So, this one is a little bit different because of Achiuwa’s status as a more reactive player on offense, rather than proactive. That’s just his role. We’re seeing some possessions where he’s initiating in the preseason, and they aren’t even limited to grab-and-go stuff – the ball is finding him. Part of that change for Achiuwa, and how far it goes, was his ability to transcend the base of the Raptors vision.
A lot of the Raptors success came directly from activity and length. These two things aren’t guaranteed to be married with elite skill at the NBA level, and oftentimes they aren’t. When the calendar flipped from the end of January to the start of February, Achiuwa’s role changed.
Okay, it wasn’t overnight, but we’ll use Feb. 1st as the statistical cutoff.
Achiuwa was no longer a failed roll man who meandered through possessions, waiting for a missed shot so he could crash the glass (along with everyone else). Suddenly, he was the uber-futuristic 5-out big that obliterated all-comers in space and ended possessions with rim-rocking dunks. How did he achieve this? Well, he started hitting threes and drawing closeouts.
So, this is what that looked like in preseason:
You don’t have to get a giant sell from the defender, that little pump-fake just needs to shift weight somewhere and create an opening for you. If Achiuwa gets that opening, he’s terrifying.
The ghosts of past 3’s haunt the living.
You’re a defender, why would you closeout on Achiuwa only to see your teammates left in the wake of his destructive drives to the rim? Well, he shot over 40-percent from three from Feb. 1st until the end of the season. And on top of that, over half of his attempts came above the break, where he shot 45-percent. You may or may not know that the Raptors positioned a lot of their players below the free throw line instead of above the break last season, because they’d rather get good rebounding position, than be disrespected as shooters. Achiuwa broke through those limitations, and now his success above the break as a shooter and driver is kind of game breaking.
It’s why I want him starting this season. It was small sample size, but the VanVleet-OG-Barnes-Pascal-Achiuwa lineup was, you guessed it, in the 100th (!) percentile for points allowed per 100 possessions. They were bad offensively too, but Achiuwa’s improvements could certainly change those fortunes.
We want to keep seeing Achiuwa break the last line of the defense. The other team has to pay so much attention to the rest of the Raptors that the decision of letting a shooter shoot, or letting them blow up the rim is tough, and trying to make these decisions while they’re already in rotation is nearly impossible. Some fun things are cooking in Toronto. Sure, Achiuwa’s ORB-rate dipped from 8.7-percent and 2.3 ORBS per game down to 7.1% and 1.7 ORBS per game (after Feb. 1st), but considering what happened elsewhere? You’ll continue to lean on him as a 5-out big, who may challenge for an All-Defense spot this year.
No coaching jargon in this one. Just a shrewd move to let Achiuwa indulge in some of the things he’s been begging to do, and being rewarded handsomely for it.
Have a blessed day.
