5 Thoughts on the Raptors Recent Stretch

The last time I wrote about the Raptors they had just finished slapping the very sad and injured New Orleans Pelicans. Since then, they've taken 1/2 against the Heat and a big one against the Pacers and are really starting to click. I am feeling pretty hyped and have recently started to enjoy my 5 thoughts structure. Since this blog is pretty much all about me and my thoughts, why not keep it going with my beloved Raptors!

StarJ Barrett Loves Home Cooking

If you're a Toronto Raptors fan and you don't like RJ Barrett then I can say with full confidence you haven't seen a game this season. RJ has been arguably the teams best player on offense most nights this year. What's remarkable is RJ doesn't have the fastest first step, he isn't a great shooter especially off the dribble and he's not jumping out of the gym, yet RJ still finds a way to get to the rim over and over again every single game. In fact, among players with 10 or more games played, RJ Barrett has the 3rd most shot attempts inside 5 feet in the entire league behind only Giannis and Anthony Davis. RJ plays through physicality really well, often seeing over-aggressive defense as an opportunity to attack an angle and get downhill. Once RJ gets to the rim, he's making some great decisions as well averaging a career best mark of 6.2 assists per game. With Scottie out of the lineup, we got to see RJ pretty much run the entire offense and he did surprisingly well in that role. With Scottie back now, RJ has slid back into his more efficient second option role and has done even better. Scottie has found RJ on cuts making his life a lot easier, he's also taken on the opponent's best defender freeing RJ up to feast against the weaker options. Any way you slice it, RJ is far better than the player a lot of fans, including myself, thought we were getting. 

Now for the point of this entire section, RJ Barrett isn't just playing well at home, he's playing like a legitimate superstar so far. In 8 home games that RJ's played in he's averaging 30.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists on 54/43/81 shooting splits. Growing up in Mississauga, RJ has long said that he was a Raptors fan as a kid. To be able to feel the love from the crowd in your home city must be an out of this world experience, and RJ is paying the fans back with some ridiculous performances. While I do wish RJ would carry some of this consistency onto the road, seeing a hometown player doing what he's doing in his hometown warms my heart. RJ Barrett, you have a fan for life. 

Scottie Barnes Impact

It's hard not to be hyperbolic about Scottie coming off the game he just had against the Pacers, or his last 5 games in general. Scottie has looked every bit the part of a superstar since returning from injury and I am noticing it's made the tank stans begin to change their tune. In his last 5 games, Scottie is averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists on 58% true shooting. This doesn't even make mention to his impact on the defensive end where Scottie has totally flipped the script for the Raptors this season. In the 11 games without Scottie Barnes, the Raptors had a defensive rating of 119.1, 0.1 points per 100 possessions worse than the Utah Jazz who are currently last in the league on that end. With Scottie Barnes, they have a defensive rating of 113.9, which fits in around the middle of the league. What this tells me is that Scottie Barnes single handedly takes the Raptors from the worst defense in the NBA to a league average defense, massive impact. 

Last night the impact of Scottie's defense could be felt as much as his impact on offense. And that is saying something for a guy who just came off a career high 35 points on just 20 shots. Scottie had former teammate Pascal Siakam in hell the entire game. Scottie is as long, stronger and just as fast as spicy P and there was basically nothing Siakam could do. Siakam's frustrations culminated in a technical foul late in the 4th quarter when the Pacers were attempting a comeback. The Raptors have a guy who can frustrate opposing stars into technicals, we are blessed as a fanbase. 

Ja'Kobe Walter looks Comfortable

With Gradey Dick sitting out the last 5 games with a calf injury, the Raptors have called upon rookie Ja'Kobe Walter to take over as a starter in a surprising move. Ja'Kobe has done a great job filling in and has never looked out of place on the court. Showing some flashes of off the dribble creation, Ja'Kobe is better than I expected at getting to the rim off close outs or stopping short and pulling up from mid range. Ja'Kobe never really goes outside of the flow of the offense, he understands that he's playing with more talented scorers at his current state of development and is comfortable passing and moving off ball when necessary. In times when Ja'Kobe needs to be aggressive, he has been, taking all the open shots he has available to him and getting to the rim with some impressive finishing packages. On defense, unlike Gradey in his first year and even now, Ja'Kobe has been able to hold his own in some tough matchups. He's not over-aggressive chasing steals like a lot of rookies but instead just defensively sound and good at staying in front of his man. Although he is 19 and appears slight in frame, Ja'Kobe is deceptively strong and plays through physicality really well. The Raptors had so much confidence in Ja'Kobe's defense that they started the game against the Pacers with him guarding Tyrese Haliburton, and I thought he did a pretty good job outside of some foul baiting from Hali. 

Ja'Kobe's 3 ball isn't going for him just yet. Although he was a good shooter in college, he's only 13/29 on his attempts in the NBA so far with some tough misses in there. Still, even with his shot not falling, Ja'Kobe is finding other ways to impact game whether that be getting on the glass and rebounding well for his position, defending his ass off or just moving off ball as a decoy, Ja'Kobe hasn't been a negative out there. I expect with more time in the NBA and getting better adjusted to the deeper 3 point line, Ja'Kobe's shots will start falling. When they do, the Raptors will really have something in the rook. 

Davion "Off Night" Mitchell

If I hadn't heard the nickname "Great Barrier Thief" for Australian all defense candidate Dyson Daniels then I would have to say that Off Night is probably the coolest nickname in the NBA right now. Davion has lived up to his nickname in every way imaginable, bringing it every single night on defense. Davion comes into the game and doesn't play hyper aggressive like rookie teammate Jamal Shead. He does however play tight defense with the lateral speed to stay in front of his man despite being right up in his jersey. Late in games, the Raptors have gone to Davion to guard the opponent's best player whether that be Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton or  Jimmy Butler, Davion has locked in and done a great job on all of them. He's emerging as an unofficial vibes leader of the team as well finding himself tagging in to multiple on court interviews, especially with the rooks, and hyping up what his teammate has to say. 

Davion has had a tough time on the offensive end for sure, but he isn't a complete negative out there. Although his 3 ball isn't falling, he seems to have 1-2 drives per game where he surprises the defense and gets to the lane for a finish in traffic. Davion isn't going to be your main playmaker or shot creator out there, but his playmaking has been decent creating a career high 5.2 assists per game. It is difficult in the NBA to have a point guard who is below average on offense, and unfortunately that is the category that Davion Mitchell falls into currently. If he doesn't improve his 3 point shot to at least league average, he's likely to see most of his time as a backup PG. Still, his defense plays and would be an asset to any team. When Quickley returns, I expect Davion to shift back into a role where he's asked to handle the ball less, but really ramp it up on defense, which is great for both him and the team. 

Shaqob Poeltl

How could I write an entire 5 thoughts article without talking about big man Jakob Poeltl. Seemingly the most reliable and consistent player in the Raptors lineup this season, Jak has taken his game to the next level. Jak has always had a soft touch around the rim, but this season he's expanded his game to anywhere within 10 feet. Jak's floater is money and he is smart to be able to get to it in situations where the defenders aren't expecting it. One of the areas where Jak has been most effective is stopping short on his roles in the P&R, catching the ball at the top of the paint and quickly rising up for a floater, which has been money this season. On the glass, Jak is killing it, currently sitting at 5th in the league in rebounds per game with 11.8. Even more impressive, Jak leads the league in offensive rebounds per game pulling down a whopping 4.1 offensive rebounds. This matches the eye test as well, Jak is always ready to cash in a put back when his teammate misses a shot. Often underrated in the league, Jakob Poeltl is one of the best screen setters in the entire NBA. His impact has been felt in every game so far. Especially with RJ Barrett, Jak has done a great job playing almost like an offensive lineman freeing up driving lanes for RJ to do what he does best. 

A lot of fans were mad about the Raptors trading a first round pick for Jakob Poeltl when they did. I've always said that Jak is a starting caliber center, teams need those and teams spend first round picks to get them every single year. This year Jak has played like a top 10 center in the league and has been a big reason the Raptors have been competitive in every game so far. I think that's worth a first round pick every time. 

That's that! Look, it's the start to the season the tank stans were begging for, but I think the Raptors have shown some promising signs lately. They play a lot better at home and are currently on a home stand that could see their fortunes reverse. Missing multiple rotation players every game, there's a chance that the Raptors are fully healthy by the end of the month. I've said all year and will say again, if that happens, I don't see how they're going to tank. I'll be at the game tomorrow sitting nice and close to watch arguably the greatest Canadian player ever in Shai Gilgeous Alexander, hyped is an understatement. Go Raptors!