The new-look Toronto Raptors are experiencing some growing pains.
More three-pointers are being taken by the team, but not a whole lot have actually gone in thus far.
Toronto has connected on just 24.3 per cent of its deep balls through three pre-season games.
“They’re taking more (three-pointers), and if you want to be frank, they’re making less,” said Donnovan Bennett on The Sportsnet Hotstove. “They’ve exceeded last season’s high as far as threes taken in each of their pre-season games. …
“At some point you have to have the conversation of: Are you cutting off your nose to spite your face?”
The last four seasons have seen the Raptors reach new heights with three Atlantic Division titles and a trip to the conference finals. However, a step back in 2016-17 (finishing with 51 wins compared to 56 the year prior), has led to a change in philosophy with head coach Dwane Casey.
The Raptors are a team headed by isolation-scorer DeMar DeRozan on offence, and Bennett wondered if that’s not such a bad thing.
“During the first half of (2016-17), it was 1A and 1B with the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors as to who had the most efficient offence in the history of the NBA,” said Bennett. “Now, the second half of the year that fell off the table and they came back to the pack as they started to play better defence, but the way they played offensively wasn’t really their issue when it came to the playoffs.”
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