How the Toronto Raptors Can Fix Their Bench for the Postseason

The Toronto Raptors’ bench needs some readjustment. Can Nick Nurse implement some new changes to the rotation to get ready for the playoffs?

The Toronto Raptors need to figure out how to place their bench in the best position to succeed for the playoffs. Nick Nurse has to find combinations that work and spread out his stars to help the bench.

If the Raptors goal this year is to contend for a title, they should do everything possible to assemble proper lineups that won’t hinder the team’s success. The bench has not performed to expectations this year. Nick Nurse needs to space out his stars to help boost the bench and play his best lineups and players for longer stretches.

Lineup Problems

This season the Raptors’ bench has struggled mightily. It’s a far cry from being as dominant as last year. Even with the addition of Jeremy Lin and Serge Ibaka now coming off the bench, the unit still hasn’t come together. There are certain players and lineups that Nick Nurse should stay away from deploying in the playoffs.

Any lineup that features Patrick McCaw without Kyle Lowry or Fred VanVleet is a place to start. Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet have been great playmakers all season long and know how to get their teammates involved in the offense.  Patrick McCaw has a limited offensive game and needs to get easy looks to be effective. With Kyle and VanVleet, McCaw is a plus-5 on the floor. With Lin, he’s a minus-22.

Jeremy Lin still hasn’t found consistency with the Raptors. His three-point shooting hasn’t gotten better and he still looks like he’s uncomfortable running the offense for the bench. Playing beside Kyle should have helped but that’s not the case. Lin is still playing poorly and should probably only see playoff minutes if it’s a blowout.

Norman Powell and OG Anunoby could be two of the Raptors most important bench pieces. Each player can play quality defense and hit a decent amount of their three-point shots. The only problem is their consistency. Norm, to be fair, has gotten a lot better throughout the year, but OG has been up and down. Can the Raptors rely on these two be productive for the bench unit?

OG has seen his three-point shooting fluctuate throughout the course of the season. As a starter though he has hit 44-percent of his threes. But as a reserve, he has hit only 32-percent of his three-point shots. When OG isn’t hitting his threes, Raptors offense struggles. When he’s not on the floor, the Raptors offensive rating jumps by almost 10 points.

Nurse should also stay away from playing Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka on the same lineup. The Raptors thrive by playing fast with a mobile power forward. Ibaka is not as quick as you used to be and has played extremely well playing close to the basket both on offense and defense. With Gasol, Ibaka is relegated to playing on the perimeter at times. But is shooting only 23-percent from three.

With Ibaka, Gasol has been able to rim run more often and get post-ups. But Gasol operating at the elbows and at top of the arc has provided the Raptors with floor spacing and more ball movement. Having Ibaka play alongside Gasol, limits the floor spacing. It also deprives the Raptors of having another player capable of handling the ball.

Unless the Raptors use Ibaka and Gasol similar to how they used him against the Chicago Bulls, these two shouldn’t see the floor that much or at all. In the playoffs, teams will sag off of Ibaka to focus on Kyle, Kawhi Leonard, or Pascal Siakam, that gives Ibaka more looks from his favorite position: the elbow jumper.

Considering that the Raptors played more of a G-League team than NBA team, the results of that game should focus on how they played Ibaka and Gasol. Can that lineup with two traditional big men work in the playoffs, probably not.

Possible Solutions

The Raptors should shorten their playoff rotation to nine players. Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Ibaka, and VanVleet should be the only rotation players considered for playoff minutes. Even with the rotation cut to nine, OG and Norm shouldn’t see more than15 minutes per game.

VanVleet and Ibaka are more effective players and Pascal Siakam and Kawhi Leonard should see extended time at the forward positions. Danny Green should also play heavy minutes because he has been a part of the Raptors most successful lineups due to his defense and three-point shooting.

Nick Nurse should space his stars out like how Brett Brown does in Philadelphia. Nurse should figure out which of his stars play well together and space them out with the bench. This should help to sustain leads when most of the starters head to the bench.

Nurse should look to play Kyle or Gasol with either Kawhi or Siakam. By separating Kyle and Gasol the Raptors would have two playmakers at all times when VanVleet gets subbed in. They should use Kawhi and Siakam to be the primary scorers on their respective lineups.

Siakam has played very well when Kawhi sits out. He is having a career year and has established himself as one of the main features on this team. With averages of 17 points on 55-percent shooting from the field and 35-percent from three-point range, Siakam has become a lethal option for the Raptors.

Nurse should look to balance his lineups with scoring and playmaking. Kyle or Gasol need to be on the floor so the offense doesn’t collapse into playing isolation basketball. With one of Kawhi or Siakam, the Raptors would have at least one dominant go-to scorer to play through. This would help by having opposing teams focus on one player, which could result in more open looks for role players.

Considering how the poorly the Raptors bench has played, they should look to capitalize on hustle plays. Getting defensive stops and running in transition should be their primary focus. Norm can be used to attack the basket and kick it out to open shooters or be used as a cutter. OG can crash the offensive boards and space the floor.

The bench will need to figure out easier ways to score if the offense stalls. Opposing teams will try to limit the Raptors strengths. Which is why they will need other alternatives to fall back on to if they get in trouble.

The Raptors bench needs to be fixed for the playoffs. The playoff rotation should be cut shorter, while the starters get extended minutes. Nurse needs to find a balance with his stars and avoid using combinations that haven’t worked in the regular season.

Masai Ujiri put the pieces together for a deep playoff run with title aspirations. Nick Nurse just needs to figure out how to put it all together to get the best out of them.