2018-19 NBA Season Preview: Toronto Raptors

Squad Weakness - Defense and Roster Chemistry

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan

Roster chemistry and continuity is going to be a huge issue for the Raptors in the upcoming season. Yes, a majority of their squad is still the same but they were key additions and changes made to the roster. Starting shooting guard DeRozan was a huge part of the team's offense and now that has to be restructured around a new starting All-Star caliber duo of Lowry and Leonard.

Simply by math, the team's roster has changed only by two players but the magnitude of that change will be visible in the early days of the 2018-19 season. In previous seasons through bad games, the guard combo of Lowry and DeRozan had their off-court chemistry to fall back on while Leonard doesn't really have anything of that sort with anybody on the team except Danny Green, who got traded to the franchise with him in the deal.

If the key roster changes weren't enough, the Toronto franchise also has a new coach in Nick Nurse. He has been with the squad as an assistant since 2013 so he's no alien to the structure or functioning of the organization but still.

Let's not forget their defense, especially when it matters the most. Although they were 5th in the regular season for defense, they were torn apart in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. In the postseason, they ranked 14th out of the 16th teams in defensive rating.

Leonard's addition helps that but from a defensive standpoint, they still have nobody who could serve as a reliable anchor amongst their bigs in the paint - Serge Ibaka, Pascal Siakam, Greg Monroe or Jonas Valanciunas.