The Toronto Raptors are a much different team than they were last week. The addition of Marc Gasol cut the roster down to ten players, as Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, and C.J. Miles said their goodbyes. Since then, the Raptors have reportedly signed Jeremy Lin for some bench scoring punch, Chris Boucher for some Montreal steak spice, and Malcolm Miller to break in case of emergency.
From here on out, it’s almost like evaluating a whole different team. Gasol’s influence, whether he’s with the starters or the bench, presents plenty of new opportunities — and, some would argue, potential drawbacks — for Toronto.