the playoffs," Kyle Lowry told ESPN.com. "It's not cool to drop inside the initial round anymore. The purpose is always to make the Finals."

Toronto is a single of just 4 teams inside the prime 10 in each points scored and permitted per possession. The offense was effective last season, but those Drakes relied as well significantly on pull-up jumpers along with the floppy ref-baiting of Lou Williams -- junk that doesn't hold up against playoff defenses. They've shaved away five pull-up jumpers per game and replaced them with far better stuff -- catch-and-shoot appears, absolutely free throws and about nine additional drives to the basket, based on SportVU tracking data analysis.

Lowry and DeMar DeRozan perform as co-point guards, coaxing the defense in a single path ahead of swinging for the other side as opponents rush to tilt back into balance:

"We've gotten actually very good at attacking gaps," coach Dwane Casey told ESPN.com.

After bleeding points last season, the Raptors hired Andy Greer, a Tom Thibodeau lieutenant from Chicago, to help Casey install a much more conservative scheme on defense. Masai Ujiri, the team's common manager, spent practically $95 million combined on 3 defense-first totally free agents: DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo. The defense hasn't been as air tight as Casey would like, specially when Jonas Valanciunas is around the floor, but the Raptors feel more like a solidly constructed property.

"This is definitely the ideal team I've ever played on," DeRozan told ESPN.com at shootaround in New York final week, several hours following understanding Carroll had undergone knee surgery which will preserve him out most of the standard season.

Yet there is a lingering sense that we've seen this film twice just before: the Raptors as a perfectly good team not fantastic adequate to advance, and not sure the best way to close the gap. "How do you get from very good in the NBA to excellent?" Ujiri asked. "That is seriously difficult."

---