Raptors Cage

Toronto Raptors fantasy forecast 2015-2016

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Courtesy www.canadiansportsbetting.org
Courtesy www.canadiansportsbetting.org

There are a great number of things to be excited about as a Toronto Raptors fan this coming season, fantasy pundits included. I’ve spent hours pouring over fantasy basketball rankings and I’m excited.

The addition of everyone’s favourite versatile wing DeMarre Carroll had people excited everywhere, Jonas Valanciunas has been a beast amongst big men, Kyle Lowry is the little engine that could and DeMar DeRozan, coming into a contract year is an extremely attractive target.

Depth Chart

* PG Lowry, Joseph, Wright
* SG Derozan, Ross, Powell
* SF Carroll, Johnson, Cobolco
* PF Patterson, Scola
* C Valanciunas, Biyombo, Nogueira

Fantasy Targets

Kyle Lowry (2014-15 rank 31)

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Lowry should be a perennial fantasy target, his production since his days in Houston has remained steady and he is primed to pick as your first string point guard. Reports have Lowry working hard this offseason and showing up to camp shredded will do wonders for the confidence of everyone with vested interest in his

DeMarre-CarrollDeMarre Carroll (2014-15 rank 54)

The signing of Carroll this offseason should have fantasy ballers excited, and for valid reasons. Carroll flirted with top 50 value all year, posting 12.6p, 1.7 3’s, 5.3r and 1.3 steals on a stacked Hawks squad. His efficiency was also exquisite, delivering .485% from the field, .395 from deep and an average .702 from the charity stripe on only 2.6 attempts per game. For fantasy purposes DeMarre is a perfect three and D candidate to boost you over your fantasy competition every week.

Take a look at Carroll in the middle of your draft with confidence, he is poised for a big season.

Jonas Valanciunas (2014-15 rank 62)ee34c0f61e46e5d05b6dc5499055875b_crop_north

JV is one highest ranking fantasy centres in the league! If only the coaching staff would unleash him for a bigger portion of the game, his fantasy stock would vault through the ceiling. To give you some perspective, the per 36 on Jonas read like an All Star 16.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game with an incredible .572% from the field and exceptional .786% from the charity stripe. These numbers are incredible and would firmly place JV amongst the fantasy elite.

As it stands now, The Raptors are focused on small ball to close out games so we will not likely see much of an increase on the 26-28 minutes per game Valanciunas has averaged over the last two seasons.

DeMar DeRozan (2014-15 rank 80)

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

DeRozan could very well be an unrestricted free agent after this season with a player option on his contract and should be primed for an enormous effort. In fantasy there’s a few things that you explicitly look for, one being when you have a guy coming into a contract year, you know that when they’re playing for their future, the effort will be far more urgent.

From an analytical perspective DeRozan took a minor step back in the 2014″15 season, with a slightly lower output nearly across the board, efficiency most notably. With the addition of Carroll and the plan for the Raptors to utilise the small ball approach more often, DeMar will have every opportunity for a few more open looks and buckets in transition. DeRozan is exceptional from the charity stripe, if that trend can continue from the field, fantasy owners will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Patrick Patterson (2014-15 rank 94)

Patterson is an very viable target late in drafts and also delivers a very attractive fantasy outlook. Patterson dropped top 100 value in limited minutes last season, this coming season he projects to be the starter and a favourite to close out games in the Raptors small ball approach.

Patterson gives you a prototypical stretch four output, an excellent pot of efficiency (.788 ft%) and a healthy helping of made threes per game ( at a very handy .371%).

From recent accounts Patterson has been available through to the final few rounds of drafts, if you can land him in the 120-150 pick range you will find a player that will demolish his average draft position.

This article was brought to you by Matt McLean at Fasketball.com. Visit Fasketball.com for the latest in fantasy basketball news and information.

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