Four Players Who Can Help the Toronto Raptors Shooting Issues
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The Toronto Raptors have hit a ditch, three losses in a row after Wednesday’s 124-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
They’re 13-15, now, 10th in the Eastern Conference, with Chicago Bulls on their heels. And they’ve lost three in a row, going into tomorrow night’s game at home against the Brooklyn Nets, a team that’s been rising (17-12, fourth in the East). They’ll have to continue to navigate a stretch of games against teams that have a record of .500 and above, with the Nets and then the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
What does this mean for Ontario sports betting players? Let's look at what's going on.
The Kings loss at Scotiabank Arena exposed what has been their No. 1 ongoing weakness so far this season – 3-point shooting. The Raptors are third worst in the league, at 32.3 per cent.
Last night they were 6-of-21 from beyond the arc, matching their fewest made 3-pointers of the season. The Kings outscored Toronto by 33 points there. Gary Trent Jr. is the team’s top 3-point shooter on the season – 33.5 per cent, 118th in the league. He only played 24 minutes against the Kings – the fewest of the starting five. That’s not going to get it done.
A very winnable game, Scottie Barnes – who hopefully had himself a slump-breaking game with 27 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists – said afterwards.
As trade talk heats up a bit around the city – especially with the San Antonio Spurs’ Jacob Poeltl being a name bandied about (no real scoring bonus there, but the Raptors also need a boost at centre, with Christian Koloko as their primary starter there) – shooting is going to be a focus. The trade deadline is Feb. 9.
Here are four players who can help improve that (NBA trade season is now underway):
Coby White (trade, from the Chicago Bulls).
If the Bulls start to unload, White could be a Raptors target. While off to a slower start this season (32.9 per cent from beyond the arc), the point guard hit on 38.5 per cent 3-pointers over 61 games last season.
Kyle Kuzma (trade, from the Washington Wizards).
Kuzma is about to be an unrestricted free agent, so he’s likely a rental. He’s a premier wing and has touched 36.6 3-point percentage in his six-year career (2017-18 with the Lakers, 36.1 per cent with the Lakers in 2020-21).
Cameron Johnson (trade, from the Phoenix Suns).
Johnson is going to be a restricted free agent, a small forward with some heady 3-point percentage numbers – 42.5 last season in 66 games, 43.1 per cent in eight games this year. He’s out now with a knee injury and is without a clear timeline on when he gets back into game action.
Otto Porter Jr. (returns from injury).
Porter was signed to a contract that pays him just $6 million this season. While that number makes him tradeable, we’re sure the Raptors would rather have the player they inked as a free agent this summer, the guy with the career 39.7 per cent 3-point stroke. Not the guy who has missed all but eight games this season with injuries (out with a dislocated toe injury now).
This is all speculation, of course. But the bottom line is the organization can’t afford to wait this out and can’t currently compete without a sellable three-point option nightly on the floor.
Sports Interaction has the Raptors as 1-points underdogs Friday against the Brooklyn Nets.
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