The Raptors used their first-round pick in this year’s draft to make perhaps the most Raptors pick they could have made. They selected Allen Graves, a 6’8” forward who established himself as a disruptive defender. However, unlike many other defensive-minded Raptors forwards, he also has a solid 3-point shot that will hopefully translate to the NBA.
There’s plenty of reason to be excited about the addition. Graves fits the Raptors’ vision, and he played very well in summer league. Still, he’s only 20 years old and played just one season of college basketball. He will have plenty to learn and prove in his rookie season. The biggest question is perhaps whether his 3-point shot will translate, but The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie also posed some questions about his defense when he appeared on the August 7 episode of The Dunker Spot.
“Defensively, I think he’s really good at the chaos rotation,” Vecenie said. “I think he’s really good at making those quick split-second decisions. It’s, okay, can he guard on the ball? If a team gets him in a switch, is he going to be quick enough to be able to stay in front of somebody? Is he going to be able to consistently deal on the block?”
Defense is the key to earning minutes with the Raptors
Graves should get a shot at claiming a spot in the regular rotation early on—and more so if Jakob Poeltl can’t stay healthy. The Raptors’ big rotation isn’t exactly deep or high-quality. Unless Trayce Jackson-Davis, Nate Bittle, or Trey Jamison prove to be ready for rotational minutes when Poeltl is out, the Raptors will have to play a lot of small-ball lineups with Collin Murray-Boyles, Graves, or Kyle Anderson at the five.
If Graves can punish teams from behind the 3-point line, it will go a long way for the Raptors’ offense and carving out a role for himself. They don’t have a ton of floor spacers and particularly not in the frontcourt rotation. But the key to really sticking in the rotation is defense. Defense is, after all, the Raptors’ identity and what they built their success on last season. It’s one of the reasons why Gradey Dick fell out of the rotation this past season.
Graves has a lot of potential defensively if he can keep up with the speed and athleticism at the next level—and it could quickly get scary for Toronto’s opponents. If Leonard joins the Raptors, they can build a defensive horror with a lineup of Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Murray-Boyles. If Graves can be as impactful defensively as the Raptors are hoping, they will be even scarier to deal with.
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