The Toronto Raptors got a preseason reminder Saturday that the frontcourt is still a problem they can’t wish away.
Yes, there were encouraging moments in the opener against the Miami Heat. Scottie Barnes showed flashes.
Immanuel Quickley did too. Collin Murray-Boyles made an impression, and RJ Barrett had his moments as well.
But the result was still a loss, and the bigger story was how clearly Miami controlled the size and athleticism battle up front.
That part shouldn’t have come as a total shock. The Heat have long looked like a brutal matchup for this Raptors group, especially in the East, and from the opening tip they looked bigger and more explosive where it mattered most.
Still, Saturday made the issue feel sharper than expected. After spending the offseason believing CMB and Jakob Poeltl could provide enough stability at the five, that optimism took a hit.
The blunt truth is that Toronto needs more bodies in the frontcourt.
Trey Jemison III, who was held out Saturday on a two-way deal, is part of the depth picture already. But the Raptors need more than that. Poeltl remains a solid center, but this looked like a roster that would benefit far more from a deeper, win-by-committee setup at the position than from asking one aging, not-overly-athletic five-man and a small-ball second-year center to carry the load on their own.
That’s where the concern starts to grow. Around the East, the better teams can throw waves of size at you.
Toronto can’t really do that right now. Against the Heat, that gap was obvious.
And if the Raptors are trying to handle frontcourts built around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, a Sixers group with real depth behind Joel Embiid, the Cavs’ twin towers, or the Celtics’ rebounding pressure, they’re going to need more options.
The answer doesn’t have to be dramatic. This isn’t about tearing up the future to find a flashy upgrade over Poeltl or Murray-Boyles.
It’s about adding more playable bigs, fresh legs, and different looks at the five. Toronto needs bodies who can help on the glass and bring energy in short bursts.
It would also help if one of those additions could stretch the floor and give Darko Rajakovic more lineup flexibility.
There’s no reason to think Bobby Webster is already scrambling ahead of the opener against the Chicago Bulls in a little over two weeks. But Saturday should have made the front office’s priority a lot clearer: keep looking for undervalued bigs who might be available during the season.
So no, this is not panic time. But it is a reality check. At some point, the Raptors are going to have to address the frontcourt.
In Other News...
Jaden Bradley Now Faces A Tough Raptors Question
Jaden Bradleys summer with Toronto gave the Raptors enough reason to take a longer look at him, and they did just that after his five games in NBA Summer League. The guard flashed enough promise to project as a rotation piece down the line, and the organization responded by keeping him in the fold as it continues to sort through its young backcourt options.
The wrinkle for Bradley is that a bigger contract does not automatically mean a bigger immediate role. Toronto still plans to develop him with the Raptors 905, which leaves him balancing the confidence of a standard deal with the reality of earning minutes the hard way, while Jamal Sheads recent extension adds another name to an already crowded guard picture. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors May Need To Rethink RJ Barretts Role Fast
RJ Barretts place in Toronto has become one of those early-season questions that can quietly shape everything around a roster. His value is clearest when he is handling the ball and creating, and the Raptors have enough high-end talent in the starting group that those chances are not always going to come easily. With Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes in the mix, Barrett may not get the kind of on-ball runway that lets him play to his strengths with the first unit.
What makes this more interesting is how naturally his game fits a different sort of role. Torontos second group needs offense and a steady creator, and Barretts ability to attack with the ball could give that bench a real lift. The bigger question is whether the Raptors decide to adjust his usage quickly enough to make that happen, because his fit may be less about where he starts and more about where he can actually run the show. [Read more 🡒]
Chucky Hepburn Is Giving The Raptors A Tough Guard Decision
Chucky Hepburn keeps making it harder for the Raptors to look past him. The second-year guard has been turning preseason minutes into a legit argument for more, and his latest showing against Miami fit the template Toronto has probably come to expect by now: active defense, steady effort and enough polish on offense to stay on the floor. For a team with real guard depth, that matters, because the margins for a two-way player are supposed to be thin this time of year.
Hepburn arrived in Toronto after going undrafted in 2025, then earned attention by winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year before signing on. He is also working his way back from January surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee, which makes every productive outing feel a little more meaningful. The question for the Raptors is whether the defensive reputation that got him here can be paired with enough offense to push him beyond a developmental lane and into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]