NBA: Power Ranking Every Team’s Bench Unit Entering 2016-17

21. Toronto Raptors

Starters – Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Jared Sullinger, Jonas Valanciunas

Bench – Cory Joseph, Norman Powell, Terrence Ross, Patrick Patterson, Jakob Poeltl

The only change to the starting lineup for the Raptors is Jared Sullinger who I think will finally let the Raptors stop running through the 6 with their lack of a true 4. (Okay, that was bad, but I tried, okay?)

Cory Joseph (pictured above) wasn’t great in his first season as a reserve for his native country, but wasn’t terrible either. He can only go up from last season, let’s leave it at that.

I’m projecting Norman Powell as the backup 2 due to his strong play in the postseason. He can handle the ball a little bit, which should help Joseph not feel like he has to do it all.

Terrence Ross remains buried on the bench not able to realize his full potential, but he can cut deficits in half like *snaps fingers* that. He’s a baller, and I hope he gets traded to a team that actually will start him. Go watch highlights if you don’t believe me.

Patrick Patterson is a consistent scorer off the bench who can hold his own. He’s a veteran presence and makes about 20-30 starts a season until Casey realizes Patterson is a ROLE player.

Poeltl gets the nod as the backup 5 because a) he was a lottery pick, b) he will most likely need as much experience when/if Valanciunas goes down to injury, and c) quietly put together a solid career at Utah.

This bench unit on paper is better than most, but last postseason were stuck in the Stone Age. Hopefully, they don’t turn into fossils, or otherwise the Raptors may see a serious drop in the Eastern Conference standings.

Next: No. 20