NBA: 10 Burning Questions at the 2018 All-Star Break

#7 Will the Raptors new system function in the Playoffs?

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry

So while the Cavaliers and the Celtics have stolen the headlines for a majority of the season so far, the Toronto Raptors have quietly taken hold of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They've got some attention but not as much as they deserve.

Given the past couple of seasons, they shouldn't receive a lot of eyebrows either. They've always done well in the regular season, riding the back of their All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, but when the duo slumps in the Playoffs, the team collapses. This campaign, however, the coaching staff and the All-Stars have agreed to a different style of offense, one that isn't heavily dependent on the duo.

The ball moves more, which is clearly evident from this stat:

The ball has been moving for the Raptors.This season: 6 games with 30+ assistsPrevious 4 seasons: 3 games combined pic.twitter.com/EwrmX9fywR

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 9, 2018

It's not just the offense but the rise of their bench is also helping to reduce the pressure on their stars. Their reserves have the best defensive rating (100.8) and third-best offensive rating (109.5), thus fielding the best net rating (8.8) among all the benches in the league.

Since the DeRozan-Lowry era began in Toronto, this current team is arguably the deepest but a majority of their supporting cast (Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Jakob Poeltl) are inexperienced or have less/no Playoff experience.

Will they be able to deliver like they have so far?