Why the Raptors are one of the most interesting teams to watch in Orlando

The NBA is booting up again, and we're looking ahead to how the remainder of the 2019-20 season will play out in the Disney World bubble. Over the last few days, we've been exploring the most interesting teams who will take the court in Orlando. To conclude, a look at the defending champions.

The Raptors arrived in Orlando on matte black buses emblazoned with giant "Black Lives Matter" messaging on the sides and OVO gold championship imagery on the back, then checked into a hotel the team's staff had "Raptorized" before their arrival.

In showing up, the champs made a statement. Now they'll look to make one on the court.

As I detailed during the opening week of the 2019-20 season, the Raptors entered the campaign as the most interesting defending champion in recent memory. Internally, the team believed there was still enough talent from the squad that won the 2019 championship - and enough rapidly developing young talent - to keep Toronto competitive without Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Externally, many assumed the Leonard-less Raptors would be fighting to get back to the playoffs.

Even the most optimistic observers couldn't have predicted what was to come: the Raptors won 46 of 64 games, and enter the Disney bubble with the NBA's third-best record; they're on the same pace as last year's Leonard-led team after 64 games, and two games ahead of Leonard's current team, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Raptors answered many of the questions we had for them back in October. Pascal Siakam has mostly proven himself a capable No. 1 scorer, averaging 23.6 points per game on a true shooting percentage of 55.9 while boasting a top-20 usage rate. Kyle Lowry rediscovered the quick first step that allows him to get to the rim and penetrate opposing defenses. When mixed with his long-range shooting, genius playmaking, and stout defense, he's one of the league's most complete guards. And despite concerns that losing the marksmanship of Leonard and Green would leave the Raptors devoid of shooting, the team's underrated depth has Toronto ranked No. 6 in both 3-point percentage and 3-point attempt rate.

There were many other perceived weaknesses that coach Nick Nurse's team put to rest over the course of 64 games, but there are still some lingering questions whether the Raptors can once again beat Milwaukee and the rest of the Eastern Conference and defend their crown in the NBA Finals.

Those are the questions we're interested in today, just over a week out from the Orlando restart.

Is Siakam a championship-level closer?

The NBA's reigning Most Improved Player took another giant leap this season toward establishing himself as the kind of All-Star who can be the No. 1 option on a top-tier regular-season team. But as Raptors fans know all too well from the pre-Kawhi days, being the type of alpha star who can close out playoff games and playoff series against championship-level defenses occupies a different realm altogether.

So how close is Siakam to entering that stratosphere?

There are reasons to be pessimistic: Siakam still struggles to score against long, mobile bigs like himself, guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, and Jonathan Isaac. In addition, the 76ers found some defensive success against Siakam last spring by having Joel Embiid guard him, drop back, and dare him to shoot. A quick look at the East playoff picture shows those defenders may be lurking for Siakam in this year's playoffs, though it's worth noting he had some success against Anthony Davis in their only matchup this season.

The good news for the Raptors is that the 26-year-old continues to expand his playmaking and shooting. He's up to 35.9% from deep, shooting an average of six 3-pointers per game this season. He's become a legitimate pull-up threat above the break, as opposed to relying on catch-and-shoot opportunities as a secondary or tertiary scorer.

If you're looking for regular-season samples that might mimic the postseason, crunch-time minutes come close. In Siakam's first season as Toronto's go-to guy, his clutch-time results have been sparkling. Of the 100 players who played the most clutch minutes this season - defined by a game that's within five points within the final five minutes of play - Siakam ranks 14th in usage rate yet still scores incredibly efficiently, posting a true shooting percentage of 60.8.

Pick-and-rolls involving Siakam and Lowry have proven especially lethal down the stretch of close games, and opponents can expect a heavy dose of such action as games get more meaningful.

Is Anunoby a championship-level stopper?

The Raptors' defense is deep enough, long enough, disruptive enough, and adaptable enough to trouble any contending team, especially under the creative guidance of Nurse. Still, championship teams need the type of one-on-one stopper capable of slowing an opposing superstar without much help.

Leonard may be one of a kind in this regard, but if you were building the perfect prototype to replace Kawhi's one-on-one defense, a player resembling Anunoby is what you'd come up with.

The 23-year-old's had a superb defensive season. Anunoby ranks seventh among small forwards in defensive plays made per foul committed and averaged 2.7 steals per game over his last 13 contests. During that stretch from Feb. 7 to March 11, Anunoby recorded three games of at least five steals. No other player did it more than once, and the rest of the league combined for only 17 such games.

Awards voting is limited to games played before the season was suspended, but Anunoby's campaign already merits All-Defensive Team consideration. He hasn't had the opportunity to truly showcase his defensive gifts in the postseason yet - he was a rookie in 2018 and was sidelined by an appendectomy during Toronto's 2019 title run - but there's no reason to believe the unflappable youngster won't be up to the task.

What to expect from Skinny (healthy) Gasol

While Skinny Jokic, Skinny Harden, and Skinny Melo have garnered more attention, the most stunning physical transformation in the East is Marc Gasol's, after he showed up looking slimmer and trimmer than he has in years.

After playing almost nonstop for 15 months between the Raptors' championship run and Spain's World Cup triumph, Gasol battled fatigue and injuries this season, playing only nine games since mid-December. When he was on the court, though, the 35-year-old's defensive impact resembled that of the 28-year-old Gasol who won Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.

As the anchor of Toronto's second-ranked defense, Gasol's invaluable. He has the strength to bully behemoths like Embiid, the smarts to anticipate opponents' offensive actions, and the positional mastery to remain an effective rim-protector and deterrent. Gasol's presence is also essential as the second level of resistance against Antetokounmpo's drives during matchups with Milwaukee.

It's no wonder, then, that the Raptors' already elite defense is somehow six points per 100 possessions stingier when Gasol is on the court. In fact, the Raptors' defensive rating with Gasol on the floor - 100.2 - would top even that of the league-leading Bucks, whose defensive rating (101.6) is otherwise more than three points per 100 possessions clear of any other team.

What might his impact be now that he's in the best shape of his 30s?

One of the more fascinating things to watch will be Gasol's offensive contributions. His individual scoring has fallen drastically, and he's rarely looked confident hunting his own offense since joining Toronto. Yet he's managed to remain effective on that end of the court thanks to his zone-busting playmaking skills, thunderous screen-setting, and his improving range; he shot better than 40% from deep on 3.5 3-point attempts per game in 36 contests this season.

Can a quicker, more svelte version of Gasol rediscover some of his scoring touch, further diversifying the Raptors' 12th-ranked offense? Does a thinner Gasol navigate defensive switches onto perimeter players even better than he already did?

His physical appearance aside, the importance of a healthy Gasol should not be overlooked when discussing how the East playoffs will unfold.

What does a healthy Raptors rotation look like?

Given the questions following Leonard's departure, who could've guessed that heading into the final eight games of the regular season, the Raptors might be too deep?

It's a great problem for Nurse to have after spending the majority of the season mixing and matching lineup combinations out of necessity. Siakam, Lowry, Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, and Norman Powell all missed at least 11 games with injuries, but everyone appears healthy now. So how will Nurse manage minutes, rotations, and egos?

We've already outlined Gasol's importance to the team, but Ibaka was huge in his absence, putting together one of the finest seasons of his career. Both veteran bigs are also about to enter free agency.

VanVleet has earned starting and closing duties with his heady play, and he'll no doubt want to continue proving his worth in Orlando with his own unrestricted free agency months away. But Powell also became a dependable, hyper-efficient scoring option this season, and deserves a look there, too.

Undrafted rookie Terence Davis has been a two-way revelation, but Nurse seems to trust Patrick McCaw more, much to the frustration of Raptors fans.

With Siakam, Ibaka, and Gasol in the lineup, how many minutes will be available for pending restricted free agent Chris Boucher?

Does defensive menace Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or shooting specialist Matt Thomas have a chance to crack the postseason rotation?

There are only five starting spots, five closing spots, and perhaps eight to 10 jobs in the regular playoff rotation, but the Raptors can play 12 deep. How Nurse decides on a tighter rotation with all 12 of those guys finally available to him will be fascinating.

When the season started, I was curious about whether management and the coaching staff could find the internal solutions necessary just to keep the Raptors afloat. Given what the team has shown, if Toronto can once again find answers to some of the significant questions awaiting them in Orlando, forget staying afloat; a repeat seems plausible.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's senior basketball writer.

Part 1: The Rockets and Sixers, a pair of fringe contenders with unique styles and potentially damning flaws

Part 2: The subplots to monitor on the league's top contenders in L.A. and Milwaukee

Part 3: The Pelicans and Blazers are the most interesting teams in the playoff chase