Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Raptors Show Off Transition Speed in Sloppy Loss to Warriors
Well, the blueprint of what the Toronto Raptors would like to do this season was certainly clear Wednesday night even if the execution of that plan left something to be desired.
The Summer League Raptors got out and ran and ran and ran on the Golden State Warriors. It wasn't pretty for Toronto whose 35% shooting night created ample transition opportunities, but the Raptors certainly weren't going to make things easy — at least defensively — on the Warriors in a 90-84 loss.
When you sign a team full of versatile, defense-first wings this is what's to be expected, especially at Summer League. Malachi Flynn wasn't able to create quite as much as he had in Toronto's Summer League opener and without him moving the ball the Raptors had almost no half-court offense.
What was evident, however, is how much Toronto's offense is going to be predicated on creating turnovers and scoring in transition.
"Our length allows us to do a lot of things defensively. So the first thing is get stops and run," Raptors Summer League coach Patrick Mutombo said. "We really don’t want to run a lot of set plays. So we’re banking on, you know, I think we forced 13 turnovers for 25 points there. Get stops and run."
The Raptors want to have five players on the court who can kickstart the fastbreak and move the ball with ease. Aside from Flynn, almost everyone on the roster is between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9 with rebounding and ballhandling skills.
"When you get the rebound and push the defense can’t get set," Mutumbo said. "They don’t have time to match up to you and... the way we do it is whoever gets the ball its his responsibility to establish pace for us. Whoever does not have the ball is responsible to establish space, so we can get into the paint early."
Even Toronto's new big, Precious Achiuwa has the skills to kickstart the Raptors' transition offense off rebounds. Coming to Toronto, those skills, he said, have been nurtured and encouraged.
"If I see an opportunity where I feel like it’s gonna give my team an advantage to get the ball and push it and create an early offense for my team, easy buckets, easy basket, that’s what we’re looking for," Achiuwa said. "We’re not trying to work for every basket, we’re trying to get easy ones."
In the first quarter, Achiuwa picked up a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a nifty layup, showing off those transition skills that can be so tough for opposing defenses.
When Achiuwa wasn't kickstarting things for Toronto, fellow 6-foot-8er Dalano Banton was used as the Raptors' point forward. He came down with a team-high 12 rebounds, using his length to battle inside before his guard skills helped Toronto push the pace.
"We always want to play fast paced and get it up the floor every time," Banton said. "So kind of if someone is ahead of me than pitch it and if nobody is ahead of me than I can bring it myself."
Banton finished the night with 10 points and three assists while Achiuwa scored 13 on 5-for-10 shooting.
Other Observations
- Scottie Barnes battled early foul trouble but bounced back for a solid second half. It wasn't quite as good as his Summer League opener, but his 13 points on 2-for-8 shooting were fine on a down night.
- Freddie Gillespie has struggled mightily in his first two Summer League games this year. He shot 1-for-9 with two points in his first outing and just three points with five fouls on Wednesday. It's too early to be a serious problem but considering Toronto's lack of frontcourt depth it's something to monitor.
- While Flynn struggled in the first half, he came alive late scoring 15 of his 16 points after the break.
Up Next: Houston Rockets
The Raptors will be right back at it Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET when they take on Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets.
