No Black Box Report today, as we’re on a small holiday vacation of our own. Instead, here’s a short list of incredibly specific elements that ten Raptors could use to help their games.
Kyle Lowry – Some respect
Lowry is in the midst of another career year. He should be an All-Star shoe-in, and as long as he’s on the court, Toronto’s offense has been able to manufacture decent shots. He’s among the great passers in the league. His jump-shot is, though streaky, one of the best on the team, particularly when he’s fading to his left on the catch. He seems to have rediscovered his driving and finishing game at 33 years old, which shouldn’t technically be possible. So what do you give to a player who seems to have it all? Acknowledgement of his brilliance. Or at the very least, how about a continuation call?
Fred VanVleet – The return of his absentee jump-shot
A VanVleet three-pointer is one of the best results Toronto can produce in a single offensive possession, and that’s true no matter who is healthy. Having VanVleet spotting up in the corner drilling triples is a luxury when Pascal Siakam can shoulder the offense. But when Toronto is decimated with injury, VanVleet’s jumper becomes a bare necessity for creating good offense. Yet since he returned from a knee contusion on December 20, he’s shot five-of-24 from deep. Toronto’s needed much better. VanVleet delivered the classic “it is what it is” in regards to his injury status right now, which is code for “I’m hurt, but it’s not going to get better, and it’s not going to get worse, so I can play.” Because of his size and style of play, VanVleet is always banged up, so his injury status isn’t an excuse for his shooting. As long as Toronto is missing its key offensive players, VanVleet needs to rediscover his jumper for the Raptors to be able to score with any consistency.
Pat McCaw – A layup
There’s been some great McCaw in recent games, including guarding Kristaps Porzingis while Toronto came back and beat the Dallas Mavericks. There’s also been some bad McCaw in recent games, including his lacking offensive performance in a Christmas stinker against the Boston Celtics. The most important element has been McCaw’s willingness to shoot. He won’t always make his jumpers, but he needs to take them for Toronto to survive offensively when he’s on the court. He’s done a better job of that recently. But if McCaw is really going to be an offensive positive, he has to be able to score around the rim. He’s been a negative there throughout his entire career. If he could just make some semi-contested layups, that would open up the driving and passing game he loves so well.
OG Anunoby – Balance
Anunoby can be torn between being too indecisive, when he doesn’t look for his own shot, and making his decisions before he should, when he often turns the ball over driving into traffic. When he plays at the correct tempo, he has shown a huge leap in creation and finishing ability this year. Still, his drives can be akimbo, and he too often takes contact later than he needs to. When Anunoby keeps his center of balance low, his finishing is great. He just needs to be more consistent.
Serge Ibaka – Mobility
Ibaka is not a ground-bound center without the ability to move his feet, but he sure can play the part some nights. Against the Celtics, Ibaka refused to leave the paint. That was partially because Toronto needed him around the rim to rebound, but also because he didn’t have a chance of containing Kemba Walker on the perimeter. Ibaka is supposed to be a mobile big. He’s got solid flexibility, and he should be able to switch onto some guards. He has in the past. The odds are that Ibaka will be suddenly rediscover the fountain of youth in the playoffs, when veterans like him thrive. But Toronto may need some youthful defensive activity from Ibaka before then if the team is going to have favorable seeding.
Terence Davis – Less thinking
Young guards with ridiculous athleticism, like Davis, can too often hurl themselves into the lane and figure out the rest after. Davis has the opposite problem, in that he too often lets the game come to him. In general, that’s a good thing. Not always. Davis has some sweet moves, including a hesitation dribble that has frozen veteran defenders, and a one-handed scoop layup that can buy him extra space around the rim. His jumper has been better than advertised. Especially while Toronto is injured and needs offensive punch, Davis should spend a little less time fitting in around the edges and a little more time attacking with gusto. He’s a young athletic guard and should play like it, at least every once in a while.
Malcolm Miller – Way less thinking
Miller is the perfect example of a shooter who lets misses get in his own head. He is a brilliant shooter, even if his numbers don’t show it. His stroke is effortless and pure, and he could easily knock in 40 percent on a high volume with his size and ability. Yet that hasn’t happened at all. It seems sometimes that when he misses a good look, it affects how he plays on the offensive end. In the beginning of the 2017-18 G League season, he shot poorly from deep, even though his stroke looked good. He eventually turned it around and finished shooting 37.9 percent from deep that season. The Raptors need to hope for the same. Miller needs to stay out of his own head and launch from deep as much as possible. As long as he stays out of his own way, they’ll go in.
Chris Boucher – Horizontal burst
Vertical and horizontal athleticism are too often confused for one another. Players who can jump high can not always run fast, and they especially can not always change direction quickly. Boucher is a perfect example of that. His leaping ability is off the charts, and in combination with his spindly length, Boucher can create some incredible highlights in the air. But despite his explosion onto the scene this year, his driving game has remained quiet. Per nba dot com, he’s shot two-of-nine out of drives this year. He doesn’t easily get around initial contact with defenders, and he’s often bumped off his line because of his frame. But Boucher has solid dribbling skills for his size. If his first step improves, or his change of direction, he could add a new element to his game. Boucher has been mostly fantastic this season for Toronto, but there’s plenty more he could do. Becoming a real driving threat would open up a whole new avenue for his game.
Norman Powell – Health
There are a lot of injured Raptors right now. But none were playing better than Powell before his injury. He was driving with electricity, shooting the ball as well as anyone, and even doing the little things like fighting for defensive rebounds. Powell had never put his talents together at the same time before the last few weeks prior to his injury. If the Raptors get that same player back when his shoulder heals, they’ll be hugely improved. He was practically a perfect version of himself in games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors need that player on the floor.
Nick Nurse – The playoffs
Nurse used much of the 2018-19 season to experiment before eschewing the bad and focusing on the good once the playoffs rolled around. He didn’t always start with the team’s best options, such as matching Marc Gasol’s minutes to Joel Embiid, cutting Jodie Meeks from the rotation, or using Kawhi Leonard as Giannis Antetokounmpo primary defender. But he always found the best path forward at some point in each series. Nurse stepped up in the playoffs. Once again this season, Nurse has made plenty of decisions that have resulted in questions from fans and media. Does McCaw play too much? Should Toronto throw double-teams at opposing stars for 48 entire minutes? These are regular season problems. The hope is that once the playoffs roll around, Nurse will optimize the team’s performance. Before then, it’s just 82 practices.
