It’s been a packed schedule early on, but still feels like the season is flying by.
The Toronto Raptors don’t play again until Chicago comes to town on Monday. Amazingly enough, once that game is over, Toronto will have already played a third of its season. It’s been a packed schedule early on, but still feels like the season is flying by.
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With a bit of lull the next little while, it’s time for another Raptors mini-mailbag:
From several writers: Will the Raptors sign Jamison Battle? He has certainly shown promise with his minutes thus far?
RW: Seems like a lock that the Raptors will convert Battle’s two-way deal to a standard contract once his days run out. Any forward that can knock down three-pointers as easily as Battle has made it look is going to have value. Only 23, the undrafted free agent has shot 44% on three-pointers, trailing only Ochai Agbaji (45.5%) amongst Raptors regulars. He’s also hit 16-of-26 two-point attempts, tied with Chris Boucher for the team lead and has nearly a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Battle looks like he can carve out a long career as a floor spacing specialist. Considering only one team hoists fewer three-pointers than Toronto, Battle has a chance to earn a role with the team that gave him a chance.
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Toronto recently cut two-way player DJ Carton, who showed flashes, but was plagued by injuries as a Raptor, and signed Toronto native AJ Lawson, who has lit up the G League as a scorer. Lawson shot 40% from three in 15 NBA games in 2022-23 and 13-of-26 at Summer League that year and has had success in pre-season games, but has shot only 34% from three in 42 G League games.
From Dan via email: The eye test tells me RJ Barrett finishes a lot more around the basket with his right hand these days. Do you see that as well? Is there data to back this up?
RW: I’ve noticed it too, but not aware of any available data to prove it. Barrett’s hit 53.7% of his attempts in the paint and is 10th in the NBA in drives per game. Plus 22.7% of his points have come on the fast break, behind only Agbaji and Davion Mitchell.
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Barrett took a step forward upon joining the Raptors last season and he’s making another leap. As Kelly Olynyk recently told me: “He’s been amazing and he’s expanded his game. He’s shooting the ball really well, he’s making a lot of plays for other people,” Olynyk said. “Scoring on all three levels. Super efficient. You know, when the ball’s in his hand, something good’s gonna happen. And, yeah, it used to be, just take away his left hand, make him shoot. And now you can’t say that. And so that’s a kudos to him. And the development he’s put in, and just how confident he’s playing right now.”
From many: What do you think of Toronto’s WNBA team name, logo, colour scheme?
RW: Toronto Tempo seems like a fine name, no real issues with it, other than it’s pretty plain. I like that they used different colours than we’re used to, but not a fan of the logo. Way too similar to the Indian Pacers, New Balance, the OHL logo and more. Maybe it will grow on me, but really, who cares about my opinion? I hated Raptors at first and was hoping former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment boss Tim Leiweke would carry out his planned rebrand. But now I’ve flipped on that and am glad they stuck with Raptors.
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As a teenager I was hoping for Toronto Towers for the expansion team in Toronto. Raptors was a better choice.
And for fun, here were the five burning questions we posed in our Raptors preview:
CAN SCOTTIE BARNES ADVANCE ANOTHER LEVEL:
RW: TBD, thanks to all the injuries, but he was posting career highs in many categories before going down again.
WHAT IS THE STARTING LINEUP:
RW: Gradey Dick was expected to join the guys you’d expect to start, but Ochai Agbaji has made a case for himself too if they ever get to full strength.
WHICH ROOKIES WILL PLAY THE MOST:
RW: Jonathan Mogbo was my guess in October and while he has played the most games (26) of the rookies, Ja’Kobe Walter is coming on and is actually averaging a couple more minutes a night than Mogbo. Mogbo leads Toronto’s rookies in rebounding, steals and blocks.
IS THIS THE REAL RJ BARRETT:
RW: Ie the guy from last season. The answer appears to be yes. Barrett’s been even better, as noted.
ARE ANY TRADES LIKELY:
RW: We figured Bruce Brown and Chris Boucher would be dealt at some point this year. Boucher has done well to earn Darko Rajakovic’s trust after being out of the mix last year and likely has raised his value. Toronto is still waiting for Brown to make his season debut, but it should be soon and he’s a name to watch ahead of February’s trade deadline.
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