National Basketball Association

SI's new The Crossover gives scouts' opinion on Raptors

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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What do real live (anonymous) NBA scouts say about the Raptors? We’ll turn to a recently unveiled source to find out.

Sports Illustrated [SI] debuted a new NBA-centric supplement to their coverage. Entitled “The Crossover”, they have opened with opinions from anonymous NBA scouts about every team.

Their take on the Toronto Raptors is enlightening, although I don’t concur with all of it. Here’s a few quotes in bold, and my reaction in italics.

Losing [center] Bismack Biyombo [to the Magic] will hurt them a little bit, but the addition of Jared Sullinger, alongside Patrick Patterson, allows them to spread the floor and be better offensively – Doing my best Liz Lemon [I wanted to find a “wait – what?” clip, but this one will do fine.]

Patrick Patterson alongside Jared Sullinger improves the offense by spreading the floor? I’ll pay to see that. Sullinger will improve the offense when he crashes the glass and provides second chances. If Patterson and Sullinger are on the floor together more than 2 minutes a game, I’ll eat my “We The North” shirt.

I don’t trust Terrence Ross as much as I do Norman Powell. When Ross doesn’t shoot well, he doesn’t really help you. – Let’s see if Norman can sustain his rookie performance before he pushes TRoss, or anyone else, aside. To be clear, I like Norman a lot, but he’s entering his second year. He shouldn’t be burdened with ultra-high expectations.

Oct 19, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) and guard Cory Joseph (6) walk to the bench during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Jonas Valanciunas will be a big part of what they do. Each year he gets a little better and last year I thought he was playing really, really well before he got hurt. He’s a low-post threat who can step out to 12 feet. He’s so strong and he’s got good hands. – They got that one right. We’re all hoping for defensive improvement from JV so he can stay on the floor in crunch time. There’s little worry about his offensive capability.

Kyle Lowry can make big shots. He can shoot the three; he can run a team. I would put him in the second tier of point guards. “Second tier?” Yeah, well, he was still playing while others had gone home. Keep underestimating him, everyone.

We look forward to compelling content from SI’s new venture. Maybe they might even mention the Raptors once in a while…?