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Cory Joseph: Bench Commander

By Joshua Howe

Nov 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors point guard Cory Joseph (6) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Langston Galloway (2) at Air Canada Centre. The Knicks beat the Raptors 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors point guard Cory Joseph (6) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Langston Galloway (2) at Air Canada Centre. The Knicks beat the Raptors 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Raptors’ bench hasn’t been the most impressive unit so far this season. It looks fine on paper, until you realize that Terrence Ross (who was having a decent start to the year) is injured, James Johnson’s role has been reduced and Patrick Patterson has been rendered more invisible than dignity at a selfie convention.

That has left the bench fairly vulnerable. Points are especially difficult to come by and while Norman Powell and Delon Wright haven’t been bad in the limited minutes they’ve had, they’re still very much rookies who aren’t ready for a certain level of responsibility.

So the task of sixth man has fallen to hometown kid Cory Joseph, who the Raps acquired in the summer as a free agent. A lot of people were pleased with the franchise signing him, but I don’t think anyone quite expected what he would be giving Toronto night in and out.

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Having learned from his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Joseph is not only a class act, he also plays the right way. He picks his spots and decides exactly what moments he wants to attack. He’s a very good two-way player and, because of Dwane Casey’s insistence on using dual point guard lineups, has shown that he works well with Kyle Lowry.

Over the last three games, Joseph has scored at least half of the Raptors’ points from the pine:

  • Joseph vs. Sacramento: 17
  • Rest of bench vs. Sacramento: 14
  • Joseph vs. New Orleans: 9
  • Rest of bench vs. New Orleans: 16
  • Joseph vs. Philly: 15
  • Rest of bench vs. Philly: 27

For the season, CoJo is putting up career numbers in several areas. He’s averaging 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.8 steals on 57.7 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from deep and 86.4 percent shooting from the foul line. He’s playing 25 minutes a night.

The most impressive is definitely the shooting. His 57.7 percent is the highest of his career, and while surprising isn’t downright shocking due to the fact that in every season since he entered the league his shooting percentages have risen.

Check it out:

  • 2011-12: 31.4%
  • 2012:13: 46.4%
  • 2013-14: 47.5%
  • 2014-15: 50.4%
  • 2015-16: 57.7%

Now that he has the minutes, he’s putting on a controlled, elegant show.

During his tenure with the Raps, it’s become impossible to ignore his proclivity to nail exceedingly difficult shots. At first, it seemed as though he was just taking bad shots – like a midrange turnaround jumper, for example.

But then, as he kept draining look after look, making tough shots appear silky smooth, it became clear that he was taking them because he knew that they were good looks for him.

CoJo knows his game inside and out.

His overall great shooting has earned him a 65.1 true shooting percentage, a huge improvement on last season’s 56.4 percent. And yet, funnily enough, his usage percentage has actually decreased (17.0 percent in 2014-15; 14.8 percent in 2015-16), meaning that Joseph is, simply put, becoming extremely efficient.

Debatably the most exciting aspect of Cory’s game, however, comes from his assaults on the rim. He’s a gifted slasher, able to get to the bucket at will via an explosive first step. He’s undoubtedly one of the quickest guards in the league, and he’s so agile around the basket that at times he appears Derrick Rose-esque (yeah, come at me, haters!).

He takes 21.1 percent of his shots (a good margin) from within 0-3 feet of the hoop, and he makes a herculean 86.7 percent from there. To give you an idea of just how insane that is, that’s better than guys like Stephen Curry (71.1), LeBron James (72.0) and Russell Westbrook (46.2), who are well-known rim punishers.

Next: NBA: 25 Greatest Scorers of All-Time

Cory Joseph is just a good, young (24 years old) basketball talent. This season is his first real shot at showing everyone what he can do with more minutes and a greater role. And so far I’d say he’s killing it.

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