The Darko Rajakovic era started off with a bang for the Toronto Raptors. In front of what was an absolutely raucous crowd in Vancouver, it was a Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr.-led attack that reeled off a 112-99 victory over an imposing Sacramento Kings team.
The Raptors looked like a team that responded well to whatever Rajakovic and his new-look coaching staff were preaching, as the offense looked much more free-flowing than it did under Nick Nurse. It’s just the preseason, but this team seemed very comfortable in this offense.
As always, however, there is room for improvement in an offense that will demand ruthless, surgical execution consistently. Toronto will not be able to fully commit themselves to a postseason push unless they can cut out some of the mistakes they made.
These three players didn’t cover themselves in glory in the win against the Kings. They have a handful of extra preseason games to get back on track, and these three players will need to find some stroke of consistency if they want to head into the season with momentum.
3 Toronto Raptors who need to improve after preseason game vs. Kings.
3. Garrett Temple
While Temple seems like a pseudo-assistant who is going to be as important in the locker room as he is on the court, Rajakovic seems willing to give him at least a puncher’s chance of getting some slight rotation minutes until Otto Porter can return from his toe injury.
In Old Man Temple’s 12 minutes, he didn’t make his lone shot attempt and turned the ball over twice. The best way to leapfrog Porter on the depth chart is to stand out as a shooter, and Temple failed in this area. At 37 years old, Temple’s athletic ability isn’t exactly what it once was.
Will Garrett Temple play a role for the Toronto Raptors?
Temple shot over 40% from 3-point range with the Pelicans last season, but he hadn’t topped 35% from deep in any other season between the 2018-19 campaign and last year. If Porter can get back to his old self from 3-point range, Temple’s value becomes very limited.
To be fair, Temple wasn’t working with a ton, as he often shared the floor with four rookies (many of whom were two-way or Exhibit 10 contracts). Perhaps playing with more quality offensive players could be what gets him back on the right track as a scorer.
2. Jakob Poeltl
Saying Poeltl played poorly would be nitpicking, as there were plenty of solid rim protection reps on tape. However, if Poeltl is to fulfill what Rajakovic thinks he can do for this team on both ends of the floor, he likely needs to be a bit sharper as a decision-maker.
Poeltl finished with four points and five rebounds in 19 minutes. He struggled in the turnover department, as he coughed it up four times and committed four fouls. Poeltl will get chances to right his wrongs in the regular season, and now is the time to work out the kinks.
Jakob Poeltl must be more effective for the Toronto Raptors.
Poeltl is an elite rim protector, but the Raptors paid him a ton of money on a four-year contract because of his ability to keep the ball moving with uncommonly elite passing skills. Calling him a “point center” might be a bridge too far, but with how much Rajakovic’s offense operated from the elbow, they’ll lean on Poeltl plenty.
While the Raptors could pick one of two very different directions in the offseason, they paid Poeltl a ton of money to be an essential part of this starting lineup, no matter what happens. He’ll eventually thrive in this offense, but it might take a few games to knock the rest off.
1. Malachi Flynn
Flynn was one of the first players off the bench for Toronto in this game, showing that Rajakovic is going to give him an earnest chance to earn the backup point guard job. Based on his results in the Sacramento game, he shouldn’t expect that position to be locked down.
In 20 minutes on the floor, Flynn made just one of his six shots and turned the ball over three times. The five rebounds and five assists are noteworthy, but Flynn’s issue in what will soon be a four-year NBA career has been a lack of efficiency from just about everywhere on the floor.
Malachi Flynn started off slow for the Toronto Raptors.
The San Diego State product like the same ball-handler and quality passer he was in past seasons, but that won’t matter to Rajakovic if he is still a net negative with the ball in his hands. Even if he is a streaky player, he needs to find his shooting stroke as soon as possible.
Rajakovic might be able to milk some extra skills out of Flynn due to his history of working with undersized point guards, but it might take more time than some would like. If the Raptors want to use a true point guard off the bench, Flynn needs to start showing up if he wants to hold onto that ever-important role.