Bigs
Jakob Poeltl: B
Pascal Siakam: B-
Chris Boucher: C
Precious Achiuwa: D+
Siakam hasn’t been the All-NBA player he has been in the past, as he has struggled to find a role as a No. 2 option behind Barnes. Rajakovic’s usage of him has been questionable, especially with how much off-ball cutting and spot-up shooting he’s been doing, but Pascal himself has balanced out hot shooting nights with clunkers.
Poeltl has faced a very difficult rotation of big men early in the season, and he has some predictably mixed results against that group. When he’s clicked, however, Poeltl looks like the player Toronto just handed a massive four-year contract, even if the scoring is down.
Will Pascal Siakam turn it around for the Toronto Raptors?
Boucher has been his usual volatile self, as he has received DNP-CDs, been the Raptors’ best bench player, and stunk up the joint all in a nine-game span. If Toronto is not going to make an upgrade, they need a lot more from a player who has been in town for quite some time.
While it might be a bit unfair to rip Achiuwa after struggling with injuries, the fact that he has looked the exact same in his fourth NBA season (third in Toronto) as he did early in his career is alarming. The defense is great, but the same hyperactive tornado on offense is once again making it tough for the coach to find him minutes.