TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will try to live up to their namesake in the NBA team's 30th season and play fast, aggressive basketball.
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will try to live up to their namesake in the NBA team's 30th season and play fast, aggressive basketball.
"Tough, gritty. I think fans can expect that," said Quickley."I think the league can expect that, that we’ll be one of the harder playing teams around the league, for sure." "Defence, playing hard, outworking people, being scrappy, running, playing together," said Barnes on the Raptors' identity in the new season.First, they allowed 118.8 points per game in a disappointing 25-57 campaign last season, sixth worst in the NBA. Second, with an average age of 25 1/3 — buoyed up by 38-year-old forward Garrett Temple — they're one of the younger teams in the league and should have the stamina for a smothering defence.
"We're still trying to figure each other out, but once we do figure it out, I think it's going to be hard to guard, because we're playing hard, playing fast, playing unpredictable."The Raptors collected a middling 10.9 offensive rebounds per game last season, good for 11th in the NBA. Second-year head coach Darko Rajakovic is determined to improve on that, and Toronto tied for sixth in the league with 13.2 per game in the pre-season.
Relying heavily on point-of-attack defence in transition, especially with backup point guard Davion Mitchell leading Toronto's second unit, is the other key tenet of Rajakovic's defensive scheme.
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