Toronto Raptors: 4 reasons Bobby Portis would be a nice pickup

MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 20: Bobby Portis #1 of the New York Knicks reacts against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena on December 20, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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Toronto Raptors, Nick Nurse (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Portis does what Nick Nurse loves: Shoots threes

This may come as a surprise but the Toronto Raptors and Nick Nurse run their team closest to the Houston Rockets. They have the second least amount of shot attempts in the mid-range with the majority of their shots coming from the rim and three. With Hollis-Jefferson, — their backup center last season — he only shot 52 percent around the rim and made 3 threes on 22 attempts.

Now if you add Bobby Portis, Nick Nurse gets a shooting big who in his last four seasons shot the three at league average, 36.9 percent. It may have regressed this season but that is mostly due to the Knicks reluctance to shoot threes — the lowest percentage of their shot selection was from three.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Knicks’ spacing was awful due to their lack of star power and just overall team shot selection. The reason Portis got $15 million, to begin with, was because he shot 41 percent from three on the Wizards in the 2018-2019 season. He was able to do that because of the pressure John Wall and Bradley Beal applied on offense resulting in a lot of open shots.

With Pascal Siakam and the Raptors fast-paced transition offense, there will be a lot more open threes available for Portis.