Raptors: Panic or patience on 3 struggling bench players

3. Svi Mykhailiuk

Mykhailiuk, who was signed with the Raptors post-draft, was a bit of a curious evaluation. Sure, Mykhailiuk has a great college career at Kansas and has made his mark as a solid shooter in the NBA, but how much of his scoring production was due to a high volume of shots on bad teams?

In a general sense, Mykhailiuk’s numbers have been solid. The Ukrainian vet is averaging 7.2 points per game on 47% shooting and 36% from 3-point range as one of the first guys off of the bench. However, he has not hit multiple 3-pointers in a game since November 3 and is shooting under 29% from deep since then.

His defense has been…let’s call it subpar in the name of being diplomatic.

The Toronto Raptors need Svi Mykhailiuk to step up.

So far, Mykhailiuk has been exactly what Toronto thought he would be. He is a streak shooter that can occasionally reel off a string of double-digit performances while also seeing his utility drop whenever his shot isn’t falling. Right now, Mykhailiuk is in the middle of a little slump.

The Raptors don’t have a ton of shooters on this bench, even with the impending return of Yuta Watanabe. Mykhailiuk, who performed well when he started due to Scottie Barnes’ thumb injury, has shown this team that he can give them a scoring punch when needed. he just needs more time to hit his stride once again.

Verdict: Patience