Ja’Kobe Walter’s constant activity tantalizes for Toronto in his first game
Coming into their game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Toronto Raptors employed three rookies in the top 11 for rookie per-game scoring this season. None of whom are the team’s highly prized lottery selection Ja’Kobe Walter. He has been missing with an A/C joint sprain in his right shoulder, only recently healed. Entering the fray against LeBron James and the Lakers? A dream. Welcome to the party, pal.
His first minutes are defined by activity, bordering on hyperactivity. Eating more than he can chew, too much, too fast. Get busy. Do something. He sets an on-ball screen for the point guard, ghosts it into a flare screen, eventually catches the ball and drives, Nash’s the drive to the other side of the rim, passes to Jonathan Mogbo on the wing, who misses the shot on his drive. Go. More. Faster.
Then a quick lil get action with Jakob Poeltl, passes to the big man behind the arc, dashes towards him to receive the ball again, steps back behind the arc, fires. Misses. Go go go.
An exchange in the corner while Poeltl is stripped on a post-up. A handoff with Chris Boucher — Walter misses the mid-range pull-up. He runs in transition, a blur, and doesn’t touch the ball. Go. RJ Barrett demonstratively calls for a Walter on-ball screen, and as he’s dashing to the ball, Barrett rejects it, drives, and is stripped. Walter gets a switch on the other end, guarding LeBron James. Who hits a 3-pointer over top of him.
Okay. A rapid start. Energy. Running. The process is good. The cuts are good. The results are bad. He stays in to start the second quarter.
He stands in the corner to start the quarter. But even there he’s not still. He paces, his knees bent, jittering a foot up, a foot back. He can’t stay still. Go go go. Later, he is in the gap on a James drive. Deep in the gap. Very in the gap. James drives towards him, and Walter steps directly into his path, but can’t stay still, dashes back out as James bunny-hops past him for the layup. There is such a thing as too much activity. No matter. Go go.
The first bucket of his career, coming from his legs, his motion. He cuts off of Mogbo, curling to the rim, gets the pass over top and finishes with the foul. Go. Later, a chasedown block on Rui Hachimura, high in the air, arms and legs splayed as he swings at the ball like a pinata. Go go go. He gets the ball in transition, sees a body in front, James helping. Doesn’t even pause to think. Go. Attacks, holds the ball out away from his body to loft a looping sidewinder layup at the rim to draw the foul.
A possession or two later a missed shot bounces on the ground, no one grabbing it. Go go. Walter hurls his body onto the ground immediately, snatching the ball, passing from his butt to Ochai Agbaji for the layup. Go go go. Timeout Lakers, Walter to the bench. It was 10 minutes, 43 seconds consecutively in the game.
This is the embodiment of Toronto’s goals. Motion. Movement. Activity. Pace pace pace. Too much pace? Can’t stop to think, too busy running. Go go. Screening. So much guard screening. Cutting. Go.
And, yes, it’s not working. The Raptors are outmatched. And for being heralded as a shooter — his form is placid yet churning, liquid swords — the jumper isn’t falling. There is a skill deficit, especially with players out, and LeBron F-cking James on the other team. Can’t run past that problem. Still gonna try. Go go. But this is the approach, at least for now. Run. Cut. Figure out the rest on the move.
“You had a chance to see that with Gradey last year,” said Darko Rajakovic. “He was one of those guys that never stopped and had high motor. We recognize that with Ja’Kobe as well, that he has that potential, and we’re intentionally working on that through his workouts and everything that he’s putting in. We’re trying to make him very active without the ball and to be always on the run.”
In the second half, it’s about possessions. He is last back (after missing a jumper), on an island against Anthony Davis in the post. Walter strips Davis, off the Laker’s leg, Raptors ball. Go. He scurries in from the weak side for an offensive rebound. Go go. Snatches a defensive rebound from Austin Reaves. Gobbles a monster defensive rebound leaping in front of Jaxson Hayes.
And, yes, he does this while missing his jumpers. If he’s going to embody Toronto’s ethos, principles, zeitgeist, he has to do it whole hog. Cutting, sprinting, hustling, trying, go go go. And missing his jumpers. But the effort. He’s a dawg. A dawg who runs. The dawgs are all going around, and around, and around. Go Walter go.
A stampede cut from the corner into an uncontested floater. Beautiful process. Miss long. Sketchy results. No time to worry. Go go go. Now he’s picking up full court, pressuring the ball — yes, getting back cut, sometimes — but then pressuring a pass. He’s out, for crunch time. Sit. Breathe. But no, no rest, not for Walter. He returns with 30 seconds left, down eight, the rest of the starters alongside. He’s on the court as the crowd gives a standing ovation to Bronny James. He’s on the court for the carnival.
Walter won his minutes, not entirely due to him, but in part. It was a good first stint. It’s hard to be the avatar of a team style, and it’s especially hard for a rookie playing in his first career game coming off of injury. But Walter nailed it, from the constant activity to the mistakes to the clever cutting to the defensive pressure to the missed jumpers. And if all goes well, as he improves, so too will they. He’ll start to make his jumpers. He’ll get the ball on his cuts. He’ll create more advantages with his drives and relocations. He was the Toronto Raptors. The hope is that as his activity turns into a real weapon, as he improves, the rest of the team will improve right alongside. Good and bad, Walter was perfect.
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