Kicking off in full gear
The last 48 hours feel more like a week has passed, even though NBA Free Agency just started a couple of days ago. The Raptors have landed the central piece that opens themselves a new championship window, and this time it won’t be on a one-year rental — the Klaw will stay in Toronto for the foreseeable future. However, Kawhi Leonard’s return was not the only news that had just recently headlined this year’s free agency. Somewhere 500 miles down the road, a new Big Three had just formed in the City
of Brotherly Love.
The Boston Celtics just shipped disgruntled star Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks, and a couple of future second-rounders, shaking up the landscape in the Eastern Conference, as the 76ers emerge as a new powerhouse to rival their division co-contenders up north.
The Celtics, themselves, have also added another big man to bolster their front court by snatching center Mitchell Robinson from the defending champion New York Knicks, who, barring this move, have dealt new contracts to players with expiring deals to keep their championship roster intact. Further south in South Beach, the Greek Freak just joined the Miami Heat, who, alongside Bam Adebayo, will surely be an immovable force in the paint for any opposing team.
The Raptors’ trade for Leonard indicates that the front office sees a path towards winning a second championship. While he will surely elevate the team on both ends of the floor as one of the best two-way talents in the league, Toronto still has a glaring gap to fill, as other Eastern Conference teams are acquiring talent and front-court depth.
The Raptors’ search for a center
Well, this cannot be overstated, but it’s a sentence that has been echoing for the better part of last season. I may now sound like a broken record by saying this, but look around — other Eastern Conference teams are stacking up their front court with size and strength that works strongly against the Raptors’ style of play. Don’t believe me? Let me take you to the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Toronto loves to play up-and-down basketball. As a matter of fact, the Raptors led the league in fast-break points with 18.6 ppg. The Cavs’ twin-tower duo in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen not only possess incredible rim-protecting prowess, but both are also agile enough to get back on defense to prevent the Raptors from having a clear lane to the hoop. Hence, the Raptors had to grind out most of the series with half-court sets that they struggled to convert on.
With most of the Raptors’ offense operating off of slashers, namely Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, the Cavs pack the paint with rim-protectors, like Allen and Mobley, to force them to settle for perimeter shots that have not been consistent. Raptors’ starting center Jakob Poeltl’s inability to stretch the floor also plays to the Cavs’ favour in maintaining this defensive scheme. Besides his lack of outside shooting and a nagging back injury, Poeltl is also an easy target on switches, with quicker guards flying past him through their speed, while athletic big men such as Allen and Mobley can also beat him on offense. Hence, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic prefers to play an undersized Collin Murray-Boyles at the five, which comes with disadvantages.
While Murray-Boyles is a versatile defender, which makes him a more viable option to guard the pick-and-roll, he is also not much of a perimeter threat like Poeltl, which clogs driving lanes for Barnes and Barrett on offense. As I mentioned, he is also undersized, which warrants double teams with other Raptors forwards when either Mobley or Allen is in the painted area, and allows more explosive guards like Donovan Mitchell to attack him off the dribble and use his aggressive defensive style against him to draw fouls. Murray-Boyles also gives up a good amount of size in the interior, which the Cavs took full advantage of for easy putbacks, touch passes, free throws, or extra possessions.
What does this search mean in matching up with the rest of the East?
With Philly’s addition of former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, the 76ers form an offensive juggernaut with three individuals who can score at all three levels. While the Raptors will bank on versatility and switchability to contain Brown’s shotmaking and Tyrese Maxey’s bursts of speed, they won’t be able to match up with Embiid’s size and skill down low. They will either give up easy points, foul him, or double him and leave a man open on the perimeter. A touch pass from Embiid will collapse the defense, forcing players to scramble and cover ground quickly, and that will lead to closeouts that Brown and Maxey could blow past by to the rack.
As was mentioned, the Celtics add another tall and strong frame in Robinson, who proved to be crucial to the Knicks’ title run with his incredible offensive rebounding and reliable rim protection. Meanwhile, the Knicks pose the same threat as those previous teams, and now boast a championship pedigree. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Heat will also be a match-up nightmare for teams that rely on points inside the paint.
The realistic solution
Poeltl is still locked up to the Raptors for four more years after opting in to his $19 million player option last summer. Besides him, Murray-Boyles is the only serviceable option at the five, but is a tad undersized for the center position. Toronto will have limited cap room to work with after the Kawhi trade and will only be able to offer a veteran minimum for another backup big. With limited trade flexibility on Poeltl’s contract because of his injury history, the Raptors hope that he will remain healthy and regain his form so that Murray-Boyles can slide back up to the four, as the Raptors try to keep up with the rest of the East.
