Positionless hoops & the Raptors: our team can compete
By Brian Boake
A past great player writes about the future of the NBA’s giants in light of the advent of small ball. Are the Raptors ready for this brave new world?
Your Correspondent was a huge fan of Hakeem Olajuwon in his playing days, and I’m pleased to note his seemingly effortless transition to “civilian” life. Among other things, the Hall of Fame centre runs a big-man school where Jonas Valanciunas has spent some productive time.
Hakeem is something of a renaissance man, so I wasn’t surprised to find he’s penned a thoughtful article in the Players’ Tribune concerning the future of the NBA frontcourt. He’s of the opinion that the demise of the traditional giant in favour of small ball is over-rated.
I urge you to read the article, but in sum, he’s convinced big men will still play meaningful moments, as long as they are mobile.
If you agree with his conclusion, then we need to consider whether the Toronto Raptors have the players of the type needed to flourish in tomorrow’s NBA. To be clear, “flourish” is a short form of “win a championship”. Nothing else is acceptable.
The Raptors’ starting centre is JV until someone takes his job away, or he’s traded. (Note: Jonas has attended Hakeem’s big man “academy”.) While I see JV trade speculation on occasion, it’s my firm opinion that such a move is not in the cards. Put another way: if another team wants Jonas, they will have to call Masai Ujiri with a boffo offer. Our GM isn’t calling anyone about JV.
Jonas is not the fastest man on his feet, but he’s not the slowest either. He can certainly get up and down the floor as well as anyone his size in the league, and he’s only 24 years old. Expecting improvement in speed and footwork is reasonable for the young man.
His reaction time on defense has improved, though the needle has merely moved from mediocre to acceptable. JV blocked 1.3 shots Per Game [PG] this past season, which is nothing special. What has improved is his personal foul rate, which decreased to 2.6 PG, the lowest of his 4-year career. He’s got to stay on the floor, and keeping the fouls down is essential.
“Big men mature later.” attributed to Bud Grant, Minnesota Vikings coach
Where things will get interesting is at the Power Forward spot, assuming (as I do) the Raptors roll out Jared Sullinger as the Game One starter. Will he have the mobility to assume the wide-ranging defensive responsibilities Dwane Casey demands? If not, the Raptors may struggle against ball-movement offenses like those of Atlanta and Boston.
The Raptors might not bother with a PF on those occasions when defensive mobility is at a premium, which usually is the case when the other side goes small. Our team has enough depth to allow Dwane Casey to mix and match all the way to position ten on the roster. If the rookies (Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam) are as mobile as their college records would indicate, they may be in line for more minutes than first-year men are normally granted.
We will be playing close attention to our incumbent bigs in pre-season. If they have lost a step, woe betide them