Toronto Raptors: Examining The Bench Production

By Jordan Treske | Dec 27, 2015

Dec 18, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph (6) talks head coach Dwane Casey during the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Duyos-USA TODAY Sports /

With the team on the verge of being fully healthy, the Toronto Raptors have one specific area they need to improve on if they want to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference and/or make a deep playoff run.

Standing near the top of the Eastern Conference standings now at 19-12, the Toronto Raptors have things running close to all cylinders.

Per NBA.com/stats, the Raptors have the fifth-highest offensive rating around the league, one of the more productive starting fives among the association and they’ve significantly improved their defense to currently rank 12th in the NBA, which has been the team’s biggest improvement thus far.

And while they’ve had to weather a flurry of injuries lately, the team is on track to being fully healthy very soon once starting center Jonas Valanciunas returns after breaking a bone in his left hand.

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All of this makes for an interesting recipe for a team that could make a deep playoff run if all breaks right in what has been a very fluid Eastern Conference.

However, there’s one thing that must improve significantly if the Raptors wants to make a deep run a reality: the team’s bench play.

As it stands now, the Raptors bench currently averages 25.5 points per game which ranks as the third-worst around the league, with only the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons trailing. That makes up about 26 percent of the team’s overall points per game.

To make matters worse, the team’s bench unit hasn’t been all that effective shooting the ball as it currently ranks 24th in field goal percentage (42 percent) and 24th in three-point percentage (32 percent).

Now before going any further, there’s definitely a few reasons why the team’s bench unit production has been lackluster so far.

One, there’s been a lot of turnover in the team’s bench unit from last year’s team to this year’s. The offseason additions of Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo have worked out quite well individually and while their offensive contributions have been very respectable, they’ve had a bigger effect on rejuvenating the team’s defensive production.

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Two, the aforementioned injuries to key Raptors players like Valanciunas and forward DeMarre Carroll have caused the better performing reserves to move into the starting lineup and making matters much worse for the bench.

And lastly, a couple of key Raptors reserves have either gone through or are in the midst of terrible shooting slumps so far this season.

After going through an incredibly awful month of November, Terrence Ross looks to have found his shooting stroke again as he’s currently shooting 46 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc in the month of December.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Patrick Patterson. Patterson’s currently posting career lows in almost every major statistical category this season and his shooting numbers have arguably taken the biggest hit so far (37 percent from the field, 31 percent from deep).

Now while the output from the team’s bench hasn’t had much of an effect on the team’s record so far, arguably the biggest cause for concern lies in the fact that the Raptors’ bench is the fourth-least used bench unit around the association.

Although the reasons for that could be because of the explanations stated above, it’s still not a good sign to see some of the factors (over-usage, injuries) behind the team’s disastrous collapse down the stretch last season and into last year’s playoffs possibly be in play again for this season.

But that’s getting a little ahead of ourselves at the moment.

Now that the team has Carroll back (although in a limited capacity) and shortly will have Valunciunas as well, that will certainly be a big boost regarding the bench concerns as we enter January.

Along with that, who knows if the team can get something close to a major contribution out of the group of Norman Powell, Anthony Bennett, Lucas Nogueira and/or Delon Wright. While it’s highly unlikely given how raw all of them on the NBA stage, stranger things have happened.

But ultimately, the biggest thing to watch for will be if the team looks for a bench tune up as we grow closer to the trade deadline.

It’s hard to imagine the Raptors making a major shakeup given their record right now but if things continue for Patterson like they have been, his playing time could significantly diminish and it will undoubtedly lead to his name being a source of a lot of trade rumors.

However it gets sorted out, all of this doesn’t diminish the Raptors’ chance to make their mark as a serious contender in the Eastern Conference as it’s currently shaping up.

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But whether they’re able to make that leap or not, one thing is for sure that they’ll need more than their starting five to get them to that mark.

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