Worth mentioning: high usage with low efficiency is a warning sign, hence improved shooting is a priority for Precious to maximize his usage. He has raised his total rebound percentage and usage percentage (at 20.5 percent), with interesting spikes in assist percentage and free throw percentage. The advanced stats show his impact in better perspective. His 3-point shooting has looked shaky, shooting 19.2 percent compared to an impressive 35.9 percent last year, but this can hopefully be attributed to the small sample size of the season. Since then, Achuiwa has continued to show positive glimpses this season, averaging 9.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Starting with Precious Achuiwa, his breakout exploded post All-Star break last year, where his perimeter presence grew, while his rim-running and defensive versatility continued to take shape. However, most interestingly, there is an offensive spark that each of these players can contribute, on the perimeter and in the paint. They are giants, with defensive and rebounding capability. While these five have not played together as a unit this season, their individual attributes align well. There are five Raptor players that shape the second unit: Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, Christian Koloko, Otto Porter Jr., and Thaddeus Young. Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, and Pascal Siakam (when he returns from injury). The Raptors don’t use their bench the same as they did in 2017-18, but it is effective in its new role.įor sake of argument, let’s stick with a fixed starting lineup of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., O.G. Indeed, the Raptors have the best net rating in the league with one bench player on the court and the fourth-best with three. Perhaps, the bench can be labelled as a hybrid, complementary group of sidekicks. Bench players can contribute - when propped up by a starter or two. Although the team may not be like the traditional bench mob, what is apparent is that the bench depth is deeper than what is on the surface. The current bench unit for the Raptors does not fit the bench mob archetype. The bench also lacks a classic ball-distributing point guard, and while the team prides itself on positionless basketball, the lack of a distributing-spacing point guard on the bench puts reliance on players like VanVleet and Barnes (note how Vanvleet is averaging the fifth- most minutes per game in the NBA). Why a dependence on starters? The bench guys discussed in this piece lack consistent spacing, which is a hindrance in the 3-point era. The entire bench is not trusted to play by itself. Looking at the same metric for this 2022-2023 season, the percentage of possessions with no starters is 4 percent. This is significant, as starters were able to rest, while the bench could control the game without dependency on any member of the starting five. The 2017-2018 squad had a strong 20 percent of possessions with no starters on the court, the largest share in the league. During the 2017-2018 run, what made the mob special was the fact that they often played together, as a five-man unit. Let’s start by understanding what entails a bench mob. However, can the team’s bench players be considered a form of bench mob 2.0? Or is the bench unit something else, perhaps a strong complementary piece? The early signs of this year’s squad has signaled a subtle rejuvenation of the bench unit, and beneath most people’s noses, the Raptors have built a stronger bench unit. For a Raptors team with playoff ambitions, depth is gold. The bench depth for the squad has failed to reach the level of the mob over recent years, which has resulted in increased game time (and dependence) on the starters. The infamous bench mob was partially wiped away during the 2018-2019 season championship season however, the remnant of the mob is still present (especially with VanVleet and Siakam now full-time starters). Players like Jacob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, and Pascal Siakam formed this bench group that would light up scoreboards and clamp up offenses, allowing the starters to gain valuable rest. Just three seasons ago, the Toronto Raptors’ ‘bench mob’ took over the culture and earned a cult-like status. The following is a guest post by Ali Iqbal.
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