Toronto Raptors 2014-15 Season Preview, Prediction

The Raptors no longer have John Salmons, who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. 3-point specialist Steve Novak was sent to the Utah Jazz, and Nando De Colo went to play overseas. Some less familiar reserve guards by the names of Dwight Buycks and Julyan Stone were waived by Toronto.

Toronto was able to re-sign Kyle Lowry, Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez, who are core guys for this young team. Interesting additions include Lou Williams and Lucas Nogueira, who came over in a trade for John Salmons. James Johnson was picked up from free agency and hopes to be a defensive threat. Will Cherry was impressive enough during the Summer league to earn a minimum contract. Finally, they drafted Bruno Caboclo.

Kyle Lowry (PG), Terrence Ross (SG), and DeMar DeRozan (SF) will carry the heavy offensive lifting. Amir Johnson (PF) and Jonas Valanciunas (C) will take care of the paint.

Greivis Vasquez and Louis Williams will see minutes in the backcourt. Patrick Patterson will be readily available in the post. Chuck Hayes, Landry Fields and James Johnson will pick up the excess minutes in the rotation.

The Toronto Raptors finished last season winning the Atlantic Division with a record of 48-34. Look for another strong finish by the Raptors this season. They’ll win the Atlantic again and finish third overall in the East with a record of 49-33. They have a good chance of making their first Eastern Conference Finals this season, if they can get rolling when it counts.