RETOOLED RAPTORS JUST MIGHT SURPRISE
Rookie Barnes can do it all, they're better up the middle, and watch out for Anunoby
All five NBA pre-season tune-ups are in the books with a full week to get ready for the season opener. What is a team to do?
The easy answer is create familiarity and comfort with one another and just fine tune things from those five practice games.
The Raptors have given us a glimpse of what they are, what they aren't, and what they can be.
Here's a breakdown of what we learned during this pre-season and what to expect going forward.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT SCOTTIE BARNES
The basketball universe, at least the Twitter portion of it, went into high anxiety mode the moment NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Scottie Barnes and not Jalen Suggs would be the Raptors selection at No. 4 on draft night.
Suggs, the Gonzaga standout, was viewed as a no-brainer in some circles once Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley were off the board.
The Raptors came away in awe of Barnes' combination of skill set, personality and a wins-before-everything approach to the game.
Barnes hasn't disappointed. Through five games he has enthusiastically taken on every challenge from guarding Jayson Tatum or Bradley Beal. He has scored, distributed the ball and created offence at a level rarely seen by a rookie.
Barnes is going to have his struggles, as every player does at some point, particularly in that first year of learning the league, but in a few short weeks he has shown such an array of ways he can impact the game that he's almost slump-proof. If his shot (which still needs work but is by no means broken) isn't falling for a few weeks, he can always turn to his above average passing game to make his offensive contribution. And even if all the offence he can impact dips at one time, he can still be a plus source on the defensive end.
Barnes has a love for the game that's ever present. No struggle is going to take that away from him.
Suggs may or may not score more points in his rookie year than Barnes, but the Raptors believe their selection will be the better play long term.
Barnes, through five games, has given them no reason to doubt that.
CENTRE SHOULDN'T BE A TURNSTILE THIS YEAR
Aron Baynes and Alex Len weren't the answer and that was clear very early, although the Baynes fall-off remains somewhat puzzling.
Chris Boucher gave it a valiant effort but it wasn't fair to ask him to fight and scrap with guys 50 pounds heavier than him.
Eventually Khem Birch and Freddie Gillespie arrived and the position solidified a little.
Now it's Birch and sophomore NBA big man Precious Achiuwa handling the duties.
Birch is just back from a bout with COVID and still finding his stamina and his rhythm, but he proved a year ago that even if he's a little undersized against bigger men in some games, he's tough enough and savvy enough to provide that last line of defence and chip in occasionally on the offensive end.
Achiuwa is the reason for optimism. He's just starting to scratch the surface of what he'll become in the NBA. Not a 7-footer like some teams employ, but at 6-foot-9 with a combination of speed and ball-handling skills that most centres can't match, it more than makes up for those few inches.
Achiuwa is no shrinking violet either and possesses the physique to battle with the biggest bigs.
In short, the Raptors are much improved at the position.
ANUNOBY STILL FLIES UNDER THE RADAR
OG Anunoby has long been a guy the Raptors could count on to lock down an opposing scorer and take him out of the equation. If he isn't initially suffocating his matchup, he's wearing him down to the point that he won't be a factor later on.
But that's been the case for a while now.
This year, though, Anunoby is looking more than ever like a guy with the ability to impact the game from an offensive standpoint, almost as much as he does defensively. His handle is tighter, his three-point shot, which was already a major piece of the offence, looks even more dependable. His forays to the basket are smoother and much more confident.
Without Pascal Siakam around for the entirety of the pre-season, Anunoby has had more opportunity than ever to perfect all of these elements of his game.
When Siakam returns, the opportunities might dwindle a little, but hopefully not too much. Anunoby has been that good.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
The point guard position is in good hands with Fred Vanvleet, Goran Dragic and Malachi Flynn. Kyle Lowry will never be forgotten, but Vanvleet is the easy smooth transition while Dragic's presence offsets the loss of experience. Flynn has shown a doggedness through this pre-season that's going to serve him well
... Gary Trent Jr. is more than just a shooter ... Forward Svi Mykhailiuk is looking for a home and he may have found one in Toronto. He's another good shooter who doesn't get credit for the other things he does on the court ... Justin Champagnie probably spends as much time or more with the Raptors than he does with the G-league team. A two-way contract will limit, at least initially, how much time he can spend with the Raptors, but we're willing to bet he'll max that out based on his early showing and the impressions he's made on the people that matter ... Dalano Banton isn't here because he's local and the optics look good. The Rexdale native has earned all the praise he's received and may surprise some with the opportunities he gets when the lights come on for real ... Yuta Watanabe will look back on his summer with the National team in Japan and be forever grateful. He's a much more confident and well rounded player because of that experience of being a No. 1 option ... I'm going to really miss Freddie Gillespie who, in very short order, proved to be an exceptional human being and a joy to be around. Let's hope he catches on somewhere else, but given the Raptors needs and the options at hand, we can't argue with the decision to waive him.