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Four interesting stats from the Toronto Raptors’ season so far

By Thomas Valentine

TORONTO, ON - February 10 In the first half, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) comes across some heavy Raptors defence.The Toronto Raptors took on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Scotiabank arena in NBA basketball action.February 10, 2020 (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - February 10 In the first half, Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) comes across some heavy Raptors defence.The Toronto Raptors took on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Scotiabank arena in NBA basketball action.February 10, 2020 (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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Pascal Siakam - Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors – Pascal Siakam (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

In Transition

It’s often discussed that the Toronto Raptors love to get out in transition. It’s a staple of Nick Nurse’s offense. Rather than packing the paint and looking for the rebound, the Raptors send players out on the run to look for the ball once it’s secured in an attempt to catch teams out as they try to reset on defense.

On defense, they look to get back quickly without getting caught in transition. That means their offensive rebounding numbers are low, but they are all around one of the best fastbreak teams in the league, so really, it’s all part of the gameplan.

In terms of numbers, the Raptors rank third in the NBA in fast-break points with 18.6 per game, behind only the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers –  the only two teams with a better win-loss record than the Raptors.

Defensively, the Raptors are only allowing 12.2 fast break points per game, which ranks sixth in the NBA. If we dive further in, though, the numbers do the Raptors even more justice.

Through 55 games, the Raptors are, on average, defending around 17.5 transition opportunities per game, around the middle of the pack in that regard. What they do in those possessions is downright remarkable, though.

The defense is allowing just 1.03 points per possession, the best number in the NBA. A number that puts them in the 100th percentile among all teams. On offense, the numbers are just as impressive. The Raptors rank in the 86th percentile for transition offense with 1.15 points per possession with an EFG% of 61-percent.

When we say the Raptors are great in transition, we mean it.

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