Raptors: Doc Rivers’ comments on size show how tough TOR can be

The Toronto Raptors were able to start off their preseason with a bang, as their Monday night win against Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers in their return to Canada also served as the unveiling of their new-look style of basketball themes around size and length on the perimeter.

While some individual performances stood out, including a masterful game from Scottie Barnes, one of the most impressive things from that contest was how cohesive and together that team looked despite all the new faces. Without Ben Simmons in the lineup, the smaller Philadelphia guards were swallowed up.

While the 76ers weren’t playing with a ton of their heavy hitters, large chunks of their bench unit saw tons of minutes in this game, and from the end of the first quarter to midway through the third quarter, Toronto completely shut them down.

Rivers acknowledged that the length Toronto was able to deploy, especially at the guard position, was able to disrupt the flow of the offense and contribute to the 18 turnovers the team had. The Sixers felt small, and this new positionless style looked to be too much for Philly to overcome in their first exposure.

Doc Rivers proved that Toronto Raptors can cause problems with their size.

While Scottie Barnes was moving all over the place last night, we also saw the unveiling of 6-9 Dalano Banton, who was so impressive at times that it made you wonder how he fell as far in the NBA Draft as he did. Players that lined up alongside him on the perimeter include 6-8 Svi Mykhailiuk, 6-8 Isaac Bonga, and 6-5 rookie David Johnson.

The Raptors still need to perfect some parts of their offensive game, as plenty of players scheduled to eat up rotation time profile as average or below-average shooters, but their blend of length, energy, and physicality should help them create disruption on offense and turn it into easy buckets on the other end.

Can we call this the “Run-n-Fun” for the time being?

The Raptors are almost like preparing for a triple-option team in football. With a lineup and style that could be much different than what most other teams are leaning on, it may take opponents a game or two to get up to speed and figure out how to attack them.

Imagine what this lineup could look like when Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby are given regular minutes and the injured duo of Pascal Siakam and Chris Boucher return to full health. Rivers can attest to the fact that playing Toronto is not going to be an easy 48 minutes.