The grooming of a new main option
Anunoby had green light to shoot as often as he wanted in pre-season
Much was asked of OG Anunoby and much was delivered in what might eventually be the most significant aspect of the NBA pre-season for the Raptors.
The four-year veteran, who has elevated his game each season since he joined the franchise, was given all the latitude in the world over four games to take as many shots he felt comfortable taking, the leeway to make errors without serious consequence and, as Raptors coach Nick Nurse said, “more runway” than he might normally get.
It worked tremendously and, for all the excitement about Scottie Barnes and a handful of other newcomers, Anunoby’s pre-season performance is a harbinger for how Nurse and the Raptors want the season to go.
“Every time he takes (a shot), I think he’s making it,” Nurse said.
The coach isn’t too far off. In four pre-season games, Anunoby shot better than 50 per cent from the field (26for-50), better than 50 per cent from three-point range (13for-24) and made 12 of 13 foul shots. It was a stunning performance, even if it came under less than intense exhibition game circumstances. It speaks to Anunoby’s confidence in his shot and his willingness to take whatever he can.
And it’s what the Raptors need from the player who will likely be the main scoring option to open the season.
The absence of Pascal Siakam, who is likely to miss the first month of the season, created a need to find a dominant offensive focal point and Anunoby was the logical choice for the exhibition season that ended with a 113-108 win in Washington on Tuesday.
“He’s had big games in the past but he’s in his rhythm and his flow,” Fred VanVleet said of Anunoby. “But I kind of expected that with Pascal being out. There’s really not much sharing OG has to do.
“He’s our number one option right now. He’s been great, he’s been assertive finding his spots, I think me and him are finding a little bit of rhythm together so it’s good to see.”
Anunoby is a rapidly improving three-point shooter, his ability to break down defenders off the dribble got much better last season, too, and when he was on the floor in exhibition games, he was the go-to guy.
“He is getting a lot of chances to play a lot of one-on-one, some more post-ups, etc.,” Nurse said in the middle of the pre-season. “I’m not so sure that’s the great rhythm of our offence that we’re going to see all the time but it is part of developing him now and using this time to do that.
“There is maybe a little bit of a longer … runway.”
The emphasis on getting Anunoby shots and opportunities may have taken a bit away from Toronto’s offensive flow but it was done intentionally because there’s still a week of practice before the opener.
“You can sit here and be super critical and say some of (the offence) is a little sticky … I just want him to get the reps,” Nurse said. “We’ll clean up the stickiness whenever we need to, if we need to, but I want him to get as many reps as he can.”
Anunoby got enough shots and playing time in four games that he and VanVleet had Tuesday off to rest.
And with Siakam (shoulder), Chris Boucher (finger) and Yuta Watanabe (calf ) still out with injuries, Nurse got a long look at players battling for playing time and roster spots.
Isaac Bonga was among the starters, Ish Wainright and Justin Champagnie got first-half minutes, and Sam Dekker and Freddie Gillespie each looked good in second-half minutes.
Dekker, who hadn’t played much in the first four games, had the most notable impression, finishing with 18 points and four three-pointers in about 17 minutes.
"(Dekker and Wainright) both played really good, there’s no doubt, and Sam certainly got hot there," Nurse said after the game."It’s going to make the decisions tougher, I think.”
Still, none of Tuesday’s contributors is considered a lock for a spot — Champagnie is on a two-way deal, the others have non-guaranteed contracts – and the Raptors need to get to a workable number for practice leading up to the Oct. 20 season opener against the Wizards at Scotiabank Arena.
“I think we’ll probably make our decisions pretty quick here so we can get the roster ready to go and we can zero in on opening night,” Nurse said.