Poeltl polishes game by cleaning up on glass
Emphasis on offensive boards something new for Casey — the kids forced his hand
SAN FRANCISCO– Jakob Poeltl was about a metre or two away from the basket on the baseline when the Raptors took a shot, and between him and the ball was the long presence of Shaun Livingston of the Golden State Warriors.
It was impossible for Poeltl to get around the Warriors guard, so all he did was reach above him — barely leaving the ground — to grab the errant shot, collect himself and quickly throw a little jump hook for a basket.
It was one impressive play on the offensive glass in a long list of them for the second-year Toronto centre who had one of his best games as a professional in what turned into a 117-112 loss at Oracle Arena.
Poeltl set a career high with 14 rebounds, 11 of them coming on the offensive boards — a glimpse of what he can give the Raptors now that some shackles have been removed.
Coach Dwane Casey is not a huge proponent of his players crashing the offensive glass — he’d prefer they get back in defensive transition — but Poeltl’s skill set has the coach slightly altering his long-held philosophy.
“We are emphasizing offensive rebounding more than I ever have in my career,” the Raptors coach said. “We are going from zero to11⁄ 2 to two on the offensive boards, so that’s an adjustment.”
Casey is basically taking advantage of a unique group of young big men by encouraging them to work near the opponent’s basket rather than race back to set up a half-court defence.
Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Lucas Nogueira aren’t going to stay and wrestle with other big men on the glass and be slow getting back; they are quick enough to make an impact on missed shots and still get back.
Toronto had 17 offensive rebounds against Golden State — Anunoby finished with four, to go along with Poeltl’s 11 — and that led to a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points that helped Toronto stay in the game until the final 90 seconds.
“When (teams like Golden State) go small like that, (Poeltl) uses his length and size to go get those rebounds and dominate,” Casey said. “He did an excellent job in there.”
Poeltl has become a key member of Toronto’s second unit, developing a solid relationship with veteran C.J. Miles, who twice hit him with tough passes in traffic that Poeltl turned into easy layups.
With Jonas Valanciunas out with a sprained ankle for, perhaps, another couple of games, Poeltl is getting more time on the floor with the starters and showed Wednesday it’s been an easy transition.
“With Jonas out, we’re going to have to play some smaller lineups now, but I don’t think my role really changed that much,” the soft-spoken Poeltl said.
“I’m still trying to do the same things. It’s just a little bit more responsibility I have to take on.”
The former lottery pick — No. 9 in the 2016 draft — just seems more at ease on the court this season. It’s hardly surprising, because coaches have been impressed with his court awareness and basketball IQ since last year, and bodes well for his future.
“I’ve been through all this stuff last year,” he said.
“Now it’s a second run through, it’s kind of similar to my second year in college. I just feel more comfortable out there. I feel more confident, I guess.”