I’m back from Calgary and the team has moved on to Vancouver. Training Camp is in the rearview mirror and while no clear questions have been answered, we’ve seen where the Raptors are leaning in some cases.
Time to answer questions:
What do you think the Raptors’ 10 man rotation is? – D13Drafts
If training camp is any indicator, then the 10 man rotation is as follows:
Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes & Jakob Poeltl as the starting 5; and they’re flanked by Gradey Dick, Jamal Shead, Collin Murray-Boyles, Ochai Agbaji, Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Now, it’s my understanding that Coach Darko is planning to play deeper than 10 men on an average night.
“I don’t think that this style of play that we want to have on offense and defense — I don’t think anyone can be in shape to play 12 minutes straight to be honest with you.” Darko told us during day 1 of training camp. “I think shorter stints, play hard on both ends of the ball, raise a hand when you need a little bit of rest and I’ll get you back in the game. I think playing that way is keeping everybody honest and accountable. It helps, like if you don’t have it, someone else from the bench is going to have that same energy and ferocity that we need on the floor.”
Guys like Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo especially, it’s easy to see how they could figure into the rotation at times (one more than the other) and there’s no reason for Coach Darko to turn his nose up at the idea of someone like Jamison Battle or AJ Lawson swiping some playing time on this roster.
What is one thing that would surprise most people about this team this year? Whether it’s a different scheme, new actions, developed skills, or relationships between players. – Cam Mac
The #1 thing that I’m predicting for this upcoming season that’s changed is the amount of hit ahead passes that we see from the Raptors. Last year they weren’t averse to the hit ahead, but they also relied on a lot of ball handling to get the ball up the court in addition to more gang rebounding on account of their smaller lineups on average. This year, Coach Darko is looking for more robust rebounding from a few different places now that the team has more functional size. This means that they’ll be looking for more than Ochai & Gradey on the run outs.
Bigger bodies headed up the court. Bigger wingspans. More guards on ball to jumpstart all of it. They want to throw touchdowns more often. I’ll be very interested to see how they’re able to thread the needle of cleaning their own glass and launching the hit aheads.
Relative to expectations, who was the most impressive player at camp this year? – David
This one is pretty easy. And even though I’m very high on CMB to begin with, I was very glad to hear that the strong aspects of his game have been very strong early on with the team. He dominated the open practice in the same ways he was able to dominate at South Carolina. Bull in a china shop style drives that dislodged defenders, incredibly disruptive point of attack and help-side defense. Physical pressure every step of the way.
Murray-Boyles said as much to me: “They can’t do nothing about it. They’re gonna get better and learn from it.”
“You just gotta try and play in space. You gotta try and get away from him as much as you can.” RJ Barrett said of CMB. He also added that CMB & Scottie have been going at each other tirelessly every day in practice.
Barnes also had high praise for the rookie: “Collin (Murray-Boyles) is super physical. Super aggressive. On the defensive side he’s a beast. He’s a monster.” said at practice. “The way he’s able to get steals and deflections. He’s gonna be dangerous in transition where he’s able to show his athleticism. He’s really athletic for his size. He’s very strong. You know, he has a lot of great tools. His games just gonna keep on developing. It’s his first year so he has a lot to learn, but he’s gonna keep developing and keep going. Great teammate.”
It was one thing to see CMB dominating physically against a handful of forwards at Summer League — and struggling against a big boy center — but it’s a whole other thing to hear and see that he’s on a level similar to Barnes when it comes to physical prowess. Especially since his feet and hands are much better on the defensive end, and allow him to be more disruptive on the whole – especially as a rookie.
So, CMB is my answer. He looks very good.
Did going to training camp change how well you think the Raptors will do this season? – BarnesDPOYSZN
Not even a lick, I’ll be honest. When the over/under for the Raptors opened at roughly 33 wins I thought that was incredibly low. When it crawled all the way to 39 or so, I thought that made a bit more sense when you couch in injury concerns for the roster.
I wasn’t low on the Ingram trade when it happened. I definitely saw the rationale, and the push to be back in the playoffs, even if it might hinder a more streamlined attempt at amassing talent through the draft for the future. I did a lot of film work breaking down CMB’s game and he was a player I rated as a top-5 prospect in the draft – so his play or even potential impact as a rookie wouldn’t surprise me much. I see a fairly straightforward path for Barnes to return to All-Star status if his health holds up this season.
All this to say, my analysis had already led me to believe in the Raptors to some degree. The quotes coming out of camp about togetherness don’t sell me any further – although I’m glad the team is getting along. Every player has told me it’s a special group as far as “getting along” goes, but I’ll be very interested to see if they have the skill, discipline, and tenacity to make good on some of the more bullish win predictions.
Training camp was fun. I’m really happy to have gone. I’m excited for the season. Watch the vlog:
Have a blessed day.
