Scottie Barnes rounds out the Raptors

Samson Folk & Trevon Heath discuss the latest in the Toronto Raptors world, but focus mostly on Scottie Barnes & Ja’Kobe Walter.

Are the Raptors looking at potentially jumping into the the top half of defense in the NBA? Samson & Trevon discuss while highlighting how the Raptors have succeeded all season, which is by: tagging up.

With the increased volume from 3-point land across the NBA we’ve seen an organic rise in long rebounds. Long rebounds create more opportunities for preparation and quickness to grab boards instead of sheer size, and tagging up is just that – using your opponents attempt at a box out as an opportunity to pin them low if the rebound pops off long; and it also acts as an easy way to pick up your check early to help avoid transition and cross-matches. This helps the Raptors a lot, as they’re one of the five best teams in the NBA at both limiting transition and defending transition possessions once they happen – and no one in the NBA is better at defending transition off of live rebounds. Top 1 in ORBS, top 5 in transition allowed, top 5 in transition defended. A lot of effort.

Is Scottie Barnes’ presence on defense enough to radically change what the Raptors do, and how they succeed? Can he move them away from just being a hustle team, into a successful defense? Samson & Trevon say why or why not that might be able to happen.

They also highlight how the slightly smaller role on offense will continue to help RJ Barrett ratchet up his efficiency while also helping the Raptors create out of the pick n’ roll.

Maybe most importantly though, they talk about Ja’Kobe Walter and how he’s been able to provide impact in ways that were hard to see leading up to the draft. Sure, he didn’t shoot the ball super well, but he’s sticking on defense much better.

All that stuff, plus so much more.

Have a blessed day.

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