"Toronto has made a rapid turn around from the depths of the league to the upper end of the middle of it. They've improved, greatly, on the offensive end of the floor. Even more so than they have defensively, by ranking. Picking the low hanging fruit. Balancing diets. But, it's a lot more difficult to elevate out of the middle and into the tippity-top than it is to fight to the middle from the bottom."
"Before we begin, it's important to remember that the Raptors opened the season as one of the NBA's worst defenses. They were embodying the catch phrases from training camp and preseason. They were, aside from the Portland Trailblazers - who were at the very forefront of all the ball pressure - the NBA's number one ball pressure team. They chased and overextended. To quote Bilbo Baggins, they were: "thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.""
Toronto opened the season as one of the NBA's worst defenses, characterized by excessive chasing and overextension. Early defensive identity emphasized relentless ball pressure, ranking only behind Portland in that metric. The team has since improved significantly, rising from the league's depths to the upper middle and now into the top three defensively. Offensive performance has improved greatly as well, often outpacing defensive ranking gains. The climb from bottom to middle was easier than the remaining challenge of pushing from middle into elite status. Sustaining top-3 defensive standing will require balancing pressure with discipline and strategic adjustments.
Read at Raptors Republic
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