Following the departure of franchise icon Kyle Lowry in August’s sign-and-trade deal with the Miami Heat, multiple Toronto Raptors would inevitably need to help fill the void left by the six-time All-Star.
Players like Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby were widely seen as potential options to shoulder more responsibility on both sides of the court heading into the season. But, approaching 30 games into the campaign, which Raptor has actually taken the biggest strides?
Raptors.com contributor Vivek Jacob joined the latest edition of The Raptors Show With Will Lou to discuss who on the team has shown the most improvement.
Who is most improved?
“Ooh, that’s a good question. I’m just going to have to go with Gary (Trent Jr.),” said Jacob on Friday.
It’s not necessarily what he’s done on the offensive end, either. Averaging 2.1 steals per contest, Trent Jr. is currently tied for second in the league in that department, but his impact on defence goes deeper than the box score statistics.
“On that side of the ball, I don’t think anyone would’ve dreamed that he would be among the league leaders in deflections and wreaking that type of havoc as an on-ball defender,” said Jacob.
“I think now, especially with seeing Scottie Barnes come along defensively, Pascal Siakam is back up to speed on the defensive side of the ball, now (Trent Jr.) gets to take those risks and nothing’s really hurting him. I really think he is the most improved player.”
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Consistency is key
“The interesting thing is when you look at the actual numbers, they’re not that different from what he did even last season a member of the Raptors,” said Will Lou, when examining Trent Jr.’s improvement.
Though the aggregate numbers are similar, with Trent Jr. averaging 17 points on 43.3 per cent from the field in the 2021-22 season compared to the 17 points he averaged in the 12 games as a starter for the Raptors in 2020-21, it’s the relative absence of the occasional poor offensive outing that has made the difference.
Last season, he had his famous 44-point night on 17-of-19 shooting from the field against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that was paired with a six-point outing on an abysmal 2-of-14 from the field against the Chicago Bulls.
“There is a much more consistent level of play for what Gary has done all season.” said Lou. “In the 25 games that he’s started (in 2021-22), he’s only scored less than 10 points three times.”
“He’s become someone that you can fully rely on.”
Watch the full conversation about Toronto’s most improved player and much more on The Raptors Show with Will Lou, which can now be streamed live daily on Sportsnet’s YouTube channel. A replay of Friday’s episode can be found below.
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