Work to Do: East-Leading Toronto Raptors Aren't Yet Elite

The Toronto Raptors are perched atop the Eastern Conference, but the Dallas Mavericks helped remind us that they aren't yet a truly elite NBA outfit.

Make no mistake, they're a tough unit that challenged Monta Ellis and Co. until the final whistle. But we saw some recurring problems in the Raps' 106-101 home loss that they'll need to address before they're considered legitimate title contenders.

Earlier in the week, the ever-outspoken Mavs owner Mark Cuban suggested conference realignment, noting the West's overwhelming superiority. His club, sixth in the West standings, continued to back up his talk as they upended the East's top-ranked club at their house.

Ball Movement

Dallas gave Toronto a clinic in ball movement, dishing 27 assists compared to the Raptors' 17. Dwane Casey has struggled to get consistent, balanced passing from his whole rotation, especially when Kyle Lowry is in score-first mode and no one else helps out. 

Toronto manages just 38.2 assist opportunities per game this season, according to SportVU team tracking. That's partially due to their intermittent slow-downs, but Casey would still like to see that number increase.

Friday's loss also highlighted some of the other concerns, including inconsistent play from key pieces. The first half was particularly unsightly:

Jonas Valanciunas gobbled up a bunch of boards (13), but he continued his up-and-down scoring trend (eight points) and uneven defense. He has yet to register more than three straight double-digit scoring games in 2014-15, and tonight his point differential was -16.

Wavering Wings

While Kyle Lowry juked his way to 25 points as the floor general and Amir Johnson pulled his weight in the paint, Toronto didn't get enough from the wings.

Ron Turenne/Getty Images

Yes, DeMar DeRozan went down in the third with a groin injury; but even during his 21 minutes on the floor, he struggled to find shots in rhythm and went scoreless. Both he and Terrence Ross (seven points in 23 minutes) have a propensity to take highly difficult, contested shots.

The Raptors don't just need DeRozan to come back quickly from his groin injury. They need the 2013-14 version of him back: The one who cleared 30 percent from three-range and dished four-plus assists per game, as opposed to this year's weaker output.

After a six-game win streak that included a gutsy victory over the vaunted Memphis Grizzlies, the Raptors found it difficult to slow down a quintessential Western Conference offense in the Mavericks. Toronto out-rebounded Dallas 55-37, but Monta Ellis' sweet shooting J.J. Barea's nine assists off the bench out-finessed the home team.

Defense For Real?

For the most part, Toronto's defense has taken care of business against Eastern Conference foes. But Friday's matchup is more indicative of the type of opponents they'll face late in the playoffs.

The Mavericks were able to get 14-plus points from four different players, as they forced the Raptors to constantly move laterally and rotate. Toronto couldn't corral Ellis on the perimeter, and Valanciunas showed that he's still struggling to make all the right plays defensively from start to finish.

The concern here is that we don't know whether the Raptors can get stops against good opponents when they really need them. As the offense launched an exciting near-comeback during crunch time, the defense couldn't slow down Ellis enough to get over the hump.

Ron Turenne/Getty Images

I don't want to disparage Toronto's fine 13-3 record and strong two-way play. Even in the loss to Dallas, Casey's crew showed admirable mettle by storming back in the fourth quarter. It's great that they retained their core this offseason and only improved their personnel. Kyle Lowry is a playmaker to be reckoned with, and Lou Williams leads a dangerously dynamic bench.

However, they're going to need more consistent production from some of their rising stars (see: Valanciunas and Ross) and current stars (see: DeRozan). And although the defense has been impressive thus far, it has yet to encounter the roughest part of the schedule (check out late December and mid-February).

I'm not ruling out the possibility of Toronto earning elite status in 2014-15, but as of right now, I'll withhold that label until they take critical steps.

Dan O'Brien covers the NBA and NBA Draft for Bleacher Report.

Follow him on Twitter: @DanielO_BR