A picture of Dowtin taking a shot to highlight the Toronto Raptors preseason and how have they looked so far.

Toronto Raptors Preseason – How Do They Look So Far?

The Toronto Raptors have played two preseason games so far. They have come away with two wins against the Sacramento Kings and Cairns Taipans. How do they look so far under new Raptors’ coach Darko Rajakovic?

More Assists – The Toronto Raptors have gotten 30 or more assists in their first two preseason games. During training camp, coach Darko has been preaching ball movement. It seems as the team has been taking it to heart and have been making an effort to do so. The ball is sticking to players less and everyone is looking to make the next pass. The down side to this is that the Raptors are turning the ball over more but coach Darko doesn’t seemed too concerned about that. He is happy with the players working hard to play his system.

Pushing the Pace – The players are also really trying to play faster and get their transition game going off of misses and makes. Scottie Barnes sticks out the most in this regard. He looks like a menace running the fast break. He is so fast going down hill that he is impossible to stop. He is like a runaway freight train. Also, he is such a good passer he can easily make the next pass in transition. The Raptors are pretty scary when Scottie Barnes is running the fast break. However, it is not just Scottie. Pascal Siakam and Dennis Schroder are pretty good at it too. Because of that, I am quite intrigued on how the starting line up will perform during the season. The Raptors look good when they play fast.

Toronto Raptors Preseason – One Concern

Need a Back up Point Guard – The Raptors have Scottie Barnes, Dennis Schroder and Pascal Siakam to initiate the offense. However, they all play in the starting line up. So coach Darko will need to stagger their minutes so they play with the bench. However, things get thin after these three. You have Malachi Flynn who does make the occasional shot and has a few assists. However, the office looks meh at best with him as point guard. He hasn’t improved since the raptors drafted him back in 2020 but they keep giving him chances. But I do not know why. Also, Marquis Noel, looks completely over matched due to his size being only five foot seven. The Raptors need to trade or sign someone to fill in the back point guard position. OR.

Play Jeff Dowtin – Just play and sign Jeff Dowtin. When he came into tonight’s game late in the third quarter, he immediately steadied the offense. As the result, the Raptors increased their lead and they looked dominate. It was impressive because Dowtin was playing with deep bench and G-league players. But he took control of the offense and the team looked cohesive. It is a shame that the Raptors did not sign him. Even worse, for the team to sign him, they will have to waive a player or some trade will have to happen. Honestly, it would be something I would do if I was the general manager. He does many things well both on offense and defense. He plays within himself and within the system. He would be perfect for a third point guard or ball handler. We will see what happens.

Conclusion

I like what coach Darko is doing with the team. They are playing a more team oriented offense. It will take time to play Darko’s .5 second offense but they are getting better each game. I look forward to seeing how they look in the next two games. Also, I am hoping that Jeff Dowtin sticks with the team. Only 10 days left till the Raptors’ season starts!

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