NBA teams
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Raptors rolling despite assist rate

NBA

The Cavaliers and the Bulls have the league's most-improved offensive efficiencies, and both leaps have been fueled by considerable offseason injections of firepower. However, the team that has upped its efficiency most significantly is the East-leading Toronto Raptors. Toronto has the NBA's third-highest increase in points per possession over last season, but its ordinal improvement from ninth to second carries with it greater ramifications. In a nutshell, the Raptors' offense has gone from very good to championship-caliber.

On one hand, the improvement isn't a huge surprise. Toronto was a young team last season and brought back its entire starting lineup. Growth from within could be expected, right? However, what's unusual about the offensive upgrade in Toronto is that the Raptors have done it by swimming against the supposed league trend toward ball movement.

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