Like the state of California, preseason basketball games are for dreaming. And it doesn’t get too much dreamier, at least on the basketball court, than the game Matt Thomas had against the Charlotte Hornets.
He finished with 16 points and five assists, but even more impressive than his numbers was his contribution beyond the shooting. I mean, yes, we should start with the shooting: it’s real, and it’s wonderful.
But Thomas proved himself so much more than a shooter against the Hornets. And only a few nights after saying that the Raptors who won consistent rotation minutes would be all-around players, Nick Nurse acknowledged that Thomas was exactly that.
“He’s a shooter, obviously, but he’s also a good player,” said Nurse of Thomas. “He cuts and he moves. He does the right thing on defense. He’ll get overmatched once in a while size-wise or strength-wise or whatever. But I think for as much as he does at the other end, and his good decision-making at both ends, I’m wanting to lock him into a role this year where he’s a big factor.”
So Thomas seems to have the inside track on a rotation spot. That’s great news for a Raptors team needing offensive punch; it means Thomas should indeed be a big factor. But what specifically did Thomas do so well to earn such high praise?
The passing, first and foremost, was great for Thomas. He had some solid pass-aheads and quick-hitters that earned him assists because shooters made their shots. But he had a few dimes wherein the advantage was created solely on his own merit, like this nifty jump-pass to Yuta Watanabe.
“I came off a quick pindown and my guy was chasing behind me, and the big was up,” said Thomas of the situation. “I’m coming off that, jumping up in the air expecting to shoot. But if the big’s up and there’s two guys on me, it’s a split-second, instant decision to make that read and make that pass.”
Having those instantaneous reads in the bag gives Thomas another way to take advantage when defenses overplay him. The more ways he can hurt defenses by leveraging his shooting, the more effective he will become. And even beyond those passes created by his jumper, so too can he shift into a playmaking role, attack the paint, and see what it does to the defense. He started this play by catching the ball like Manu Ginobili, accelerating into the ball rather than stopping to create the threat of a shot. And he used that momentum to draw help and make the easy, but high-calorie, pass.
Thomas spoke after the game about emerging as a playmaker. He’s shown that ability. But he was a playmaker in other ways; his relocations drew defenders, allowing others to cut into open spaces. He cut into the heart of the defense for layups. His offense was a complete package, creating or at least adding to plays even when he didn’t touch the ball.
Perhaps more important for Thomas’ future in the rotation, his defense was solid. He’s clearly improved from last year, which he and Nurse readily admitted. I asked Thomas after the game how he went about improving his defense.
“A lot of it is just watching film,” explained Thomas. “Learning our schemes and our defensive concepts and principles to the point where they’re second nature.”
“Teams are going to target me, and they’re gonna go at me, so that’s something that I need to hold myself accountable to.”
“If you’re smart, and you know where to be, and you know the rotations, and you know guys’ tendencies that you’re defending, whether you’re forcing right, left, they’re a shooter, close out short, fly them off the line, etcetera,” he said, “if you know all those details, it’s going to help you out.”
And Thomas showed a grasp of the details. He slowed opponents just enough in the post to allow help to come. In fact, he defended in the post three times against Charlotte; the three possessions resulted in one turnover, two missed shots, and zero points total.
Thomas had some trouble at times taking indirect lines around opponents’ screens. But on one occasion he was able to recover and still impact the play, which resulted in a stop; then he ran down to the corner for good measure and hit a triple in transition. Even middling defense is outweighed by his offensive game. But his defense wasn’t middling. When opponents tried to pick on him on the perimeter, he was solid at staying in his stance and contesting. He’s never going to be a stopper, but as he said after the game, smart players can always fit in on the defense end. He’s showing that knack.
And because preseason games are dreams, just wisps of enjoyment rather than real, meaningful basketball games, there were many more positives in Toronto’s win.
Beyond Thomas, there was plenty to love. OG Anunoby was Toronto’s best player on the night, defending like a demon and showing an improved handle and attack. Malachi Flynn looked spectacular and played like a heady veteran, committing no turnovers while orchestrating the attack for much of the night. This may be burying the lede a bit — in that this could be the most significant possible development of all, in terms of impacting Toronto’s future play — but Pascal Siakam’s jumper looks better. He has discarded any echo of a hitch in his three-point stroke, and he’s improved his release speed. After starting slow, Chris Boucher recorded some spectacular blocks in the fourth quarter, finishing with three to his name.
It was almost a perfect game for Toronto, counter-balanced only by the fact that it didn’t matter a bit. Opponents rarely try in preseason. Even for Toronto, Fred VanVleet and the other veterans had little interested on the offensive end; good performances don’t mean much in preseason. But Nurse said that Thomas should have a consistent role this year. All the rest may be a drop in the ocean, but Thomas’ improvement seems real enough to impact Nurse’s evaluation. That matters.
And look: ultimately, very few of these extrapolations will be true and remain that way into the season. It’s preseason. For now, we’re just dreaming.
