Raptors have strong depth, but one long-term concern

The Toronto Raptors are boasting one of the best benches in the NBA this season.

Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead dribbles the ball against Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are rolling through the first quarter of the season, posting one of the best records in the NBA.

Their hot start has been fueled by their starting lineup, but anchored by their second unit, which has been one of the best in the league.

"Surprisingly, it's their depth. Toronto has five well-known, highly paid players, but the starting lineup they comprise has outscored opponents by only 5 points per 100 possessions -- a decent but unspectacular showing. As expected, the skill sets of Toronto's starters don't make for a perfect fit," ESPN insider Zach Kram wrote.

"However, the Raptors are thriving when reserves Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Jamal Shead and Sandro Mamukelashvili are on the floor, as coach Darko Rajakovic can mix and match his lineups to ensure a proper two-way balance at all times.

"Out of 27 Raptors duos with at least 100 minutes together, the top 10 all involve either Dick or Mamukelashvili, while the starrier pairings of Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes, and Ingram and RJ Barrett, have actually been outscored on the year."

Raptors bench making their mark

Dick and Mamukelashvili have been the top two contributors off the bench, but the others are also playing very good basketball.

Point guard Jamal Shead has a very impressive 23:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the past three games.

Jamal Shead has a RIDICULOUS 23 assists and 1 turnover in 3 games.

WOW. pic.twitter.com/R9yDtjlzW8

— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) November 24, 2025

Shead is averaging 5.6 assists per game against just 1.2 turnovers per contest so far this season, which is huge for the second unit.

Having a great bench is a key to success in the regular season, but these are things that may not translate to winning in the postseason.

"That dynamic raises questions about Toronto's ceiling in the playoffs, when rotations generally shrink. But for now, at least, there's no reason to expect the Raptors' role players to stop powering wins," Kram wrote.

The Raptors won't have to worry about that until later in the year. For now, they still need to focus on getting as many wins as possible to try and secure a spot in the top six in the Eastern Conference.

While the Raptors winning 11 of their last 12 games is impressive, they are only four games ahead of the No. 11 seed, which is where they were a year ago. Therefore, one or two bad weeks could knock the Raptors off of their pedestal, so they need to make sure they are staying ahead of the curve.