“Push the pace and play defence” is Raptors mantra

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors volition effort to unrecorded up to their namesake successful the NBA team’s 30th play and play fast, assertive basketball.

All-star guardant Scottie Barnes, the Raptors focal constituent connected some sides of the ball, summed it up neatly days earlier Toronto hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers successful their location opener connected Wednesday astatine Scotiabank Arena.

“Push the gait and play defence,” said Barnes connected the tribunal astatine OVO Athletic Centre, the team’s signifier facility. “That’s our main priorities. That’s what we’ve been moving connected a lot.

“We’ve got a batch of young guys that tin beryllium capable to play accelerated and effort to get assertive connected defence.”

It was a sentiment echoed by constituent defender Immanuel Quickley, who volition beryllium 1 of Toronto’s starters this play on with Barnes.

“Tough, gritty. I deliberation fans tin expect that,” said Quickley. “I deliberation the league tin expect that, that we’ll beryllium 1 of the harder playing teams astir the league, for sure.”

Swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., missed astir of the pre-season aft helium sprained his enarthrosis successful a 125-98 accumulation romp implicit the Washington Wizards connected Oct. 6 successful Montreal. He participated successful a full, non-contact signifier connected Tuesday but is inactive listed arsenic day-to-day up of the crippled against Cleveland.

Although it was unclear erstwhile Barrett would instrumentality to Toronto’s lineup, helium was connected the aforesaid leafage arsenic Barnes and Quickley.

“Defence, playing hard, outworking people, being scrappy, running, playing together,” said Barnes connected the Raptors’ individuality successful the caller season.

It’s an ethos forged by 3 facts.

First, they allowed 118.8 points per crippled successful a disappointing 25-57 run past season, sixth worst successful the NBA. Second, with an mean property of 25 1/3 — buoyed up by 38-year-old guardant Garrett Temple — they’re 1 of the younger teams successful the league and should person the stamina for a smothering defence. Third, they are comparatively undersized, particularly astatine powerfulness forward.

Seven-foot centre Jakob Poeltl, the tallest subordinate connected the squad and astatine 29, the 4th oldest, said that the fast-paced, defence-oriented benignant is what helium expected.

“We’re going to beryllium playing free, which is going to pb to a batch of learning experiences,” said Poeltl. “Maybe a small spot of chaos astatine times.

“We’re inactive trying to fig each different out, but erstwhile we bash fig it out, I deliberation it’s going to beryllium hard to guard, due to the fact that we’re playing hard, playing fast, playing unpredictable.”

Part of that hard-nosed doctrine volition beryllium crashing the boards.

The Raptors collected a middling 10.9 violative rebounds per crippled past season, bully for 11th successful the NBA. Second-year caput manager Darko Rajakovic is determined to amended connected that, and Toronto tied for sixth successful the league with 13.2 per crippled successful the pre-season.

Rajakovic said the cardinal is to beryllium strategical astir however and erstwhile the Raptors goes for an violative rebound alternatively of playing choky modulation defence.

“What are we doing there? Are we conscionable reckless and going to the solid nary substance what? That’s not our plan,” helium said aft signifier connected Oct. 9. “Our program is to beryllium to bash a bully occupation of getting to the rebounding spots connected the floor, but astatine the aforesaid clip doing a bully occupation successful modulation defence. We’re trying to wed those 2 things into 1 analyzable plan.”

Trending Now

Relying heavy connected point-of-attack defence successful transition, particularly with backup constituent defender Davion Mitchell starring Toronto’s 2nd unit, is the different cardinal tenet of Rajakovic’s antiaircraft scheme.

Like the accent connected violative rebounds, it’s a program designed to stress the Raptors’ strengths and fell their weaknesses.

“I conscionable look astatine the shot and conscionable get backmost and deliberation astir modulation defence if we miss a shot,” said the six-foot Mitchell, noting helium has enactment to bash connected violative boards. “I’ve got to larn from that and ticker film.

“(Rajakovic) talked to maine astir it a mates times, but sometimes I’ll beryllium reasoning like, ‘Man, I’m the smallest dude connected the court, nary mode I’m going to get it,’ truthful sometimes I conscionable enactment backmost but I request to support getting amended astatine it.”

Toronto’s different large contented is that it has the toughest docket to commencement the play of immoderate NBA team. Twenty of the Raptors’ archetypal 25 games are against playoff teams from past year. Eleven of those teams made it past the archetypal round.

“I cognize we’re playing Cleveland connected Wednesday nighttime and I bash not cognize what happens aft that,” said Rajakovic connected Monday. “I truly don’t privation to know. Nothing changes successful my approach.

“I truly privation to absorption connected our connected our team, and however we spell day-by-day and improve.”

The Raptors volition beryllium missing respective cardinal pieces connected Wednesday. In summation to Barrett perchance not playing, centre Kelly Olynyk (back) of Kamloops, B.C., tiny guardant Bruce Brown (arthroscopic genu surgery), and rookie combo defender Ja’Kobe Walter (sprained shoulder) volition beryllium retired too.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Oct. 22, 2024.