There's nowhere to go but up for the Toronto Raptors this season.
After a disastrous 25-win campaign, Toronto runs it back with a young core and a clear path moving forward. Led by Scottie Barnes, I'm bullish on the Raptors improving and topping their modest win total.
Check out our Raptors futures odds for the 2024-25 NBA season.
Raptors futures odds
For a full list of Raptors futures: Click here
Best bet: Over 30.5 wins (+100)
Toronto is coming off its worst campaign since 2011-2012 but I predict better results this year.
In the season before the Raptors drafted Barnes fourth overall, they won 27 games due to dysfunction in the lineup and a lack of direction after winning an NBA title and Kawhi Leonard's departure.
Last season's team mirrored that lack of direction for different reasons.
Eventually, the front office decided to go young and moved Pascal Siakam and OG Annunoby for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and other assets.
In their stints with the Raps, both midseason pickups showed promise.
Barrett averaged 21.8 points on 55.3% shooting from the field and 39.2% from three. The Canadian appears to be comfortable on home soil and lived up to the promise that made him a third overall pick out of Duke in 2019.
If he can build off the 32-game stretch he had with Toronto, Barrett could quickly turn into a real asset.
Quickley, meanwhile, looked like a future all-star at times, averaging 18.6 points and 6.8 assists on 39.5% from 3-point range.
Then, of course, there's Barnes, who took another leap last year.
Barnes averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks with a career-high 56.6 true shooting percentage.
He's already an elite defender and playmaker for his size. His lack of a weakness makes him a strong contributor to winning basketball games.
While Barnes missed 22 games last year with a hand injury, he played 70-plus games in his other two seasons.
I feel confident a full season with this core is good for more than a modest 30.5 wins.
Playoff odds
Am I confident the Raptors will make the playoffs? Not necessarily, but there's value there for those looking for a plus-money future.
On top of the improving core, Toronto added an array of tough defenders through trade and the draft.
This is the deepest the bench has been in a few years. Moving forward, it's hard to see the odds getting much juicier than this.
Don't be surprised if the Raptors sneak into a play-in spot over a declining team like the Chicago Bulls. The path from there is much easier to make the playoffs.
Other Raptors markets
While the Raptors are far from a contender, you can still bet on them to surprise.
Raptors to win the Atlantic:
Raptors to win the East:
Raptors to win the NBA Finals:
From a player standpoint, there are more intriguing options.
One of them is Barnes to win Most Improved Player.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey took a big leap from his third to fourth year in the league to win last season's award, something Barnes will look to replicate.
Barnes has the seventh-shortest odds in a market that's led by betting favourite Victor Wembanyama.
NBA odds as of 1:43 p.m. on 10/17/24.
