5 STATS & FUN FACTS – How will the Raptors be a fun, bad team this season
Raptors vs Cavaliers – October 23rd
The Raptors were not a fun watch last season. The numbers were not good. They lost 19 of their last 21 to close the season, ranked dead-last in the NBA in net rating after the break & second-last in defence. 14 of the franchise-record 30 players they used are not on opening night rosters this season.
Outside of watching games & being entertained, one of my favourite stats to define “fun bad” is looking at how many games were decided in single digits. Last year, the Raptors got blown out by 10 or more points in 13 of their last 21 games. They lost by 15 or more in 11 of 21. I was tracking stats like when the last time the Hornets *led* by double-digits in a game. This year, the Raptors are either going to sink or float (probably will not swim) to start the season. They’re opening their 30th year with 7 games in 11 days & there’s only one “easy” game in the first seven (Oct. 30 in Charlotte). 20 of their first 25 games are against teams that made the playoffs last season. If there was ever a time to define their identity, it’s in this early stretch of the season.
1. Immanuel Quickley’s first full season as a Raptor
Immanuel Quickley made his debut as the Raptors starting point guard on January 1st against the Cavaliers. He’s coming full circle tonight, marking the start of his first full season as a starter. Before becoming a Raptors, Quickley had only started in 27 of his 253 games with New York.
IQ had double-digit assists in 9 games last season – all with the Raptors. He’d only recorded 10+ assists in a game in 4 games before becoming a Raptor.
2. Gradey Dick can do more than shoot corner threes.
Rookie Gradey Dick only played in 21 of the Raptors’ first 41 games last season & averaged just 3.4 points, 12.3 minutes & shot 27.1% to start his career. After returning to the Raptors rotation in mid-January, Dick averaged 11.2 points on 38.9% shooting from three, playing 25.9 minutes per game. He led league shooting 50.6% on corner threes from January 17th on (min. 75 att.). 21.7% of his FGA after returning to the rotation came from the corners, 29.7% above the break & 14.4% in the mid range. In preseason, a larger majority of his shots came above the break – 30 of his 71 FGA – plus he shot 36.7% on ATB 3s.
3. Scottie Barnes’ triple-double watch starts now!
Scottie Barnes was 1 rebound away from a preseason triple-double last Tuesday against the Celtics. Last season, Barnes broke a single-season franchise record with 4 triple-doubles (set by Kyle Lowry!!), including a 24-point triple-double against the Cavs in February.
Barnes ranked 7th in triple-doubles last season (5th at the time of his season-ending injury). 2 of his 4 came within a span of 17 days, both after Pascal Siakam was traded.
4. Jamal Shead is a winning player.
This one is short & sweet because not a lot needs to be said.
Jamal Shead in 76 minutes of preseason action: 16 assists, 14 deflections, drew 16 fouls & had 5 steals.
5. Will the Cavs score this season? Even on the road?
Last season, the Cavs scored 114.7 points per 100 possessions, ranked 16th in the NBA. They ranked 24th in pace. Average offence, which worked because of a top-7 defence. However, they ranked 10th in offensive rating at home & 19th on the road. They scored 5.4 points per 100 more at home than they did on the road.
Coach Kenny Atkinson is revamping their offence this season & wants to speed up their offence with more threes & use their bigs (Mobley, Allen) to initiate more offence. Cavs averaged 41.3 3PA in preseason, but they’ll be without Max Strus for at least 6 weeks. Strus took the 2nd most threes on the team last season.