Raptors showing major sign of growth with early success

The Toronto Raptors are doing what they need to do to progress as a team.

Indiana Pacers guard/forward Andrew Nembhard holds the ball while Toronto Raptors guard Ja'Kobe Walter defends. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are off to a great start for the first 12 games, especially the last seven, where the team has won six.

While the play on both ends of the court is promising, it's rather the mindset that the team is adopting that is showing signs that this run may not be a fluke. Scottie Barnes spoke with Sportsnet reporter Michael Grange, who said the Raptors aren't satisfied with their early success.

“I know we’ve probably been struggling here in Toronto, but I’m happy and we’re super blessed to be in this position. But we can’t take nothing for granted. It’s still a grind; we got to still stay hungry. Just because we’re over .500, that don’t mean nothing," Barnes said via Grange.

Toronto Raptors forward/guard Scottie Barnes shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers center/forward Tony Bradley defends. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Raptors eye larger goals this season

The team won 30 games a year ago, so it's understandable not to have the highest of expectations, but that's not what the Raptors are looking at. They aren't thinking too much about the past; they're focused on the present and the future.

It's early, but the Raptors are less than a game back for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. There will be plenty of time for the Raptors to drop in the standings, but that's a sign that the team is a lot closer than outsiders may have expected.

If the Raptors really are that close in a crowded, but open Eastern Conference, they should do everything in their power to try and reach those goals. The first chunk of games suggest that the Raptors' success could be sustainable.

“Obviously, there's still things we want to improve on. We're by no means perfect, but what I give ourselves a lot of credit for is the way we're figuring out games,” Jakob Poeltl said via Grange.

“Like we might not have the best start to games, we might make some mistakes early on, but we've always figured out, at least over these last [eight] games, we’ve figured out a way to respond to whatever the other team is throwing at us and really dialling into the weaknesses that we can exploit in the other team, and figuring out what they're trying to do and taking that away as best as possible." 

The Raptors still need to take things one game at a time, but at this rate, they are on the right track.