Ja’Kobe Walter set a big individual goal for his third season with the Toronto Raptors: He wants to lead the NBA in steals. It’s an ambitious goal, but Walter could get there. He has a big role and plenty of opportunities waiting for him, especially when Kawhi Leonard misses games. Walter already displayed his ability to get steals last season. Once Walter got more comfortable in the playoffs, he totaled 13 steals over four games, and he averaged one per game for the regular season.
He got off to a pretty good start, recording 3 steals in 23 minutes of action in the Raptors’ season-opening blowout win against the Chicago Bulls. But so did his teammates. Kawhi Leonard recorded four steals and Immanuel Quickley got two. The fact that his own teammates could stand between him and his defensive goal is no surprise for Walter, as he shared in a practice media availability. It also offers extra motivation, though.
“Actually I did think that,” Walter said when asked about whether he had expected his own teammates to compete with him for his steals goal. “You know, dudes like [Scottie Barnes], Kawhi, [Jamal Shead], we all get steals. So, knowing that I’m competing with them is definitely going to push all of us to become better defensively.”
Leonard was actually pretty close to the top of the league in total steals last season, finishing sixth with 122. Barnes came in ninth with 114. Cason Wallace took the crown with 150 steals. Walter has plenty of competition in Toronto and the rest of the league, but having such an ambitious goal will only push him to defend harder, and that will help the Raptors achieve their goals.
The Raptors’ defense looked pretty good in the season opener
Any win against the Chicago Bulls has to be taken with a grain of salt. The Raptors are a potential title contender, while the Bulls are rebuilding. Their two leading scorers were rookie Caleb Wilson and 22-year-old Matas Buzelis. The playoffs should be well out of reach for them.
Nevertheless, it was an impressive first showing of what could be one of the three best defenses in the NBA. The Raptors blew out the Bulls by 43 points without any crazy shotmaking. They shot just 45% from the field and made only ten 3-pointers. Leonard was especially inefficient. It was still a balanced attack with four of the five starters scoring 20 points.
But the real key to stifling the Bulls like that was the Raptors’ defense. They racked up 15 steals and six blocks and held the Bulls to 32% shooting from the field and 4-of-36 shooting from deep. Moreover, the Raptors forced 27 turnovers and scored 35 points off those miscues.
The Raptors have to replicate their stifling defense against tougher competition, but there should be little doubt that they can.
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