For a while during the 2016-17 season, the Toronto Raptors looked like a team ready to jump into the top tier of the NBA. In reality, though, that was just a glossy new finish over the same product we’ve seen for the past handful of seasons.
That isn’t to say that product was bad. Kyle Lowry remained one of the best point guards we constantly forget about en route to a top-10 finish in assists and a third consecutive All-Star nomination. His partner in crime DeMar DeRozan was quietly the league’s fifth-leading scorer at 27.3 points per game and was named an All-Star Starter for the first time in his career.