Unlike many NBA and WNBA teams in the same city, the Toronto Raptors and Tempo don’t have the same owners—although there are some familiar faces in the Tempo’s ownership group with Larry Tanenbaum and Masai Ujiri. Nevertheless, they have a few things in common.
For one, they are both the only teams in Canada in their respective leagues. Secondly, the Tempo’s style of play has been eerily similar to the Raptors’ to start the season: they have found success on the defensive end, but struggle to put up points and rely heavily on two players to carry the scoring burden.
The Tempo are dealing with some offensive issues the Raptors are familiar with
The Raptors finished the NBA regular season fifth in defensive rating, but 15th in offensive rating. They relied on their defense to force turnovers and create easy transition opportunities, finishing first in fastbreak points per game and fourth in points off turnovers.
In the halfcourt, the Raptors didn’t have a ton of shot creation and they were a middling 3-point shooting team at best. In the playoffs, they had to rely heavily on Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett to create any offense since Immanuel Quickley was sidelined with a hamstring injury and Brandon Ingram struggled before a heel injury kept him out for the last few games.
The Tempo are off to an eerily similar start. They rank first in defensive rating three games into their first WNBA season. They also rank first in steals per game with 11.3. The Los Angeles Sparks are the next-best team in that category with 8.7 steals per game. The Tempo also thrive in the open court, ranking second in fastbreak points and in points off turnovers.
They also rank eleventh in offensive rating, though, and rely heavily on Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes to score. They average 20 and 19.7 points per game, respectively. Nyara Sabally is the only other player to average double-figure scoring with 10 points per game. Several Tempo players are off to a good start from behind the arc—Kiki Rice, Maria Conde, Laura Juskaite, and Marina Mabrey are all shooting at least 38% on at least 2.3 attempts per game—but, as a team, the Tempo still only rank ninth in 3-point percentage.
The Raptors have proven that this style of basketball can lead to some success
This offseason will be all about improving the Raptors’ offense with some internal development and outside help. But the Raptors proved that their defensive-first culture can help overcome a lot of offensive limitations. After all, they finished fifth in the Eastern Conference and took the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games.
Sandy Brondello and the Tempo also have their eyes on a playoff spot, but getting there won’t be easy with a depleted frontcourt, and if the offensive struggles continue.
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