Raptors film room: their stars didn’t show up

The Raptors needed to beat a good team, and they couldn’t. Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and RJ Barrett struggled while Ja’Kobe Walter and Collin Murray-Boyles shone.

Here’s the recap:

And here’s Joe Wolfond on spacing and Ingram:

The Space Between Here and the Ceiling

One thing that would make putting the ball in other guys’ hands more effective is if Ingram could find his way to more threes. That’s one of two main things Rajakovic said he wants to see more of from Ingram moving forward, along with him being more involved in the team’s transition attack both with and without the ball. 

Ingram has hit 40.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes this season, third among the team’s rotation players behind only Quickley and Ja’Kobe Walter. But on a per-minute basis, he attempts fewer of them than everyone except Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, and Collin Murray-Boyles. As a result, his off-ball gravity continues to lag far behind his talent as a shooter.

Overall, though, the early returns on Ingram’s Raptors tenure have been objectively positive. He still meaningfully improves spacing with his on-ball gravity; the attention he draws opens up pockets of space in the halfcourt that simply weren’t there before he arrived. His pick-and-rolls and post-ups often draw two defenders, and help sometimes shades his way before he even catches the ball, all of which opens up lanes for cutters, short rolls for big men, and kickouts to open shooters. His presence has nudged other players on the roster like Barnes and Barrett into more natural roles, and has raised the team’s offensive floor. 

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