One -- The identity of this Raptors team can be distilled into one play. Scottie Barnes found himself matched up with Jayson Tatum, who is no worse than a top-10 scorer in the NBA. Tatum thought he had Barnes beat, stepped back just to be sure, but still found himself blocked by Barnes who stretched his seven-foot-three wingspan to block Tatum's jumper at the apex. The loose ball came to Precious Achiuwa, who started at centre yet he leads the break like a guard, beats Tatum's pressure then forces Al Horford to slide over, and in that very instant Achiuwa drops it off perfectly in stride to Barnes who races ahead for a dunk.
That's the Raptors' new identity and they have stocked the roster with players to fit that style.
Scottie Barnes blocks Jayson Tatum then gets the dunk.
pic.twitter.com/3aWr4EsmQL
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 10, 2021
Two -- Barnes is truly a positionless player. If you're going by his defence, he guards everyone from point guards to centres. He's pressuring guards at the top of the floor as often he's wrestling centres on box outs. With the starters, Barnes directs traffic like a point guard, while with the reserves he plays centre as the backline defender. He led the team in assists, making an assortment of smart plays including two slick feeds inside to Gary Trent Jr., darting behind the defence, and a cross-court feed to Fred VanVleet for three when he read that the Celtics were overloaded slightly on his side.
Barnes was 0-for-3 from deep with none of the attempts being particularly close, yet he took Tatum one-on-one and nailed a spinning turnaround jumper with ease over a great defender. There's really no point to putting labels on the fourth pick, because he just does a bit of everything to contribute towards winning.
Three -- There are rookie mistakes, of course. Barnes was burned twice by threes from the wily veteran Al Horford, where Barnes tried to provide help in the post only to give up open threes to an accomplished shooter. Barnes also continues to foul at an unsustainable rate because he is always trying to do the right thing, but is sometimes a half-step late.
Nick Nurse is a proponent of teaching his players to be hyper-aggressive, because he believes it's easier to reel someone back in than it is to get them up, and even experienced players sometimes fail to find the balance let alone 20-year-old rookies. But the other way to look at it is that Barnes is already making so many positive contributions across a number of positions, and that his floor is already that of a rotation player. He's only going to get better from here.
Four -- OG Anunoby is willing to take on anybody. Anunoby has the mindset to go along with his expanded scoring skillset. He continues to seek out chances to attack, even when the advantage might not necessarily seem obvious, because Anunoby trusts himself to make something of it.
Anunoby started slowly like the rest of the starters, but took his game to another level in the second and third quarters. He used a stepback move to create space to shoot over Horford, used a sidestep after crossing between his legs a few times to beat the buzzer on another three, sold a hard drive to the rim before stopping on a dime for a pull-up mid-range jumper, and added in an impressive baseline drive for a reverse layup where he split two defenders. Anunoby was even willing to go at Tatum on a few occasions. His ambition knows no bounds right now, and the Raptors would be wise to allow him to explore it. He's growing in real time.
Five -- Achiuwa will make two great plays followed by a simple mistake. He's like a stick of dynamite where he can blast through anything but also there's little control involved. The highs are highlight worthy, especially when he's leading the break and going coast to coast. Achiuwa's athleticism is electric, and he'll muscle through bigger players with zero hesitation. But there's also a rawness to his game, where he gets caught between two minds trying to make the right play, or he flubs what should be a simple layup. The challenge of the coaching staff will be getting Achiuwa to cut down on his mistakes and thereby making him more efficient. He's as talented as anybody on the roster.
Six -- The biggest improvement from last season will come from the second unit. The reserves were abysmal last season, consistently giving up leads and failing to build on the momentum of the starters. This year's bench looks much improved, and twice in pre-season the Raptors have overrun the opponent with a huge push in the second quarter.
Two catalysts behind their success have been Svi Myhailiuk and Justin Champagnie, with Myhailiuk creating efficient offence both on and off the ball, while Champagnie continues to rack up deflections. Barnes has also excelled in the second unit as a small-ball centre, which has allowed the Raptors to play faster since all five players can lead the break. Once Yuta Watanabe and Chris Boucher returns, the Raptors will be able to smother opposing defences with length at every position, and it will help compensate for what will likely be an average starting five.
Seven -- Nurse continues to start Goran Dragic despite the fit. With Fred VanVleet as the main ballhandler, Anunoby serving as the go-to player, Achiuwa leading the break, and Barnes being a hub of the offence, there really isn't much left for Dragic to do. He is mostly asked to score, which he can do at a reasonable rate, but it feels like a waste of his talents to not give him a few minutes as the main playmaker. Dragic should be a steadying force for the second unit where he can handle the ball and set up plays for others.
Eight -- Malachi Flynn looks out of place. Flynn missed six threes in 15 minutes, the majority being open looks, and he didn't create much for his teammates either. His pesky on-ball defence from last season has not yet carried over thus far, as he was thoroughly outplayed by his counterpart Payton Pritchard.
Perhaps the introduction of so many versatile forwards has created confusion for Flynn, since so many other players are handling the ball which forces Flynn to operate without it. But he needs to find that balance quickly because as things stand, Flynn's spot in the rotation is not guaranteed based on how pre-season is going. Nurse could simply split minutes at the point between VanVleet and Dragic, Anunoby looks ready to play more two guard, Myhailiuk and Gary Trent Jr. have been productive, while even Dalano Banton might be knocking on the door for minutes.
Nine -- Freddie Gillespie continues to be disappointing in limited minutes. Nurse was complimentary of his efforts in the post-game interview, citing Gillespie's screening and rebounding as positives, but his actions are more telling because he keeps taking Gillespie out after short stretches. Gillespie isn't helping his own cause, particularly on offence where he is coming up short on even the simplest of finishes. Gillespie travelled after Anunoby set him up right under the hoop, then he got blocked despite VanVleet putting it on a platter for him. The Raptors are short on true centres and are banged up in the frontcourt, and still Gillespie barely sees the floor.
Ten -- The third stringers should get more run after the weekend. The Raptors have a rare back-to-back coming up, and it doesn't make sense for their main players to be extended in games that don't count. Watanabe and Boucher have already been sidelined in training camp, and VanVleet caught a blind shoulder to his head. Besides, playing time has been tough to come by for most of the players competing for guaranteed contracts, and none of them are showing much in six-minute spurts to make any credible impressions.
