It's impossible to not love the Raptors 'bench mob'

Not only have the five players that make up the Raptors famed ‘bench mob’ been a welcome addition to the team’s play on the court, they bring a personality and energy to the sidelines as well.

Their antics could have their very own highlight reel, and the Sunday matinee game against the Knicks on March 11 was proof of just that.

In the first half, C.J. Miles, Delon Wright, Fred Van Vleet, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl had played just ten minutes or less each, but their energy didn’t suffer.

When the starters were taking care of business on the court, the second unit was supporting them from the bench.

And midway through the third, in a tight game against the New York Knicks, when the bench mob still hadn’t seen a tonne of playing time, there they were cheering loudly for their vets.

But nearing the end of the quarter when coach Dwane Casey called their names, the young guys were ready to step up: with Miles, Siakam and Poeltl on the floor, the Raps went on a 9-0 run to extend Toronto’s lead to 100-84 (thanks to some big buckets by Miles and a block by Poeltl).

To kick off the fourth, Wright and VanVleet joined them on the floor and the rest is history.

The Raptors earned the 132-106 win over the Knicks to push their winning streak to eight games and improve to a 49-17 record on the season.

But this isn’t surprising to anyone who has followed the group’s success this year. As of March 2, they were the most productive five-man lineup (out of all 95 of the league’s lineups) who had played over 100 minutes this season.

At the end of the matinee game, four members of the squad reached double digit scoring with two more (Siakam and Miller) with nine and eight points respectively and the bench mob combined for over 69 of Toronto’s points as well as 32 assists.

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