OG more than just OK for Raptors
Forward on path of continuous improvement
As the Toronto Raptors take stock and plan for the future during a much needed midseason stoppage, management will be doing their best to assess what they can take from this unorthodox campaign.
What they’ll find is that despite a 17-19 record nobody would have been happy to see at this point heading into the year, there have been some positives. While some of them pop off the page — such as Norman Powell and Chris Boucher each shooting 44 per cent on three-pointers during breakout years and Fred Vanvleet emerging as an all-star level talent after receiving a big new contract — the best long-term development for the franchise could be something far less flashy.
That would be the progress of forward OG Anunoby. He is still only 23 years old, easily the youngest member of Toronto’s core, and while his 13.8 points per game might not wow anyone, that’s double what Anunoby averaged as a sophomore and up from last year’s 10.6 per game. He’s also upped his three-point accuracy from an already solid 39 per cent on more attempts, improved to 75 per cent from the free throw line, become far more effective as a passer and off the dribble and is getting to the free throw line at a much higher rate than ever before. Anunoby is creating for himself (only 58.5 per cent of his field goals have been assisted, compared to 64 per cent in 201920 and 71 per cent when he was a rookie) and when teammates have found him, he’s been lethal, as his 43 per cent accuracy on corner three-pointers attests.
“It’s something he really wants to work on, he wants to be a player that can take it off the bounce from the perimeter and make plays or finish or find the open area if the help comes. He works on it a lot,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said last month.
“I like his drives, too, because he gets a couple of really important baskets, I like his off-ball cuts when he gets under the hoop and gets that pass for that reverse kinda dunk thing that he does.”
It’s easy to forget Anunoby’s age, or that heading into what would be the championship season, it was Anunoby and not eventual most improved player Pascal Siakam that the newly installed Nurse and team management believed would start up front beside Kawhi Leonard. Instead, injuries and personal tragedy wrecked that season for the Indiana product. But he bounced back with a strong 2020-21, including excellent play in the bubble and that memorable catch-and-shoot game winner against Boston, and has followed up by raising his game another level.
“He’s been, what I would say, is continually improving,” Nurse said in January.
“He’s a good shooter out there and then just all the cutting and drives when he finishes ... those are things that are still a work in progress, but he is working on them. And it’s nice because we’re gonna need them; I think he’ll have the space to do some of those things.”
As nice as the offensive progress has been, what separates Anunoby from other players is his work on defence. Anunoby has been able to guard every position for a while now, but he’s now elite, deserving of a spot on an NBA all-defensive team without a doubt. Whether your MVP candidate is a guard — like James Harden — or even a giant like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid, Anunoby is willing and able to make life tougher for the best of the best. That’s hugely valuable, especially in today’s all offence, all the time league.
“OG, man, when he locks into a defensive matchup with one of those top guys he can really do some disruptive things,” said Kyle Lowry.
Anunoby’s tied for fourth in steals, just behind Fred Vanvleet, he’s 11th in deflections and like Pascal Siakam and Boucher is great at contesting three-pointers. Simply put, he’s a problem. And with Siakam and Boucher part of the long-term plan, it gives Toronto something to build around defensively, with Vanvleet causing havoc at the initial point of attack, too.
Right about now, the $72 million contract extension the Raptors signed Anunoby to before the season is looking like a nice piece of work for the front office.
The Raptors have had a lot of reasons to feel gloomy in 2020-21. They haven’t been to Canada for months, they’ve faced injury and Covid-19-related challenges and they haven’t won enough games, but they have to be thrilled with what they’ve seen from Anunoby.