OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. show what Raptors offense can be in win vs. Bulls

Anunoby and Trent were locked in from 3-point range.

Chicago Bulls v Toronto Raptors
Chicago Bulls v Toronto Raptors | Mark Blinch/GettyImages

The Toronto Raptors were looking to show their offensive explosion against the Pacers was not the result of Indiana's poor defense, as they were banking on the marksmanship expertise of OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. to carry them past Zach LaVine and a struggling Chicago Bulls team.

While Darko Rajakovic's offense has often been maligned for producing a high number of turnovers and not completely solving the half-court issues that plagued this team under Nick Nurse, it has also been made clear that he is struggling to fully implement his scheme due to a lack of consistent spacing and 3-point shooting.

Rajakovic's balanced attack can still look excellent when executed perfectly, and Toronto looked totally in-sync during a 121-108 victory against the lowly Bulls. All five starters scored at least 13 points, and the bench managed to put up a roust 32 points on the evening.

The now-healthy Anunoby finished with 26 points on 10-14 shooting and 5-7 from 3-point range, while Trent managed to chip in with 16 points of his own on 4-9 from deep. Rajakovic's offense didn't seem like it would work on a roster clearly constructed for Nurse, but OG and GTJ are making it look cutting-edge when they shoot like this.

The Toronto Raptors' offense was boosted by OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. vs. Bulls

While Anunoby entered the night shooting 38% from 3-point range, Trent has been perhaps the most disappointing player on the roster after shooting 38% from the field in the first 15 games. It seems Rajakovic could never get both Anunoby and Trent clicking on the same night together.

The Raptors have scored at least 93 points through three quarters in three of the last four games, crossing 100 points in that span during the Detroit and Indiana wins. Now that the adjustment period for this offense is over, it looks like the club is finally settling in and executing a proper "0.5 offense" strategy.

While the Scottie Barnes shooting leap is real, Anunoby and Trent are clearly the two most willing and effective 3-point shooters. When they can start hot and sustain that level of play throughout the entire game, every other offensive wrinkle Rajakovic has woven into this attack works seamlessly.

This offense is by no means a finished product, but the last few games have shown what it can look like when Anunoby and Trent are both on their game. While they played a collection of mostly bad teams or bad defenses in the last few weeks, that should balance out the preposterously hard start to the year they had.

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