1 Thing For Every Raptor to Add to Their Game this Offseason Pt. 1

 Today I am starting a new continuous series that I'll add to whenever I don't feel like talking about the million games that were on last night. I barely watched Warriors Rockets, after Jimmy went down it ended up a blow out. Heat vs Cavs and Magic vs Celtics just doesn't interest me at all, baring a miracle we all know who's winning each of those series. The Jays are particularly depressing to talk about right now and I don't feel like doing a big rant post today. I will say quickly though, the Astros had 13 hits last night, the Jays managed 9 hits the entire series. Really rough one, need the big bats to get going ASAP. Anyway, lets go over every Raptor that's likely to return next season and discuss 1 thing they can add to their bag to make the team better: 

Scottie Barnes - 3 Point Shooting

Starting with the most obvious returning player (unless of course the Raptors are in on a Jokic or Giannis trade, then anything goes). In 2023-2024 when Scottie made his first all star appearance, he shot 34.1% from deep. Not an amazing percentage but around league average, and for a guy who does so many other things you'll take that. This season that number dropped all the way down to 27% on a similar amount of attempts per game. This contributed massively towards Scottie's inefficiency this season shooting an abysmal 52.3% true shooting percentage. Scottie was thrusted into the role of a number 1 option this season and had a direct mandate to work on his game no matter how ugly it got. As a result, with Scottie's 3 ball severely lacking, he finished the season with the worst true shooting percentage in the league for players who took 14 field goal attempts or more per game. I think a lot of this can be improved naturally with Scottie not needing to take the most difficult shots next season playing alongside Brandon Ingram. While it still isn't a crazy number, Scottie did shoot 32% from 3 when playing with an undoubtably better scorer in Pascal Siakam. Brandon Ingram may be a different type of scorer to Pascal, but he is undoubtably better at it than Scottie is and will allow Scottie to shift more into a secondary role on offense where his skill set is better suited. 

Another aspect to Scottie's shooting woes this year was that he was clearly asked to take more pull up 3s. In his all star season, 22% of Scottie's attempts were considered pull up 3s while 78% were considered catch and shoot. He shot 17% on the pull up 3s and 38.5% on catch and shoot, a dramatic difference. This season 35% of his attempts were pull up 3s and 65% were catch and shoot, a pretty big change in shot diet. There were so many times this year where Scottie would pull up early in the shot clock and brick, driving frustration in the fanbase. It's hard to judge him on this season though, so many of his games were played without a true scoring threat at point guard and a ton of time leading groups full of rookies and 2 way players. Next season with Brandon Ingram, more time with more talented players and whoever the Raptors draft in the first round, Scottie's shot diet should shift towards more efficient shots. That being said, if there is anything Scottie can work on to be considered a superstar, it is his 3 point shooting. Scottie does so many things so well on the court, he's already an elite defender and in a good Raptors season he should be on all-defense teams. He's a great passer and rebounder especially at his position and he's shown when he gets downhill he can be a problem in the paint. The thing is, when he's asked to be the number 1 scoring option, teams can just sit on his drives and dare him to shoot, and there's not much Scottie can do about that unless his shot becomes a respectable threat. If Scottie doesn't improve this skill, then he tops out as a super glue guy, which is a really awesome thing to have on a winning team. If Scottie does improve this skill he can top out as a dynamic number 1 option superstar, a thing every team in the league wants. Here's hoping he improves it. 

Immanuel Quickley - Floaters

Honestly, if IQ was just available early in this season I feel like the Raptors wouldn't be able to tank, maybe it's a blessing in disguise. That being said, besides availability, Quickley needs to work on his scoring inside the arc this off season. Almost the inverse of Scottie Barnes on offense, Quickley is by far the Raptors best pull up 3 point shooter, which is a skillset the Raptors definitely need when they want to win games. If he doesn't improve from there, he's still a very important player on the Raptors just because of how good he is at pull up 3 point shooting. If Quickley wants to take the next step and maybe get some all star buzz, finishing inside the arc needs to be a priority for him to become a more well rounded player. From 0-5 feet IQ shot 56% this season. Of the players that are likely to get a chance at the rotation, that would be 3rd worst on the team to only Gradey Dick and Ja'Kobe Walter. From 5-9 feet Quickley shot 40%, from 10 feet all the way to the 3 point line he shot 38%. All of this is to say that Quickley as of right now is not a threat inside the arc at all. Quickley has a slight frame, unlike guards of Raptors' past, he doesn't have the ability to bully in the paint and hit tough layups. He often relies on the floater to get his inside the arc. When Quickley's floater is on, he is a much more dynamic player and it opens up the offense for himself and everyone else. For whatever reason, he hasn't been able to get that shot going in Toronto and his efficiency has suffered. 

A lot of Quickley's struggles this season can be pinned on being in and out of the lineup with injuries for a lot of it. It took him a while to find his rhythm and as soon as he did the Raptors stopped taking games seriously. It's a cop out to say for every player that the numbers don't matter since the games didn't really count, but there is still some truth to that. Still, in Quickley's most efficient scoring season 2022/2023, he shot 52.8% from floater range (5-9 feet) and 60% from 0-5 feet. He was just better at scoring at and around the rim and that made him a much more effective spark plug style scorer. If Quickley can get back to that for next season, he can have a fringe case for all star. That may sound like a stretch but if Quickley hit those career high percentages this season he'd average 18ppg on 60% true shooting rather than 17ppg on 57% true shooting. Maybe not an all star, but has a fringe case, and that's a player any team would love to have. 

That's that for today. I will continue this slowly as the offseason goes on for the Raptors. It's a hectic time for sports so it might be super spotty but I'll pick it up whenever I feel  a lull in ideas or the games from the previous night weren't interesting. Oh yeah, NFL draft is tonight too, Shadeur Sanders to the Steelers? The fans really don't want it so I'm kind of hoping it happens. Anyway, Go Raptors!