The Toronto Raptors’ bench has always been an important part of their success because of how well Nick Nurse makes the most of a player. With some players returning and new faces returning, it’s time to talk about each player’s role moving forward.
Head coach Nick Nurse uses his bench just as one would try solving a puzzle. Utilizing different pieces to fill an area of need depending on the opponent. A certain player will be playable against the 76ers, but that same player could be rotated four times before finding out he’s unplayable against the Celtics. That has been a big part of the Toronto Raptors‘ success last season.
But Nurse and the Raptors were not the only team to adjust their lineups with bench players. Frank Vogel and the Lakers did exactly this in their championship run. Dwight Howard was barely seeing playing time in the series against the Houston Rockets, but he was an important piece in shutting down Nikola Jokić in the Nuggets series — Howard would eventually become a starter three games into the series.
Finding the versatility needed for certain matchups is crucial to a team’s success. Rewind to September when the Raptors were playing the Celtics. Norman Powell and not Gasol/Ibaka was the player closing games, keeping the series as close as it was.
So here’s what to expect from the returning and new bench players throughout the season. I decided to not include Terence Davis since we are awaiting the outcome of his court date.
Shooting Guard – Norman Powell
Following his best season yet, Norman Powell has earned all of Nick Nurse’s trust and it showed in his minutes per game played — the fifth-most minutes per game on the team with 28.4. Nurse’s trust was on full display when Powell was chosen to close games instead of Gasol or Ibaka in the playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
The Toronto Raptors struggled mightily in defending the pick and roll when either Gasol or Ibaka was on the court. Therefore to close out games, Powell was inserted in the lineup to prevent the Celtics from targeting their weak spot. Powell isn’t the best defender out there, but his wingspan and speed are enough for teams to not target him on defense.
On offense, Powell was best used for his three-point shooting and finishing at a rim. Two departments the Raptors struggled mightily on in the series. Powell shot 67 percent around the rim and 41 percent from three for the season, posting the highest effective field goal rate on the team. Powell would turn out to be a much more important piece than we’d think in this series.
But it shouldn’t be surprising as he’s been playing starter minutes for the most part of the season. Powell brings versatility to the offense that no other player has with his high efficiency from around the rim and three.
Expect Powell to take on the same type of role he had last season. He plays solid defense and does all the right things on offense. From shot-creating, shooting threes, and finishing at the rim; Powell’s versatility off the bench will play a big role in the Toronto Raptors’ success.
Center – Alex Len
Following a disappointing 2019-2020 season playing in two losing situations — Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings — Alex Len will be looking to make the most of being finally being in a winning culture with the Toronto Raptors. That was the selling point for Len. Once Toronto showed interest, there was no reluctance in joining the 2019 NBA Champions.
Len is the exact type of back-up center the Raptors needed. He has been a player that has accepted a minor role on every team he’s been on in his 7-year career. It certainly won’t change now and the Raptors will make the most of Len’s abilities.
Len’s best strength is his rim-protecting. With the Atlanta Hawks last season, players shot 7.4 percent worse when Len was on the floor — which is a better number than Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid. Opponents were also a lot less willing to actually shoot at the rim by 2.8 percent when Len was on.
Unlike Gobert and Embiid; however, Len’s defense outside the rim is very limited. He’s not very quick laterally, thus making him an easy target for guards to pick on-off switches — similar to Ibaka who got killed on the pick and roll. This makes him a pretty one-dimensional player on defense, but it doesn’t mean he can’t be effective in the right situation.
Len’s playing time will be especially useful against teams with more traditional bigs or teams who don’t run the pick and roll — like Simmons and Embiid on the 76ers, Giannis and Lopez on the Bucks, and even the LA Lakers with Davis and LeBron.
Don’t expect much on the offensive end for Len. He’ll best be used as a screener, a roller of the pick and roll, and he does have the capability to hit an open three if he is wide-open. Len will be a nice addition to Nurse’s swiss army knife on defense.
Small Forward – Deandre’ Bembry
Much like Alex Len, Deandre’ Bembry was acquired for what he can do on the defensive end. Nick Nurse asks for two things from his players if they’re looking to get playing minutes: you have to be able to shoot well and play hard on defense. Although the latter is checked out, it’ll be tough for Bembry to get significant minutes being a career 26.9 percent three-point shooter.
That’s not the only weakness for Bembry. He’s also extremely turnover-prone for a guy with such a low-usage rate. He can be sloppy with his passes and tends to lose the ball when trying to do too much. However, on the Toronto Raptors, he won’t be playing on-ball as much as he did in the past. He’ll be used way more off-ball as a cutter and hopefully a three-point shooter — if he does develop a better shot with Toronto — which should reduce the turnover rate significantly.
Defensively, Bembry’s never-ending motor and athleticism will benefit the Raptors greatly. He’ll be in everyone’s face, disrupting passing lanes, and throwing his body at every loose ball. He’s the perfect team defender that would fit great in Nurse’s help defense scheme.
I would expect him to get the same type of minutes as he got in Atalanta — playing around 20-23 minutes per game off the bench. But instead of playing shooting guard, Bembry will be playing as a small forward since the Raptors are overflowing with guards. He’ll be competing with McCaw for minutes at the three.
Power Forward/ Center – Chris Boucher
The former G-League MVP and Defensive Player of the Year will finally be looking to make his impact on the NBA stage. Chris Boucher did play minutes in the NBA in the past, but they were fairly limited. With an increased role waiting for him, the stage is set for Boucher to show his full potential.
Boucher was used as a Center last season, and the acquisition of Len tells us that Boucher will be playing a lot more power forward this season– the position he was playing when he won MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. So Boucher will most likely take Siakam’s minutes when he does go off.
Although no one can replace what Siakam does on the court offensively, Boucher does still bring value to that end. He’s a willing three-point shooter whose percentage can get better. He shot the three at a 53 percent rate in the bubble’s regular-season games and that’s an indicator of Boucher’s capability. That number is not sustainable, but it wouldn’t seem preposterous to suggest that Boucher is capable of shooting 36-37 percent from three during a whole season.
If his shot does get to that range, it will also help the Raptors’ pick and pop situation tremendously. Boucher is already a good roller off the pick and roll; the addition of a good three-point shot will make him much more unpredictable after a pick. He will have the luxury to pop more often (go to the three-point line after a pick) after screening, which would bring much-needed variability in their halfcourt offense.
Defensively, Boucher is a very versatile defender that can guard the 1-5. He provides good rim protection while being able to guard smaller guards as well off switches. He is also among one of the leaders in three-point shots block — something only a handful of players are capable of doing.
Boucher’s biggest flaw on defense is his fouling. Boucher is very foul prone and that alone can keep him off the court. If he can fix that, then there’s not much else to worry about on defense for Boucher.
With Boucher playing a bigger role this season. Boucher must improve his three-point shooting and fouling tendencies to be a key piece of the Raptors rotation. If not, he’ll still be a good energy player to have off the bench that can catch opposing teams off guard — like when he played power forward in the historic 30 point comeback win against the Mavericks.
Shooting Guard – Matt Thomas
The most efficient three-point shooter on the Toronto Raptors roster. Despite it being on a low number of shots (only 99 threes were taken), no one can take away how good a shooter Matt Thomas is. Unfortunately, his defense was enough of a weak point for Nurse to keep him off the court. Thomas does try hard on defense but is limited on what he can do as an on-ball defender; making him an easy target for opposing teams.
What he brings on offense, however, can still outweigh his liabilities on defense. The attention he draws behind the arc is like no other player on the team; that’d be important in maximizing the Raptors’ star player Siakam — a player who does most of his scoring in the paint. Nurse did this for a few minutes a game in the Celtics series to have him stretch the floor in an attempt to help get Siakam going.
Maximizing Siakam’s game isn’t the only thing the Raptors would benefit from having Thomas on. He has shown that he is deadly off dribble hand-offs and coming off screens. So it wouldn’t be crazy to see him in a Redick-like role. If plays are run for Thomas the way it was run for Redick by the 76ers (at a lower rate), that can be one way of improving their poor half-court offense — the Raptors were ranked 17th in points per play in half-court offense last season.
Even if it’s just 10-12 minutes per game, those will be very important minutes. He will always have an impact on the game even if he isn’t scoring. Matt Thomas only played 41 games last season averaging just 11 minutes per game. Expect the number of minutes to stay around the same, but the number of games to increase.
It isn’t often teams have a 48 percent three-point shooter in their arsenal and Nurse needs to start taking advantage.
Point Guard/Shooting Guard – Malachi Flynn
An older draftee who should be ready to contribute on his first day. Malachi Flynn was selected in the 2020 NBA draft because he does all the right things on the court. He’s a point guard that has very good playmaking skills; a good shot off the dribble and the catch-and-shoot; and is a very good defender. All the important skills 6 feet 1 guard should have — also very similar to Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet.
In his time at San Diego State — where he played his last season in college — he won Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year in his division. Translating that success to the NBA will definitely be difficult with his height and lack of athleticism. But if there’s any place to do it, it’d be in Lowry and VanVleet’s company.
His role on offense will be most similar to what VanVleet was doing in the 2017-2018 season. A lot of spot-up shooting and being the ball handler in the pick-and-roll. Two areas Flynn found a lot of success in college, and one he’ll make a living doing in the NBA.
If Terence Davis does stay on the team, then it’ll be interesting to see how Nurse works both Flynn’s and Davis’ minutes. If he’s not on the team, then Flynn’s role is simplified, and he will have a very big role to fill as the back-up shooting guard.
Small Forward – Patrick McCaw
Defense aside, Patrick McCaw does not bring much on the court for the Toronto Raptors. He’s a below-average shooter, scorer, and playmaker. That was all proven when he had a golden chance to prove himself as a starter when most of the team went down to injury. In that 11 game stint as a starter, McCaw only averaged 8.5 points and 2.9 assists in 31 minutes per game.
McCaw doesn’t have any real strength on offense and that’s why it’s hard to imagine him having any significant role this season. He’s a good defender, but his slim frame allows him to be bullied when players take him to the paint.
He’ll be competing with Bembry for minutes at small forward throughout the season and it’s a battle he’ll lose if he doesn’t improve his three-point shooting at the very least. Bembry is a better and more athletic defender. So the only edge McCaw has on Bembry is his three-point shooting (McCaw shot 32.4 percent compared to Bembry’s 23.1 percent last year). And if those rates are the same moving forward, I rather have the better defender in Bembry.
So expect a battle of the fittest between the two, because that’s what it’s going to come down to for McCaw.