The Toronto Raptors are, as the kids say, “mid” after 26 games in the 2022-23 season. The Raptors are 13-13 on the year, though many of their impressive wins against teams like the Cavaliers and Hawks have been nullified by defeats to bottom-feeders like the Thunder and Magic. Pascal Siakam is not enough to get this team clicking.
Siakam has been let down by those around him on the offensive end. Far too often, it seems like Toronto’s offensive strategy is to give Siakam the ball and let him create magic. His individual brilliance is overshadowing some truly horrendous offensive numbers in their half-court sets.
Per Cleaning the Glass, Toronto has the absolute worst half-court offense in the league, thanks to an 89.1 offensive rating. 29th place is the lowly Rockets, who are barely ahead of them with an 89.3 rating. Without Siakam, that number drops to 83.9.
There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to dissecting what is going wrong with this offense, but these three factors stand out above the rest. All three of them need to figure out what is going haywire and find a way to somehow lock in as the schedule toughens back up.
3 Raptors most at fault for poor offensive play in 2022
3. Christian Koloko
While Koloko is doing a ton of very good things as a rebounder and shot-blocker, the Raptors need to have a serious conversation about keeping him in the starting lineup. Koloko is a good screener, but it looks like Toronto is playing 5-on-4 in stretches when he is the starter.
Koloko is averaging just 3.8 points per game and taking 3.2 shots per contest while averaging about 17 minutes on the floor. With almost all of those shots coming right at the rim, Koloko has to be anchored to the paint and isn’t a high-volume offensive threat at this stage of his career.
The Toronto Raptors need more from Christian Koloko.
Koloko hasn’t scored more than six points in a game since November 19. While Thad Young is not going to score like prime Hakeem Olajuwon, he can be trusted to rebound, defend, and distribute while being more of an offensive threat than a second-round rookie who needs seasoning.
The fact Koloko has been able to contribute to the Raptors as a rookie is amazing, but it’s becoming clear that he still has many hurdles to surmount before he can be a trusted starter in the NBA. Nick Nurse needs to either get him more involved or put a better scorer in the lineup.
2. Fred VanVleet
Much has been written about VanVleet shooting 36% from the field with nearly one-third of the season in the books, and it’s sad to say that many of the criticisms of his play remain extremely justified. VanVleet is playing poorly at a time when Toronto needed more from a veteran leader.
VanVleet’s 8-20 night against the Lakers remains his best performance in months, and even lackluster defenses like that of Orlando are incapable of getting that All-Star play out of VanVleet. The panic level has without a doubt been raised here, as VanVleet seems to be regressing.
The Toronto Raptors must get Fred VanVleet back on track.
With a new contract in his windshield, the Raptors need to find some sort of secret ingredient that gets him back on the right track. Nick Nurse seems to think it’s a mechanical issue that could be corrected, but things may be a bit more serious than that.
VanVleet is making two-point shots at the lowest clip since his rookie season, showing that it isn’t just an issue with his 3-point jumper. Whatever the case may be, Toronto’s lack of point guard depth will mean that VanVleet must trot back out there again.
1. Nick Nurse
For a coach that has written multiple books on shooting and has been trusted so much by this front office that the team continues to draft raw offensive players for him to develop, Nurse’s teams in the last few years have been plagued by an alarming lack of shooting and offensive quality.
Despite the fact the Raptors are currently fourth in isolation frequency, all but one player is averaging below 0.77 points per possession. Pascal Siakam is the only player (1.05 PPP) bucking that trend. When issues are that widespread, coaching needs to be held at fault.
Nick Nurse needs to fix the Toronto Raptors’ offense.
VanVleet and trade chip Gary Trent Jr. can both stroke it from deep, but they are mired in slumps. O.G. Anunoby’s shooting has fallen off a cliff. Despite injuries, Otto Porter Jr. has seen his shooting percentage decline from his Golden State days. When so many shooters are struggling at once, that goes back to coaching.
While the Raptors may have gotten a little high on their own supply with regard to the prevalence of switchable wings on the roster, Nurse is presiding over a roster that is struggling to play consistently and leaning entirely too hard on Siakam. Nurse needs to cook something big up in the next few weeks if Toronto wants to make the playoffs.