That looked a lot better.
After looking slow, lost, and in general just really bad in the Toronto Raptors' preseason opener against the Miami Heat, Jakob Poeltl had a much stronger showing Saturday against the Clippers. Poeltl put up nine points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals on 3-of-4 shooting in 21 minutes. He was moving better, more active on the glass, defending the rim better, and getting to his spots easier offensively.
For many, Saturday’s game suggested Poeltl was simply shaking off the rust in the opener rather than giving fans a reason to worry.
I’m not as optimistic.
While I do agree with the majority that Poeltl looks much better against the Clippers, I felt he needed to look even better given the Clippers big rotation.
Poeltl looked better, but let's pump the brakes
Sure, he was really scrappy defensively, especially on the perimeter, diving for balls and trying to generate turnovers. But the Raptors don’t need him to focus on that; they have enough players who can get stops or generate steals on the perimeter. They need a big who can protect the rim, set big screens, and rebound, and Poeltl still left a lot to be desired in all three of those areas.
I ask anyone to find me a worse center rotation in the league than the Clippers'. I’ll wait.
With 38-year-old Brook Lopez and Isaiah Jackson sharing minutes at the five, Jak had no reason not to dominate the paint in Saturday’s game. Obviously, we all know who Jak is at this point. He isn’t some bully-ball big who is going to back other bigs down or win every battle on the glass. But if there was a matchup for him to look like he turned the clock back as a bruiser on the inside on both ends of the court, it was this game.
All of his shot attempts were push floaters and open lanes that he happened to cut into. That’s not a problem, as he was still efficient and showed he’s still a really smart offensive player who knows how to capitalize on small openings. But it would have been nice to see him have a putback bucket or put one of the Clippers’ bigs in the rim on a post-up.
Defensively, Poeltl did seem more aware and less all over the place in the Clippers matchup compared to the Heat. But that should’ve been expected. The Clippers’ frontcourt isn’t hard to scheme. Lopez is going to prioritize shooting the three-ball, and Jackson is going to sit under the rim. Not that complicated of a scouting report. Yet it felt like Jak was still kind of all over the place defensively at times and still switching when he didn’t need to.
Was Jakob Poeltl better in the second preseason game than in the first? Yes, 100 percent. Is it enough for me to feel fully safe about him as the team's starting five man going into next season? No. Should the Raptors still look to add another rotational big in free agency or on the trade market? Yes.
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