Toronto Raptors: Nets-Raptors postseason preview

Raptors bench gaining confidence at the right time

When we last checked in on the Toronto Raptors halfway through the seeding games, secondary scoring was a concern. However, Toronto’s second unit is gaining confidence at just the right time.

Once the Raptors’ playoff matchup was locked in, the blueprint for the team seemed to be to get more guys involved. Players such as Norman Powell, Terence Davis Jr., and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were all able to shake off the rust from the first four seeding games.

Further down the rotation, Matt Thomas showed why he’ll be considered a weapon in Toronto’s upcoming postseason run. Thomas shot an impressive 52.6 percent from three-point range in the Raptors last four seeding games.

There’s a reason they call him to refer to him as “Matty Ice” people.

Not only was it encouraging to see Thomas’ standout play, but Chris Boucher also stepped up in a big way too. Boucher thrived when given an opportunity for more minutes, including pair of standout performances against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philidelphia 76ers.

In Toronto’s victory over Milwaukee, Boucher scored a team-high 25 points off the bench and grabbed 11 rebounds for the double-double. Boucher followed that up with a 19 point-nine rebound outing in the Raptors’ win over the 76ers.

Don’t worry, we know why everyone’s here. Let’s talk about Stanley Johnson.

The 24-year-old has been relegated to mostly garbage time minutes this year, but with the final few seeding games being essentially meaningless for the Raptors, Nick Nurse was handing out minutes the way Oprah Winfrey hands out cars. Johnson cashed in on the opportunity.

In the Raptors’ win over the 76ers, the “Stanimal” only played nine minutes, but he hit the most important shot, the game-winner. Following the big-time shot, Johnson was rewarded with 29 minutes en route to a 23 point performance in Toronto’s final seeding game against the Denver Nuggets.

While we’re at it, let’s show some love to Paul Watson Jr. The 25-year-old was an important player for Raptors 905 this year and received high praise after his play in the bubble from Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.

With the playoffs on the horizon, the rotation is going to get tighter. However, for players like Boucher, Thomas, Johnson, and Watson getting extended reps to close out the regular season will going a long way if and when they’re called upon during the postseason.