Toronto Raptors: 3 bench players with the most to gain in preseason

1. Precious Achiuwa

Let’s get the qualifiers out of the way first. Achiuwa’s night was made easier by being able to avoid Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Other than that, the new acquisition was simply sensational, as he was making plays as a ball-handler, shooter, finisher, and defender in his quest for more playing time.

Achiuwa scored 13 points and hauled in seven rebounds. While his ability to secure the rim at his height certainly stood out and looked as impressive as anything we saw on that end in Miami, where he really blew everyone away was on offense, as he had several nice pull-up jumpers.

Precious Achiuwa could become a star for the Toronto Raptors.

While Khem Birch was resigned to take on the role of a traditional low-post center, it would not be inconceivable for a second if Toronto sat him on the bench in favor of Achiuwa. The athleticism is real, and if he pairs it with an expanding offensive game, the sky is truly the limit for the former top recruit.

Achiuwa will likely be given a large chunk of responsibility in the next few games, as they’ll try to see just how expansive his game is right now. He stands to get a major boost in minutes in the regular if he validates the Draymond Green comparisons and plays well again.