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Raptors media day is over. The main topics of the meeting were covered and now the hard work for the team is underway in Victoria, but here are a few more takeaways from the initial meeting:
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No one in Raptor-land is getting too excited about reports that OG Anunoby is “unhappy” with his role in Toronto. These things should always be taken with a grain of salt (who benefits from the leak, a team, a player or his camp, or another team hoping to sneak in cheaply after making some waves? (Ding ding). Although there may be fire where there’s a little smoke, more often than not, there’s nothing substantial in the reports. Anunoby said he didn’t even discuss his role with the nurse. While it’s true, Anunoby won’t be an option for the most good goal, he remains the club’s best and most versatile defender, one of the most accurate outside shooters and a valuable member of the club. He has always been a favorite of Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse and they all said the right things on Monday. Maybe his long-term future will be elsewhere, he signed a club-friendly deal last time out and will certainly be looking for a lot more down the line and perhaps want to be a top dog in attack, but it’s also possible he likes what he has here.
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“I expect a big jump from OG,” Ujiri said. “He played 48 games last season. I think OG did an amazing job this summer. I know there were all these rumors last year, but I think OG is in a good place. We have almost, it’s intentional, we have the same type of big wing players to come and play. He is such a dynamic player who plays many positions, can shoot the ball. I think his role is coming,” Ujiri said.
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“OG is good, man,” Pascal Siakam added. “I don’t think I need to talk to OG. He gets it, he’s been in the league for a while too and he knows what (the NBA rumor mill) is. We’ve talked a few times this summer and I think he gets it and he’s got a really good team around him so he’ll be fine . It’s kind of like the NBA’s job.”
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(2) Winning trumps in Toronto. Ego is part of the business, everyone wants their shots or stats, but in good teams, winning cures all. Ujiri talked about playing to win, Nurse said the organization’s first goal is to win, second is to develop players, and Fred VanVleet chimed in.
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The point guard has to feed everyone, and VanVleet doesn’t think that will be a problem.
“I think if we win then everyone is happy. I think there are enough roles for everyone,” Van Vleet said.
“We have a lot of talent and that’s a good problem to have, but we have to find a way to play championship-level basketball.”
(3) Juancho Hernangomez was a reluctant movie star but had a blast filming Hustle with Adam Sandler for several years.
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His sister auditioned him during the pandemic and he was stunned to get the role of Bo Cruz. The movie was a hit this summer, but more enjoyable was winning gold for Spain at EuroBasket with his brother Willy, the tournament’s MVP. Juancho, who was in tears when his brother was named MVP, won the Finals MVP for good measure for some family bragging rights after a hot finish that exemplified the three-point shooting he can bring to the Raptors. The 6-foot-9 (what other size would a Raptor be?) former 15th overall pick has hit 35 percent of his career three-point attempts over five-team stints, including a career-best 44 percent (Luke Kennard led NBA at 44.9% for the season) for Utah in 17 games last season.
“We have to be able to use it. He can stretch the floor,” Nurse said, noting that he was recommended by good friend and Spanish national team coach Sergio Scariolo, a nurse’s assistant during the championship season.
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Hernangomez said he grew up watching Vince Carter’s Raptors and also heard good things about Toronto from fellow Spaniards Jose Calderon and Marc Gasol.
(4) Shooting was a weakness for last year’s team. Those Raptors were 20th in three-point accuracy, 19th in attempts and 27th in effective field goal percentage. Nurse is looking for better marksmanship and also improved shot selection. To that end, the coach wants the Raptors to attack the rim much more often and get to the free throw line more. Only eight teams scored a lower percentage than their total points from the line. Only four teams shot worse than Toronto’s 60.5 percent from within five feet of the rim. Only one (the New York Knicks) had a lower field goal percentage. More drives and better finishing inside will lead to more points and more kick outs to catch and shoot threes. Toronto boasts a number of excellent catch-and-shoot players that should take advantage.
“What I’m hoping is we’re hitting the front of the rim, hopefully we’re hitting free throws that go to the rim,” Nurse said. “I want to get better at it because that part is like NFL football. You have to push it a little bit to open up the pass and I think getting to the front of the rim opens up the three ball.”