Three players who are starting to step up for the Toronto Raptors
By Eddie Huband
Aron Baynes
The Raptors’ biggest offseason addition was downright putrid to begin the season, so much so that he got benched by head coach Nick Nurse, receiving three straight DNP-CD’s during their trip out west two weeks ago. Baynes was brought in to fill some of the void left by the departed Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, and though he’s still been a massive disappointment so far, he’s at least beginning to show signs of playing positive minutes.
Baynes had his best game of the season in the win against Indiana on Saturday, with 12 points and 7 boards, and followed it up with 9 points on 4/9 shooting in the loss on Monday. He was a +5 in just 23 minutes in their win over Miami, and overall seems to look a little bit more comfortable meshing with his new team over the past week. Ultimately though, Baynes still needs to vastly improve his offensive output and start making a real impact if this team wants to be successful.
Luckily for the Toronto Raptors, the well-documented emergence of Chris Boucher has taken some of the sting out of Baynes being a no show so far. Still, they desperately need the Aussie to contribute more. If Baynes can return to the form he had in Phoenix last season, he’ll provide the team with some much-needed help on the boards, while providing a big body as a matchup play against teams with good centres.
At this point, anything will be better than what he’s showed early this season.
