After three straight years of playing at- or below-.500 basketball, the Raptors are entering this season with a chip on their shoulder, writes Eric Koreen for The Athletic.
According to Koreen, that’s especially true of newcomer Brandon Ingram, who was named an All-Star and Most Improved Player in the 2019/20 season, but has struggled to gain recognition for his impact in the years that followed due to both injuries and an underperforming Pelicans team. It’s not only Ingram who feels that way, according to veteran Garrett Temple.
“Scottie (Barnes) was the No. 4 pick, but everyone was like, ‘Why are they picking you No. 4?’ RJ (Barrett) and (Immanuel Quickley): Toronto wanted you, but New York obviously traded you,” Temple told Koreen. “BI, New Orleans traded you. Ochai (Agbaji) got traded after (in his second season). You can look guys down the line: ‘Gradey (Dick), are you really good enough to play in the NBA, or is it just show?’ You can look at a lot of our players, and there’s a reason to have a chip on the shoulder. I think that’s what brings a lot of people together.”
While some Raptors may be using that history as motivation this season, Ingram is wary of letting that feeling drive him.
“I think when you go try to prove yourself to other people, it never works out,” he said on Monday. “If you look too far and try to impress people, you’ll take failures more.”
We have more notes from the Raptors:
- In a recap of the Raptors’ yearly end-of-camp open scrimmage, Michael Grange of Sportsnet writes that Ingram showed how he can bring a skill set as a scorer that Toronto hasn’t had in years, whether on or off the ball.
- In the same piece, Grange notes that Collin Murray-Boyles has been a standout. While Murray-Boyles was drafted in large part on the strength of his defense, he displayed some intriguing offensive potential during the team’s scrimmage, including hitting a three-pointer. Grange writes that the rookie’s shooting development will be a major factor in his ceiling as an NBA player. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic was also impressed by the young big man’s performance. “He’s been doing a really, really good job,” Rajakovic said. “He’s not afraid of anything or anybody.”
- Another noteworthy detail from the scrimmage, according to Grange, was how the rotations shook out. Quickley, Barrett, and Ingram were joined by Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, as was expected. The second unit was where it got more interesting, as Rajakovic used a lineup of Jamal Shead, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Murray-Boyles, and Sandro Mamukelashvili. This left Ja’Kobe Walter, the 19th pick in the 2024 draft, on the outside looking in, along with Jamison Battle and Jonathan Mogbo. All three of those players averaged at least 17 minutes per game last season, but with the additions of Ingram and Murray-Boyles, plus hopefully a healthy season from Quickley, there will likely be fewer end-of-bench minutes to go around this year.
- Finally, Grange provides an update on two-way player Ulrich Chomche, who has been held out of practice for much of training camp and will be getting medical imaging done on Monday. Grange notes that he jogged out during the game to greet his teammates, which would seem to indicate that the injury limiting him is not something severe.
Toronto Small Forwards or the Boston Small Forwards. Who is better?
Toronto easy.
Trade IQ and Ingram for a better starting PG and a actually PF on the roster. Ingram and Barnes are SF’s really. IQ might be the most overpaid player in the NBA, whoever gave him that contract has no IQ
Waive Hepburn and Roddy. Roddy isn’t NBA material maybe football. Sign two veterans to help Temple babysit these kids
Neither has any trade value at all
Interesting year for the Raptors, their front office thinks they are contending, the oddsmakers think they are rebuilding. how much do you believe in a core of Barnes, Poetl, Ingram?
Are the Raptors contending for a championship? No. Barring major injuries, the Cavs, Knicks, and Magic look solid—but beyond that, the Eastern Conference is wide open. Spots 4 through 10 are a complete toss-up.
I’ll be interested in seeing if the Raps are done tanking (will the injured players stay healthy this season?
Watch and see.
A lot. Better than what most will be fielding this season.
Raptors could be really good offensively. You got three 20pt scorers in barnes, barrett and Ingram a crafty rim runner in poetl who can drop 20 any given night, and a microwave in quickly who can also drop 20 any given night. If they are healthy and play at good pace, they could possibly the best offensive team statistically. There defense is the question though.
They look like a team that will score 125 on good nights, but give up 130.
I don’t think they have enough shooting to be that good offensively. Quickley is their only legit 3pt spacer among the starters. Massive problem. They need to trade RJ
Both barret and income can be decent shooters in a system when they’re not forcing shots. Coach is going to have to step up this year
Exactly. They won’t have to force shots now. You have to respect Ingram. This opens up shots for everyone. They will forget about Barrett, Gradey, Quickley. Sasha Mamu can also drain shots, so can Agbaji, Walter, Lawson.
Lol, their offense isn’t going to go from 23rd to 1st with better health. They’ll be lucky to improve 10 spots offensively.
It will.
So if you dislike the raptors why comment?
Letting Boucher go was a F
Team assembled for R1 loss. Congrats!