Raptors Review: Thomas' Floor Spacing, Flynn's Defence, Siakam's Usage
Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse is looking for someone to step up and take over the team's eighth man spot.
In a world where coaches dance around direct answers, talking in circles, and acting like politicians, Nurse has been pretty clear about how he'd like to use his bench this season.
"I kind of did it by committee last year because that felt like the right thing to do and, I don’t know, I just think that maybe there’s a chance for somebody to grab that spot," Nurse said last week.
He's repeatedly mentioned a desire to find someone who will grab a 15 to 20 minute chunk of playing time that he can go to in the second unit and, by all accounts, it looks like a two-horse race between Matt Thomas and Terence Davis II. It's worth noting that Davis' ongoing legal issues stemming from an alleged physical altercation with his girlfriend could complicate his future with the organization.
Last night in Toronto's first preseason game, Thomas appeared to take an edge over Davis, impressing Nurse with a team-high 16 points.
"I keep mentioning Matt as a guy that I kind of had him in and out, not play for a few games then he’d play," Nurse said. "[This season,] maybe someone like Matt, for instance, just becomes part of that group for sure every night. Gives him the best chance to improve, learn to play against different people, different schemes, etc. I just think he’s improved a lot and he’ll be able to improve more if I’m able to lock him in there."
Defensively, Thomas still has some work to do. He'll never be a physically imposing defender, but that might not stop him from being a solid team defender within Toronto's system.
"I think Matt is a good defender," Nurse said Sunday. "The only thing that happens sometimes is he gets a size issue or an over-powered issue. Just whatever, you end up switching onto a 6-8 guy or something and he’s got to fight like heck just because of his size. He does fight hard and he’s tougher than maybe he appears to be. He is certainly tough. I think he is a good defender. He does all the team stuff."
Offensively though, Thomas' 3-point shot totally changes the way opposing teams play defence. It forces defenders to stay home on him or risk him getting off a wide open 3-point shot, which he connected at a 54.8% clip last season per NBA Stats.
"I think it distorts the defence a little bit," Nurse said of Thomas' shooting ability. "It usually creates space which guys who handle the ball want — more open floor space to handle in — but also puts teams on high alert for other things. When Matt is coming off things there are other things that open just because he is going off with such pace and if they don’t jump out there and get him he’s going to have a shot at knocking a three on them. It opens up weakside things, it opens up rolls to the basket. It opens up more space because we can again collapse the defence which we try to do a lot. So yeah, it’s important. He’s a high-level attention grabber."
Late in the second quarter, Fred VanVleet got a little taste of what Thomas' 3-point shooting can do for an offence. As he drove around P.J. Washington (#25), Terry Rozier (#3) couldn't step in to close off his driving lane because of Thomas' shooting ability.
VanVleet certainly gets a lot of the credit for beating Washington into the paint, but that play probably isn't possible if the threat of a Thomas 3-pointer doesn't keep Rozier from collapsing in.
Thomas' offensive ability certainly warrants more playing time, but it'll come down to what he can do defensively before Nurse pens him in for more playing time this season.
2. Malachi Flynn's Footwork
It's tough to take much away from one preseason game, but it's hard not to be impressed by what rookie Malachi Flynn showed in his NBA debut.
Offensively, there are certainly things to like. He shot the ball very well and ran the team's second unit with skill. But it was on the defensive end that Flynn was the most impressive, flashing NBA-level footwork.
In the first quarter, he perfectly maneuvered around a Cody Zeller screen, going over the pick while staying in front of the speedy Devonte' Graham.
Later, he quickly closed out on Rozier while maintaining enough balance to stay in front of Rozier's drive.
"Similar to Fred he's got great side-to-side feet and he's got a toughness and he's got a want to and he's, kind of got an attacking mindset at the defensive end and that's good to see that's how we like to play," Nurse said of Flynn.
Considering how much Nurse demands from his players defensively, that kind of showing on Day 1 should bode well for Flynn's future.
3. Strange Usage For Pascal Siakam
The Raptors have talked about using Pascal Siakam a little differently this season, trying to get him easier looks, with some more downhill attacking, and a little more off-ball action. They're trying to find ways to get him the ball that suit his game a little more than isolations and post-ups. But in their first preseason game, things looked a little bit like they did in the Bubble.
Now it's worth noting that Nurse said prior to the game he didn't think they'd run much of the new stuff they have planned for Siakam this season. So it's certainly not time to worry about Siakam's usage, but it was interesting to see the Raptors repeatedly clear things out for Siakam and find little success.
In the first quarter, the Raptors cleared out for Siakam, allowing him to take Gordon Hayward one-on-one. But once Siakam started attacking, the rest of the Hornets swarmed him in the paint, and Siakam was left with nothing but a contested floater.
Late in the second quarter, Siakam had another one-on-one opportunity, this time against Cody Martin, but even if he beat Martin, there were multiple Hornet defenders waiting for him in the paint.
On the next possession, the Raptors cleared things out for Siakam to take rookie Jalen McDaniels one-on-one, but Siakam settled for a step-back midrange jump shot.
"He had some up and down moments last night," Nurse said. "I think, again, he is moving a little better, feels better. He’s got a little bit more of a smile on his face on a daily basis which is good to see again. And you know, we are working to get him some more of the buckets he is accustomed to getting — some open floor buckets, some transition buckets some of the inside spin move stuff that has been his kind of calling card in the past. But we’ll just keep plucking away at that a little bit and see if we can’t get him a few more easy looks."
While Siakam should certainly be able to beat his man one-on-one with some regularity, those plays aren't the most conducive to success for him. It'll be on the coaching staff to come up with better ways to utilize his unique skills this season.
