Samson Folk goes live to take on listener questions + looks at some of the most important developments of this season.
Scottie Barnes’ driving looms very large for this Raptors team. He was 53rd in the NBA in drives per game this past season, and of those 53 players, his field goal percentage ranked 49th. There are contemporaries of his — Franz Wagner, Jaylen Brown, RJ Barrett — who succeed a little bit more, and there are things he can borrow from them to succeed more often as a driver.
With RJ Barrett, the free throw shooting is a sore point. If he made free throws at the same rate as a Raptor as he did as a Knick, his true shooting percentage would jump a whole point. If he bumped his free throw shooting up to 80 percent, which is a lofty expectation, his true shooting percentage would jump two points. He is projected to have smaller defenders guarding him next season, and that comfortability at the line will allow him to play more physical and play more into contact instead of away from it. I think that development would have a very positive impact on his finishing.
With Brandon Ingram, it’s pretty simple: hit catch-and-shoot threes. Over the last 5 seasons, Ingram is shooting nearly 40-percent on catch-and-shoot triples, and the Raptors need more punch in that regard. There’s a lot of things that Ingram will be able to do as a Raptor, but that willingness to abandon some of his catch and hold tendencies and to provide spacing would be meaningful.
Immanuel Quickley, it’s mostly about his driving. Read Louis’ piece here.
With Jakob Poeltl, we’re talking mostly about his playmaking and how there’s some meat left on the bone there.
Ultimately, there’s room for this team to make a leap.
Have a blessed day.
