3 moves Toronto Raptors can make to increase playoff chances
By Mike Luciano
2. Take Gary Trent Jr. out of the starting lineup
Nurse doesn’t seem to be overly thrilled with how Trent has performed in the last few weeks. While he has struggled with injuries, the club’s starting shooting guard has not been the best on the defensive side of the ball in the eyes of his head coach. He hasn’t been shooting the lights out, either.
Trent’s scoring (16.7 points per game), efficiency (41% from the field), and deflections (2.4 per game) are all down when compared to last year’s numbers. With how streaky he can be and how thin the bench is right now, Trent might be better off moving to the second unit and becoming the star of that group.
Gary Trent Jr. has been struggling for the Toronto Raptors.
Trent will get a green light as the team’s top reserve. While this sounds sketchy, given how he has performed recently, a player that can get hot or cold as quickly as he can needs to be trusted with a reliable diet of shots unabated by the restrictions that come with being the fifth option in the starting lineup.
Nurse can still get Trent the same number of minutes as he had last year if he’s smart about it, and he could give the bench some extra pop without wearing down the starters or trying funky lineup combinations. If he makes this move in tandem with the next one, Toronto may have something cooking.