The NBA landscape is populated by different classes. There are rich teams and there are penny-pinchers. Some rise above expectations to reach great heights, both of the temporary and permanent kind. The chronic underachievers exist too.
But out of all the different archetypes, the one that might be the most frustrating – at least to sports fans – is the team that becomes boring and predictable.
Without drama, or more importantly, hope, it becomes challenging to support a franchise.
For the Toronto Raptors,
it looked like they were destined for an excruciating slow burn.
But ahead of their matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, a new source for optimism has manifested in the form of Ja’Kobe Walter.
On the surface, it doesn’t look like the second-year guard is having a breakout season. His minutes, points, rebounds, and assists per game are all down across the board, but that’s primarily due to the Raptors actively conceding the 2024-25 season after the Brandon Ingram trade. During that transition year, Walter had more low-leverage opportunities to find his footing in the league.
Recently, Walter has become one of the most important players on the team. It makes sense considering Walter’s strength as a shooter on a team devoid of consistent shooting ability. Toronto ranks 21st in three-point percentage (34.9) and 25th in three-point makes (11.5).
Walter is a skilled shooter and his numbers back that. The six-foot-four guard is averaging 39.3 per cent from three and 44.1 per cent from the field. He’s shooting better from the perimeter than all but one teammate, that being Jamison Battle, who averages nine minutes a game.
With the Raptors only 2.5 games from falling into the final play-in spot, and the roster in a constant state of flux, the team needed a role player to take the next step. Walter has answered that call.
He’s shooting a blistering 48.8 per cent from three on 3.9 attempts in March – both season-high marks for monthly splits. Walter has also reached double-digit scoring in the last four games, his longest stretch of the year. The sophomore recorded at least 10 points in seven consecutive appearances during his rookie year, but that was while the team was in an intentional free-fall.
In addition to the desperately needed scoring boost, Walter has also demonstrated his defensive prowess. While the latter has been more of a constant throughout the year, the recent showcase of Walter’s complete skill set has potentially piqued the curiosity of some Raptors fans.
The last time Walter was this effective for the Raptors this season was during a thrilling 141-127 overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 28 and in a 107-106 win against the Orlando Magic on the following night. During the back-to-back contests, Walter averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 50 per cent from the field and 45.4 per cent from the arc.
Every time the Raptors have shown some fight in the opening round of the playoffs, they’ve had at least one resourceful two-way player come off the bench. Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell come to mind during the 2019 championship run and in the bubble playoffs. There was an entire bench mob during 2017-2018. Corey Joseph and Terrence Ross held it down during a few of ‘We The North’ seasons. Even back in 2001, the Vinsanity era needed the fun trio of Chris Childs, Dell Curry, and Jerome Williams.
If the Raptors find any morsel of success in the post-season, it’ll mean that Walter excelled in his first playoff environment. But before that can happen, he’ll need to string together more impressive regular-season performances, beginning with the Clippers.
