Returning Jonas Valanciunas to the starting lineup for Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday was a justifiable move.The Toronto Raptors weren't going to … Poeltl seems to be the presumptive heir to Valanciunas’ minutes, and is another top-10 centre pick who has impressed in his first two seasons. But if The Process himself, Joel Embiid, and 2016 first-overall pick Ben Simmons (who missed all of last season) are healthy enough to play, they should join 2017 first-overall pick Markelle Fultz and veteran acquisition J.J. Redick in the starting lineup for most of the season, en route to some marked improvements for the perennially moribund Sixers. Dion Waiters was re-signed after a career year where he helped the Heat to a 30-11 record in the second half of 2016-17, and a healthy Justise Winslow should re-assume his starting SF role, with James Johnson possibly serving as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate at both forward spots. Everything worked for the most part when those five men were starting, which is why Washington mostly focused on retooling the bench. Last year, Patterson again took a back seat to a rookie Pascal Siakam, who had not really found his feet defensively yet (his improvement there this year being one of the biggest positive story lines for the team). Lineup | Minutes Played | Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | Net RatingKL-DD-SI-JV: 228 MP, 111.6 ORTG, 111.4 DRTG, +0.2 RTG. So here we are again. But let’s at least look at what options the Raptors have. We never really got to see that experiment play out — would Patterson have fixed the starting lineup? That's because Kelly Olynyk, despite the rich free agent deal, should assume the starting 4 spot by virtue of his height, though we're not expecting him to be much better than he was as a Celtic – instead, he may continue to alternate between big games and complete duds, even as a full-time starter. Neither is Willy Hernangomez, who did, to his credit, surprise many with a late-season surge that led to a First Team All-Rookie berth. The two guards combined for 40 points, as Toronto won a sloppy battle against Charlotte. But due to the fact he remains unsigned, we're wagering Tyson Chandler remains a starter in his 17th NBA season. Date: November 15, 2017 Original Source: The Athletic Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about OG Anunoby’s first career start and whether that might prove a long-term fit for the Raptors. Projected Starting Lineup: Jusuf Nurkic (C), Al-Farouq Aminu (PF), Moe Harkless (SF), C.J. One of Valanciunas or Poeltl likely gets buried, and Nogueira can kiss his somewhat sporadic minutes goodbye. Well, this is going to be interesting. They may, however, want to start planning ahead and looking for someone to replace Gortat at center, as he turns 36 during this season's All-Star weekend. On that contract, VanVleet continued to take significant strides, playing a key role in the Raptors’ championship run in 2019 and then entering the starting lineup on a full-time basis last season. My personal theory? The bad news... well, I’ll show you. Of course, you can't go wrong with the backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, both of whom are coming off career years, Lowry's injury woes notwithstanding. The difference this year is they are able to outscore a lot of those issues, which may not be considered acceptable as a strategy. No doubt about it, the Atlanta Hawks are rebuilding, and are likely to finish close to, or at the bottom of the East. The offense dips considerably, but not enough to wash out the defensive improvement, and they post a slight positive rating. It’s become an all-too-familiar refrain this time of year. What Is The Toronto Raptors Starting Lineup And Float Fest 2017 Lineup ENJOY WITH GREAT DEALS AND LOW PRICES PRODUCTS HERE. The sun is quickly setting on Dirk Nowitzki's career, but a look at his supporting cast suggests that he might have to settle with not going out with a bang. The C's definitely got the better end of their trade with the Cavs, as Kyrie Irving is arguably one of the NBA's top three PGs, and a more complete player than Isaiah Thomas. There should be concerns about how Ibaka would hold up at C over the long haul. They’ve played a lot more in 1st and 3rd Q’s, as you’d expect, so their awesome play later in halves is just managing to balance out their overall numbers. So, that’s not great. But why? Pacers fans, welcome to life after PG13. What the heck, right? Shop for cheap price Raptors Starting Lineup 2017 And Starting Lineup Raptors .Price Low and Options of Raptors Starting Lineup 2017 And Starting Lineup Raptors Are you a … ... 2017, 9:58am EST ... and please comment about what you think should be done with the Raptors’ starting lineup, whether it … Teams. Do you completely bury Valanciunas, probably further damaging any limited trade value he might have? Realistically, only one of them will earn that starting small forward role. That’s insane. Obviously, the big news in Charlotte is that Dwight Howard, once unquestionably the NBA's best center, is making the Queen City his latest in a growing list of NBA stopovers. Shop for Philadelphia Eagles Starting Lineup Super Bowl And Raptors Starting Lineup 2017 18 Philadelphia Eagles Starting Lineup Super Bowl And Raptors Starting Thanks to his veteran smarts and defensive ability, Thabo Sefolosha looks to be the prime candidate, though Dante Exum may finally come through after a disappointing run thus far, injury-prone Alec Burks may reclaim his old form, and Donovan Mitchell may prove pleasantly surprising as the team's 13th-overall pick in the 2017 draft. After four years of teases, we would have figured Alex Len would finally be ready to assume the starting center role in Phoenix from day one. Site Last Updated: Tuesday, October 20, 4:30AM Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? On the other hand, Lonzo Ball is looking good as a potential franchise player in the making, though he's obviously unproven as a rookie, while Julius Randle should continue making improvements at the 4. There's not much different with the Raptors, looking at this prospective starting lineup for opening day of the 2017-18 NBA season. But the Clippers should remain competitive, as Blake Griffin re-upped for a cool $173 million over five years, and DeAndre Jordan is also back to provide tons of rebounds, blocks...and missed free throws. Power forward is a bit more complicated, as you've got the talented Dario Saric (more of a natural 3) and Jahlil Okafor (injury-prone and underachieving), and Richaun Holmes, who owes his success to hard work more so than anything else. Lineup | Minutes Played | Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | Net RatingKL-DD-SI-JP: 27 MP, 89.8 ORTG, 115.9 DRTG, -26.1 RTGKL-DD-JP: 73 MP, 102.8 ORTG, 118.1 DRTG, -15.3 RTG. When you consider that the vast majority of those 1st and 3rd quarter minutes would have come after about six minutes, that muddies the waters as well. While the Raptors aren’t the same team they were last year, it’s perhaps worth interrogating where they’ll actually stand in the Eastern Conference for 2020-21. Height: 6' 2 Weight: 175lbs DOB: 05/10/1998 Prior to NBA: San Diego State Country: Jalen Harris would be headed to the G League right now, except plans for that are on hold. Now, again, that’s not what you want. Labissiere will be competing against veteran acquisition Zach Randolph, while 15th-overall pick Jackson looks to start because the Kings are woefully weak at the 3, no thanks to Rudy Gay's departure. First, the obvious lineup change, the one Casey tried against the Pacers to no avail: Bring Siakam in to play PF, move Ibaka to C, and run a small, switchy defensive look. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the big free agent signing, and while he now has more chances to shine, he's not the game-changing youngster the Knicks sorely need another one or two of. Do nothing (the LeBron heat death option) Look, the Raptors starting lineup has been a problem all season. That's still not enough, though, to bring the Pistons back to the playoffs. When not writing about wrestling, basketball, football, and MMA (at least on this site), Enzo plays drums in a band, competes in trivia quizzes, and collects vintage sports annuals when he can afford them. Personally I think that although Poeltl has shown great promise and has really helped that bench unit, he’s just not physically ready for the starting bigs this league can throw at you. With that purpose of tanking in mind, it's no surprise that their projected starting lineup includes a third-year man (Willie Cauley-Stein), two second-year men (Buddy Hield and Skal Labissiere), and a rookie (Justin Jackson). Myles Turner returns as arguably the Pacers' top player following the exit of Paul George – look for him to continue growing as one of the league's most versatile big men. The Raptors struggle out of the gate, and struggle in third quarters. Toronto could trot out a small-ball lineup featuring Lowry at the point, Powell, DeRozan, and Miles on the wings, and Ibaka at the center position. We think Saric might get the nod, with Holmes serving as top frontcourt man off the bench. Another bench unit killing other teams (in spite of the unit being completely different from the ones in years past). Makes sense — stylistically that lineup couldn’t be much more different than the current one. Lineup | Minutes Played | Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | Net RatingKL-DD-PS-SI: 73 MP, 106.0 ORTG, 102.3 DRTG, +3.7 RTG. The Golden State Warriors will be aiming for their third NBA championship in four seasons in 2017-18, and while that doesn't sound as sexy as an actual three-peat, this team has the makings of a dynasty. Projected Starting Lineup: Jonas Valanciunas (C), Serge Ibaka (PF), Pascal Siakam (SF), DeMar DeRozan (SG), Kyle Lowry (PG). So do you "trust the process" now that there's a better chance things will finally fall in place for the 76ers? Projected Starting Lineup: Karl-Anthony Towns (C), Gorgui Dieng (PF), Jimmy Butler (SF), Andrew Wiggins (SG), Jeff Teague (PG). Another year, another struggling starting lineup. HAHAHAHA PUTANGINA HAHAHAHA I LOVE THE PLAYOFFS HAHA — Ja Salazar (@_heyja) April 21, 2017. New arrival Rudy Gay, provided he's healthy all year round, may replace Danny Green in the starting lineup, though a big-time drop in productivity is expected, now that he's on a talented team, one that still has Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. So... yeah, that’s not great. And we’ve got the up and coming Poeltl making a straight positional substitution, which has been a disaster so far this year. You also have Kyle Lowry still putting up strong numbers as the starting point guard. We’ll again isolate from the SF position and use the 4-man lineup of Lowry, DeRozan, Ibaka and Siakam to maximize the sample size. Projected Starting Lineup: Andre Drummond (C), Jon Leuer (PF), Tobias Harris (SF), Avery Bradley (SG), Reggie Jackson (PG). Or Milwaukee could do what they did last season and have Maker and Henson start, with Monroe as the team's sixth man. But let’s also put it in the context of the issues from the past, again using 4-man units, ignoring the revolving door at starting SF. Projected Starting Lineup: Jonas Valanciunas (C), Serge Ibaka (PF), Pascal Siakam (SF), DeMar DeRozan (SG), Kyle Lowry (PG) There's not much different with the Raptors, looking at this prospective starting lineup for opening day of the 2017-18 NBA season. That’s even worse than the not-so-nice -69 net rating the starters managed in the 1st half. — miserable okc fan (@westbrookismvp) April 21, 2017 "The Raptors starting lineup was introduced with the Barney theme song in Milwaukee." Player roster with photos, bios, and stats. Projected Starting Lineup: Marc Gasol (C), Brandan Wright (PF), James Ennis (SF), Tyreke Evans (SG), Mike Conley (PG). He racks up seven personal fouls per 36 minutes when playing with both Lowry and DeRozan. The Nets may be forced to start the mediocre Mozzy in the middle, with journeyman-caliber Trevor Booker being the closest they've got to a starting PF. It'll depend on several factors, not the least being his ability to coexist with the talented, yet traditionally toxic DeMarcus Cousins. I give you my my starting lineup and my bench for this upcoming season. Certainly, a player of Anthony Davis' caliber deserves to be in the playoffs on a regular basis. Barring injury, there's no way Jimmy Buckets won't be making a big impact on both ends of the court for the Timberwolves in 2017-18 – it also helps that he's reuniting with his former Bulls coach, Tom Thibodeau and another ex-Bull, Taj Gibson. In the meantime, he’ll put in work to become a Raptor and we’ll see how it goes. Of course, Hassan Whiteside should be leading the way as a must-own fantasy player (points, rebounds, blocks, FG%) and a must-have on any real-life team's starting lineup at center. The Sixers might as well trade Okafor, lest he further get lost in the shuffle. Paul George's arrival means reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook won't be the only superstar in a Thunder uniform in 2017-18, and while it could mean a decline to 25 ppg territory for Westbrook, he should still be a regular threat for Oscar Robertson-esque triple-doubles on a regular basis. The addition of Gordon Hayward via free agency offered an immediate big-time boost at the 3 spot, and Al Horford remains in place as a solid starter at center. Although this leaves Ibaka at PF where he has struggled a bit with quicker players, Poeltl is a tremendous help defender, and is at his best when defending the pick and roll in space, a notable weakness of Valanciunas’. Visit ESPN to view the Toronto Raptors team roster for the current season First, these are our projected lineups based on the team rosters as of September 6, 2017, which is when this article was completed. 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