What should the Raptors rotation look like going forward in 2022?
By Mike Luciano
Wings and forwards
OG Anunoby: 32 minutes
Scottie Barnes: 30 minutes
Justin Champagnie: 9 minutes
Yuta Watanabe: 4 minutes
Svi Mykhailiuk: 0 minutes
Isaac Bonga: 0 minutes
When healthy, OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes need to be over 30 minutes in every game. I don’t think I’m breaking new ground or making an earth-shattering statement there. One change that could be made involves swapping out Yuta Watanabe in favor of Justin Champagnie.
Champagnie has been averaging 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in extremely limited playing time since December 13, but he is averaging six offensive rebounds per 36 minutes in that span. With the bench in need of a sparkplug, why not lean on a player that has been playing some quality basketball over Watanabe.
As good as Yuta is, he has not made a shot in his last three games.
The Toronto Raptors need more consistency from their bench.
Svi Mykhailiuk has not been playing at a level worthy of more minutes. His defense is poor, he still is struggling to do the one thing that he was brought here to accomplish (make 3-pointers), and he is still good for at least one puzzling turnover per game.
Anunoby and Barnes are Masai Ujiri’s dream players, as they are muscular wings that can defend anyone and attack the rim with ferocity. If Champagnie comes along as a shooter, he could make sure that the team’s offense doesn’t flow down the drain when OG and Scottie take a breather.