Fans might be seeing more of Mykhailiuk
Forward winning praise from coach for work ethic
Nick Nurse would be in one of those mass summer workouts — maybe around the Summer League season, or after that in California or Nevada or Florida — where a variety of NBA players and those searching for jobs would be going through their paces.
He’d notice Svi Mykhailiuk every now and then — see how hard he was working, how much more varied his game was than many had thought — and it stuck with him.
When the chance came for the Raptors to pick up the 24-year-old forward, Nurse immediately thought that was a solid idea.
“I always kind of liked him … in the little bursts you get to see him play in the last couple years,” the coach said of the Ukrainian Mykhailiuk, who has played with the Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder in three NBA seasons. “He looked really good against us when he was with (Oklahoma City) at the end of the year.
“I’ve seen him kind of around in the summers a bit and he’s a hard worker.”
Mykhailiuk has proven early in the pre-season that Nurse’s assessment is correct, and that he might be a bit more than advertised.
His reputation when he signed a twoyear deal in the off-season was primarily as a shooter. But in three games, he’s shown an ability to put the ball on the floor, moves well on the weak side to get backdoor cuts and has been among the most pleasant surprises for Toronto, which dropped a 113-111 decision to the Celtics in Boston on Saturday night.
“He’s kind of a playmaker, not just a shooter,” Nurse said of the six-foot-seven swingman. “He’ll touch the paint a lot, which is good, and he flies off those screens.”
Mykhailiuk’s play has added an unexpectedly interesting angle to figuring out the Raptors’ rotation, at least to start
the season.
If he’s able to keep it up, to attack and create as well as shoot, he’s likely going to give Gary Trent Jr. a run for playing time.
Trent, who made his second pre-season appearance Saturday after missing the opening game, is a good shooter and scorer, but his ability to create with the ball needs improvement. If Mykhailiuk keeps getting into the paint, that might give him a long-term advantage.
Nurse took a long look at both of them in Saturday’s game, and each provided the kind of offence the Raptors are going to need from them.
Trent, who had 14 points in 24 minutes, had a couple of nifty cuts down the lane to finish buckets off passes from Scottie Barnes in the first half, and Mykhailiuk knocked down a couple of three-pointers in a 12point outing and got into the paint with the ball.
Whether they can give Nurse the kind of defensive presence he demands remains to be seen, but with Toronto’s offence very much a work in progress, their scoring is going to keep them high in the rotation.
“I think you’ve got Goran (Dragic), Freddy (VanVleet), Malachi (Flynn) who kind of play the same position; you got Gary and Svi who are very similar,” Nurse said after the game. “I’m playing Goran right now to play with Freddy for a little bit. I think Gary’s one of eight guys that could be a starter at times, as well. He could be offence off the bench, whatever. Gary’s getting better defensively, that’s what I’m concerned about now.”
It was because of the legitimate chance at playing time that Mykhailiuk decided to sign with Toronto after some offseason interest from the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I heard a lot of great things about the organization and the people who work here, frontoffice staff, coaches, players … I feel like it was a great fit,” he said earlier in camp.
“I knew the coach from, I think, last summer and I felt like he liked me as a player. And me coming here, I feel like it was a great fit.”
The one fit that is undeniable right now is Barnes with the Raptors. The rookie started the night guarding Boston all-star Jayson Tatum and got scorched a few times, but still posted solid numbers. Barnes finished with nine points, nine assists and six rebounds in 30 minutes.
VanVleet led Toronto with 22 points and OG Anunoby had 17.
Tatum had 20 for Boston.
The Raptors will finish the home portion of the pre-season on Monday against Houston with no limits on the size of the crowd at Scotiabank Arena, the first time since February 2020 that they’ll have a chance at a sellout.
“I think everybody around is excited about the electricity that our home crowds bring. And obviously at capacity, it’s always a special place to play, maybe a little extra special since the absence,” Nurse said before Saturday’s game.