Branden Carlson Flopped
One of the surprise highlights of Las Vegas Summer League for the Toronto Raptors has been undrafted rookie center Branden Carlson. The former Utah Ute big man effectively shut down the paint and was a major reason why the Raptors won their first two games. With Carlson on the back line, opponents have been unable to get to the rim.
The Jazz had the formula to turn Carlson's strength into a weakness, starting rookie big Kyle Filipowski at center as a stretch-big who forced Carlson to defend him on the perimeter. As is common in Summer League the Raptors played a vanilla man defense, so Carlson was forced to move out to the arc whenever Filipowski set up there.
It was a defensive disaster for the Raptors, who suddenly had no paint protection as the Jazz cut their way to a host of easy baskets at the rim. Filipowski was comfortable shooting from outside, hitting two of his three 3-pointers and a few other long 2s, and Carlson was clearly uncomfortable moving his feet in space. Carlson was also unable to make Filipowski pay on the other end, finishing with just seven points on 3-for-6 from the field.
Masai Ujiri Flopped
It's way too early to make definitive statements about the 2024 NBA Draft class, and it's certainly too early to reverse strongly-held priors. Terrence Shannon Jr. has been balling out for the Minnesota Timberwolves at the No. 27 pick; perhaps he was under-drafted, but if you had him 27th on your board at the draft you shouldn't suddenly think of him as a Top-5 player.
Yet what is happening for the Raptors is what we thought at the time of the draft has only been confirmed in Summer League. Armed with the 31st pick in the draft, the Raptors had a lottery-talent fall into their laps in Kyle Filipowski, a stretch-big who would have solved a major need for the team. Instead, they reached for Jonathan Mogbo, an undersized energy big who was presumably drafted so highly primarily because of his friendship to Raptors star Scottie Barnes.
Whether Filipowski took the snub personally or not, he absolutely rubbed Masai Ujiri's nose in it on Wednesday night. He single-handedly broke the Toronto defense, forcing Branden Carlson and Ulrich Chomche out into space, opening up the paint behind them. Far from a decoy, Filipowski nailed shot after shot in their faces. The cherry on top was an isolation drive from the arc right to the rim.
Perhaps Mogbo develops into a reliable contributor. Perhaps Filipowski proves not to be the starting big he appears to be. Yet right now, Masai Ujiri and the front office appear to have blown the pick, and they had to face that reality with a front-row seat in the loss to the Jazz.