Raptors Discuss How Final Few Games Remain Significant For Young Core

The Toronto Raptors are experimenting with some new ideas.

Given how this season has gone, there’s no harm in trying something different. That’s why Ja’Kobe Walter’s role has grown in recent weeks, as the Raptors look to push the rookie first-round pick beyond his comfort zone.

Take Toronto’s first-quarter lineup late last month against the Philadelphia 76ers. Walter was on the floor with Jonathan Mogbo, Ochai Agbaji, Cole Swider, and Jamison Battle. It was an unusual group that moved Walter into a lead guard role. The Raptors hope this setup will help him expand his game over the final stretch of the season and into the summer.

“It doesn’t mean that he’s going to be going to be a point guard, but it’s for him to feel more comfortable, to bring the ball up the floor, to have one or two plays in his mind he can call up and get us organized,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Tuesday following Toronto’s final home practice of the year. “I think it’s a worthwhile investing in.”

Chances are, it will not lead to anything long term.

Walter probably will not become a full-time point guard for the Raptors. But the decision is not about changing his position. It is about building confidence with the ball in his hands and giving him more opportunities to make plays in games that carry little meaning.

Over the past month, Walter has seen his touches per game and time of possession per touch have both increased over the past few weeks, according to NBA tracking data. It reflects a deliberate effort by the Raptors to get him more involved as a creator and decision-maker.

This late-season stretch is also providing opportunities for Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Jamison Battle, and Jared Rhoden who are all under contract for next season. The hope is to learn something from a month of inconsequential basketball that might actually matter when next season begins.

Mogbo’s role has shifted slightly too. Earlier in the year, the Raptors tried to shape him into more of a wing. Recently, they have leaned into using him as a small-ball center to address a short-term need while also testing how far his game can stretch.

“For him, learning is when to take that shot when he’s wide open and when actually to take the ball and attack and go downhill,” Rajaković said of Mogbo. “Really working with him to improve his finishing at the rim and lately he’s been doing a good job with that.”

The Raptors know this stretch can be tough to evaluate when it comes to long-term impact. But given where Toronto is in its developmental cycle, even these games carry meaning for the organization’s youth.

“For each player, can you see individual improvement? Is that offensively? Is that defensively," Rajaković said. "You can see that guys are going in the right direction, and it gives us confidence going into the summer.”

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