Toronto Raptors: Stock up, stock down as preseason concludes

Stock Down: Toronto’s rebounding woes

Toronto was murdered on the glass last season, as the lack of tremendous frontcourt depth and issues with size impacted them down the stretch. Luckily, Toronto made the lack of rebounding a point of emphasis, and the early returns make it seem like the team has done a complete 180-degree turn in that regard.

After their series of games concluded, Toronto ranked third in offensive rebound percentage and 10th in total rebound percentage. This positionless approach requires guards and wings to help out in rebounding just as ferociously as the bigs, and Nurse has done well to get players to buy in on that front.

The Toronto Raptors are crashing the glass in the preseason.

The Raptors were privy to some solid performances in the paint, and while the Raptors are still going to be a perimeter-based offensive attack due to the influence of Trevor Gleeson, it’s nice to see them asserting their will after the likes of Aron Baynes and Alex Len got pushed around last year.

Toronto might want to play their positionless style frequently, but that attack will be rendered pointless if they don’t figure out a way to secure the interior. The preseason is not the be-all and end-all in this case, but they have taken strides to fix their big 2021 issue.