After the Raptors got out to a bit of a slow start, Precious Achiuwa checked into the game like he has many games before. It was his first action of the preseason, and he hoped to make his mark early. All of the momentum that he had coming out of the 2021-22 season was sapped away by an early injury, a short leash from Nick Nurse, and a team that had lost its identity. He’s a talented young player in year 4, and now is the time to establish himself – again.
The Wizards — after connecting on a lob out of the pick n’ roll — targeted the same action, only Achiuwa lay in wait, and that created a different outcome. With lightning quick feet, Achiuwa played the middle perfectly between guard and big, before leaning back, leaping and disrupting the lob play. Shortly after that, he got crossmatched on Jordan Poole in transition. Twice the Wizards gave the ball to Poole on that possession — a crafty, explosive scorer with a big on him should be advantageous — and twice Achiuwa shuffled his feet, and forced Poole to kill his dribble and move off ball.
“I’m impressed with him, and I’m seeing that every single day.” Darko Rajakovic told me after the game. “Every practice and every time that he touches the floor, he’s just making winning plays. For me that’s no surprise. At the same time, I don’t see him as a 4, or a 5, as a 3 or a 2, he’s just like a player that can guard multiple positions. You could see it tonight when he was on the floor, we were inclined more to switch, because I have so much trust that he can handle any player, 1 through 5, on the court.”
Twice more in that game, the Wizards tried to reject a screen in the pick n’ roll, choosing to go after the Raptors big man — or, at least, he was guarding another big man — and twice Achiuwa stuck his man and blocked them. Once on a skyscraping pin off the backboard, another when he got Poole stuck beyond the buoys and foul grifting. He looked special in space, and special in close areas. He was every bit of the player who created so much buzz for the future, and for a time, made the Raptors wonder if they could get away without a center on the roster.
“That’s something that I take pride in: defense. I think I’m one of the best defenders in the league.” Achiuwa told me after the game. “A lot of people have different reservations with that. I think I am. I’ve shown it in the past, but that play right there (stopping Poole twice) I didn’t feel any different from – I’ve guarded All-Stars, MVP’s in the past and I think I’ve done a pretty distinct job at defending them. So, I don’t think anything was different from that play.”
Coach Darko isn’t surprised, and neither is Achiuwa. Neither is anyone who has paid any attention to his game over the past couple years. The very thing that is supposed to undergird Achiuwa’s (at times) frustrating growth on offense, is his undeniably positive defense. It doesn’t matter much if Achiuwa meanders into a long, pointless isolation on offense every once in awhile if he’s providing so many wins on the defensive end. And his offense is interesting enough that you want to see that development through anyway. There are special plays now and again. Everyone remembers when Achiuwa repeatedly put Embiid on skates in a playoff series, and so much so that the 76ers went to zone to stop that from happening. You have to sort out if his offense is gold, or gold-plated.
There was a play, a handoff from Pascal Siakam to Achiuwa, that treated the latter as the guard. Achiuwa was prioritized as the downhill threat. “I think one of the strengths of my game is being able to get to the basket.” Achiuwa told me after the game. “Probably the strongest part of my game offensively. The ability to get to the basket quickly, athletically, and with strength. And finishing as well, so that comes from reading the game, reading the defense, reading what my teammates are doing, and just being able to understand what should be done at a particular moment in time.”
That finishing, which Achiuwa has worked so hard to improve, is the cherry on top of his dynamic movement. In Achiuwa’s first 22 games as a Raptor, he shot 51-percent at the rim (42-82) which was one of the worst marks of any big man in the whole league. However, from the new year to the end of the season Achiuwa shot 63% (95-150). That improved even more last season as he went from average to well above it at 72-percent (126-176). All of this, while slowly becoming more responsible for his own makes at the rim where he’s above-average creating for himself (37-percent unassisted). The answer isn’t that he’s getting gifted easier looks (all bigs get some), he’s just improved rapidly as a finisher. Which, given his movement skills, makes a compelling case for more handoffs and pitch plays in the future.
I’m hoping for everything to come together at once, but for now, Achiuwa is playing the hits. Boy, they sound (and look) good.
Have a blessed day.
