Tank Pretenders or Commanders? – Samson’s Mailbag

Samson Folk answers listener and viewer questions about the Toronto Raptors.

What is tanking? It seems like for some people it’s become a synonym or substitute for the term “rebuilding”, and for others it’s a very specific, top-down losing campaign that spans seasons. Samson discusses the widening perspective, how the Raptors play into it, and what the Raptors record is relative to other tanking teams last season.

A huge deep dive on Immanuel Quickley’s offense and how he can easily step into what the Raptors are doing to elevate it. Samson breaks down all that film, but some fun numbers for you here:

Immanuel Quickley shot 73-percent on threes off of screens last season as a Raptor. He also shot 34% on guarded C&S threes last season (pretty good), and 47% on unguarded C&S threes (elite). This aspect of his game helps supercharge the plays he’s involved in as a shooter and adds a lot of spacing to a Raptors offense that desperately needed it.

On ball, Quickley struggled a bit last year, putting up middle of the road (55th percentile) pick n’ roll numbers as the ball handler, and struggling greatly to score inside the arc, where he shot 34-percent on 2-point attempts. He also struggled immensely operating out of handoffs.

Samson also discusses how different stats sites measure layups and how they calculate data.

A listener (Esfandiar Baraheni) asks about the contrasting styles of Ochai Agbaji & Bruce Brown, and Samson highlights the changing role of the big guard/small wing in the NBA, and how they’re being asked to navigate different aspects of offensive roles – namely, screening and dunker spot wizardry.

Samson also discusses Kelly Olynyk’s looming return, Jonathan Mogbo’s development, and Scottie Barnes’ pick n’ roll counters, before saying goodbye to the viewers. Hop on in and enjoy the show!

Have a blessed day.

The post Tank Pretenders or Commanders? – Samson’s Mailbag first appeared on Raptors Republic.