Raptors' Summer League Defense Shows off 'Intimidating' Length That Will Cause Problems During the Season
While the Toronto Raptors will certainly have some half-court offensive issues of their own this season, one thing became very clear in Summer League: their defense is going to be a problem for opposing teams.
The Raptors 2021-22 roster is essentially the evil brainchild of Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster, and Nick Nurse. It's a group predicated on defense with long limbs ready to attack opposing offenses as it sways back and forth, using its tentacles to frustrate teams.
When Toronto decides to go with its all-length lineup this year, the Raptors could easily have four players on the court all with wingspans over seven feet. That means playing Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and either Khem Birch or Precious Achiuwa and throwing a group with almost 29 feet of combined wingspan at opposing teams.
"That's a very fearsome front line," Raptors Summer League coach Eric Khoury said Tuesday night referring merely to Toronto's backup frontline group. "We were showing some defensive clips where teams weren't even able to touch the paint once in the possession and they would get a shot clock violation throwing up some really tough shots."
That wasn't even with Toronto's best defenders on the court. Rather, the Raptors' B-team, an equally long group of defenders, was able to disrupt passing lanes and clog gaps forcing the fifth-most turnovers of any team in Summer League.
"It looked really intimidating," Khoury said.
If Toronto is going to have success this season it's going to be with this unusual defensive philosophy that will be the basis of everything they do offensively. The Raptors want to force turnovers at a league-leading rate much like last season and then get out in transition and dominate the way they did back in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
While last year was certainly a step back in terms of transition scoring and turning defense into offense, this Raptors squad is going all-in on this strategy and if it works, boy, it's going to be frustrating for opposing teams.
Further Reading
MLSE announces vaccines or negative COVID-19 test are mandatory for entrance into Scotiabank Arena
Cade Cunningham & Jalen Suggs discuss Scottie Barnes' infectious personality
Raptors bigs are showing off the future of NBA defense by stepping outside their comfort zone
