3 Toronto Raptors who have not lived up to expectations in 2021
By Mike Luciano
2. Precious Achiuwa
Achiuwa, acquired from Miami in the Kyle Lowry swap, will take your breath away with some rim-running slams and quality rebounding skills. However, he has frequently been in the crosshairs of Raptors Twitter due to his poor shooting percentages. Even the most contrarian Raptors fan will acknowledge he is having a tough time on offense.
Achiuwa is making just 38% of his shots despite an overwhelming majority of his looks coming close to the rim. There’s nothing wrong with being a rebounding and defensive specialist, but when Achiuwa is this inept at scoring and is being entrusted with a steady helping of minutes, fans can start to get irritated.
The Toronto Raptors have seen how inconsistent Precious Achiuwa is.
There is hope that Achiuwa can get things pointed in the right direction. In addition to some promising offensive numbers when coming off of the bench, he had perhaps his best defensive sequence as a Raptor against the Bucks. He blocked a Jrue Holiday layup with under a minute to go to help seal a win.
Achiuwa might have all the athletic ability and defensive switchability in the world, but if he’s unable to finish on the inside for a team lacking depth in the paint, Nurse’s patience will be tested. Hopefully, Khem Birch returning from injury will put Achiuwa back on the bench in a more comfortable role.