Time For Toronto Raptors To Embrace Small Ball

To continue building upon the success of the last few seasons, the Toronto Raptors must adjust their style of play to maximize their roster.

After years of being an afterthought, the Toronto Raptors have turned around their franchise. The team has continued to build upon it’s success year after year.  Part of the reason for this has been shrewd acquisitions by Masai Ujiri and the front office.

There has also been an emphasis on continuity and stability that wasn’t existent before. But after a summer with very little change, in order to continue growing, they must adjust their style of play.

Coming into this summer, Ujiri had stated that the starting power forward and backup small forward positions were the areas that needed the most help this summer.

While the team did not add a small forward, the addition of Jared Sullinger should pan out as a bargain deal that helps the team at the 4. The presumed starters of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Jared Sullinger and Jonas Valanciunas seem as though they will fit well together.

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But the roster possesses the ability to play with more versatility throughout the course of a game.

Being able to play multiple styles has become a necessity in today’s NBA. Like a good defense in football, being able to throw different looks at a team can help keep a defense on their toes. Last year’s Golden State Warriors were a perfect example of this strategy.

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While their starting lineup had tremendous length and shot blocking, they were able to strategically deploy their “death lineup” to blitz opponents into a loss.

Of course not everybody can do what the Warriors did last season. The collection of talent they possess is unparalleled. That being said, there are things the Raptors can take and adapt to suit their roster.

The key to effectively playing small ball is to have at least two forwards that can substitute as big men. For Toronto, having Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll play as the 5 and 4 fits the bill perfectly.

Patterson has long been one of the league’s less appreciated talents. His ability to space the floor and provide defensive intensity make him the perfect small ball five.

According to NBAwowy, when Patterson shared the court with Lowry and DeRozan without Valanciunas or Biyombo, the Raptors had an effective field goal percentage of 57 percent. That is a dramatic increase from the team’s overall effective field goal percentage of 50.4 percent.

Patterson provides the Raptors with a strong body that won’t be bullied in the post. While Carroll has the strength and mobility to disrupt power forwards. Out of the five man lineups that played over 100 minutes together this season, only three had a positive net rating.

All three of those lineups contained Patterson with a combination of Lowry, DeRozan, Joseph, Ross and/or Biyombo.

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By making this adjustment, this can help the Raptors fill one of their offseason holes. Even though they weren’t able to add a high impact player at the 4. Giving small ball minutes to Carroll would be a dramatic improvement from Luis Scola.

The team has a logjam of talented players on the perimeter. At the point, Lowry, Joseph and Wright (when healthy) all deserve minutes. DeRozan, Ross, Carroll, Powell all need time as well.

By playing small throughout a game, it allows them to play their best players more than traditional sets.

This isn’t to suggest that the team should play small ball exclusively. Establishing Jonas Valanciunas as a cornerstone of the franchise should be a priority this season. But when he is out of the game, the team would be wise to use multiple wings and push the pace.

Playing with pace and smaller lineups can assist teams that lack a variety of shooters, like Toronto.

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By recognizing how versatile this roster is, the team can take another step in their development. It’s not about changing what the team does well. The key is to build upon an already successful situation and maximize the existing talent.