Dominance of Raptors 'bench mob' is getting ridiculous

The Toronto Raptors have taken the top spot in the Eastern Conference and don’t seem to be looking back.

With a conference-best 43-17 record heading into Friday night’s game against Washington, they have more than just stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry to thank.

Unexpectedly, it’s the Raptors’ ‘bench mob’ that leads the league in net rating (points scored minus points allowed, per 100 possessions). According to ESPN writer Zach Lowe, of the 95 five-man lineups that have played over 100 minutes this season, the most productive line-up by that measure has been Toronto’s bench mob.

C.J. Miles, Delon Wright, Fred Van Vleet, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl — yes, all of whom other than Miles are in their first three years in the league — are the five players that have outscored their opponents most effectively throughout the entire league, with a net rating of almost 28 points.

There are only two other lineups (the Timberwolves and Rockets starting lineups) that have a net rating over 20.0 points.

Let that sink in for a moment.

As a five-man squad, they’re averaging over 40 points per game this season.

Obviously, this stat doesn’t account for the fact that the bench mob plays most of their minutes against the opposition’s bench and not the starting lineups, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

The Raptors’ starters are still the better lineup, but their net rating isn’t as high because most of their minutes are pitted-up against the opposing starters.

But there’s no arguing, when it comes to a strong bench: the Raptors are the best of the best.

More NBA coverage on Yahoo Canada Sports: