Comparison: 2000-2001 vs. current 2015-2016 Toronto Raptors team

[ASHOOR]

Toronto Raptors blew out the Miami Heat yesterday to win the series 4-3 and make it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time ever. This makes it their best season ever, both in regular season (56 win season) and in the playoff where they have never gone this far before.

They will face the Cleveland Cavaliers-led by Lebron James-who have swept their two previous opponents (Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks)in the first and second rounds of the playoffs.

In a perfect world, this should be an easy win for the Cavs, but I would hope and think the Raptors can at least steal 1 game. And hey, you never know what could happen after that, right?

Meanwhile, I wanted to see how would this current team fair against the 2000-2001 Toronto Raptors team that was 1 shot away from beating the Iverson's 76ers and reaching the conference finals.  That team was staked with amazing players and future hall of famers, including Vince Carter, Alvin Williams, Mark Jackson, Antonio Davis, Dell Curry, Chris Childs, Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis, Morris Peterson, Keon Clarke, Jerome Williams and others

2000-2001 Toronto Raptors

vs.

2015-2016 Toronto Raptors

Let us compare the two teams by stats:






Wins:
the current team won 56 games compared to 47 won by the 2000-2001 team.
Advantage : 2015-2016


Team PPG
2000-2001 team: 97.6 (5th of 29) ? Opp PTS/G: 95.4 (12th of 29)
2015-2016 team: 102.7 (14th of 30) ? Opp PTS/G: 98.2 (3rd of 30)
Advantage: EVEN (the current team scored more points per game, but the 2000-2001 team allowed fewer points per game.

Team RPG
2000-2001 team:  44.5
2015-2016 team:  42.6
Advantage: 2000-2001 team

Team APG
2000-2001 team: 24.4 assists per game
2015-2016 team: 15.5 assists per game
Advantage: 2000-2001 team


Offensive and Defensive Ratings
2000-2001 team:  Off Rtg: 105.9 (8th of 29) ? Def Rtg: 103.4 (14th of 29)
2015-2016 team: Off Rtg: 110.0 (5th of 30) ? Def Rtg: 105.2 (11th of 30)
Advantage: EVEN one had better offensive rating while the other had a better defensive rating

FG %
2000-2001 team: .437
2015-2016 team: .451

Opponent FG%
2000-2001 team: .447
2015-2016 team: .444 
Advantage: 2015-2016 team


All-Star Appearance
2000-2001 team: 2 all-star players (Vince Carter and Antonio Davis)
2015-2016 team: 2 all-star players (Demar Derozan and Kyle Lowry)
Advantage: EVEN

Individual player:  leading scorer/rebounds/assists for each team

Points
2000-2001 team: Vince Carter (27.6 PPG)
2015-2016 team: DeMar DeRozan (20.0 PPG)

Rebounds
2000-2001 team: Antonio Davis (10.1 RPG)
2015-2016 team: Jonas Valanciunas (12.1 RPG)

Assists
2000-2001 team: Alvin Williams (5.0 APG)
2015-2016 team: Kyle Lowry (6.7 APG)

Advantage: 2015-2016 team (in  2 of the 3 categories - rebounds and assists)



Using these common stats above, the 2015-2016 team wins by a slight margin, but it is pretty close in most categories.




Two different Eras, so hard to compare?

Now I understand that with these two teams being 15 years apart, it is different eras and players. Back in the day, we had Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, Jason Kidd, Reggie Miller, Tim Dunkan as the super stars. This year, we have Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Lebron James, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and others.

Some may argue that although the game has evolved, it is not as hard as used to be. In other words, you would have much more competition to win 15-20 years ago than you do today. Another point of discussion is the difference in age between these two teams. The 2000-2001 team had close to 11 players that were 30 years or older. So it was a team full of veterans, and some who were at the tail end of their careers, but with a lot of experience. With the current team, it is a younger roster, with the average age being around 26 years old, and only two that are 30 or over (Lowry and Scola at 30 and 36 respectively)


So at the end of the day, while stats may favor the current team by a slight margin, it is exactly that, a small edge. Not to mention, stats alone can't decide which is team is better, as there is a lot more to it, including all the intangibles that can never be decided (Pele vs. Maradonna anyone?) The two teams, despite being 15 years apart, are closer than you think, and it is therefore no wonder that they are two best teams in Toronto Raptors 21 year history.

In other words, if they were to play a 7 game playoff series, the current team would probably prevail in game 7 by a few points. Or it could go exactly the opposite favoring the 2000-2001 Carter-led team.


Let me know what you think? Below, or at your favorite discussion forum (Reddit, FB group, twitter etc.) by simply linking to this article and talking about it...


ASHOOR

 

[Joe25]

I was a huge Vince Carter fan back in those days. I haven't followed NBA for years but this guy was the main reason I watched basketball and played it with friends. He's probably the most exciting athlete I have ever witnessed in my life. The dunks he would do, just wow, I still haven't seen anyone do it better than him. In the Olympics in 2000 he literally jumped over a 7'2 Frenchman to dunk the ball, remember that? That was in the finals too to win the gold.

Anyway, I wish I still had the same passion for the game, I have no idea who all these players are on the raptors nowadays and too bad it's still not a big sport here in Europe although it has grown. So I couldn't tell you if they're better now for making it to the east conference finals, all I know is nothing will replace the days of Vince and his cousin McGrady dominating the weekly top 10 highlight reels on ESPN and NBA.com.

 

[ASHOOR]

I was a huge Vince Carter fan back in those days. I haven't followed NBA for years but this guy was the main reason I watched basketball and played it with friends. He's probably the most exciting athlete I have ever witnessed in my life. The dunks he would do, just wow, I still haven't seen anyone do it better than him. In the Olympics in 2000 he literally jumped over a 7'2 Frenchman to dunk the ball, remember that? That was in the finals too to win the gold.

Anyway, I wish I still had the same passion for the game, I have no idea who all these players are on the raptors nowadays and too bad it's still not a big sport here in Europe although it has grown. So I couldn't tell you if they're better now for making it to the east conference finals, all I know is nothing will replace the days of Vince and his cousin McGrady dominating the weekly top 10 highlight reels on ESPN and NBA.com.

That is amazing Joe, you remember all these details about VC, and yes indeed, he was so dominant when he came out. Just like you, he put Toronto on the map and helped millions of people fall in love with basketball here in Canada. In fact, a lot of the new and rising Canadian NBA stars owe their fame to Vince. And that dunk over the French guy? That was during the peak of his dominance (1999-2002) and showed this guy was out of this world.

Amazingly, VC is still in the league, playing with the Memphis Grizzlies. Unfortunately, it looks like he will retire without winning any NBA championships despite such a great career.


ASHOOR

 

[Joe25]

That is amazing Joe, you remember all these details about VC, and yes indeed, he was so dominant when he came out. Just like you, he put Toronto on the map and helped millions of people fall in love with basketball here in Canada. In fact, a lot of the new and rising Canadian NBA stars owe their fame to Vince. And that dunk over the French guy? That was during the peak of his dominance (1999-2002) and showed this guy was out of this world.

Amazingly, VC is still in the league, playing with the Memphis Grizzlies. Unfortunately, it looks like he will retire without winning any NBA championships despite such a great career.


ASHOOR

Oh and btw man, Do some Canadians still hate him? lol I remember the bitter fallout he had and then the legendary matches when he came back to Toronto and hit those game winning shots while most of the stadium booed him the whole game. How'd you feel about those games?

I still hope that they retire his jersey in Toronto one day.