Poeltl must be better to give Raptors a chance to turn series around

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors have a Jakob Poeltl problem.

It’s been ebbing in and out of sight for most of the season. But with the playoff spotlight in full glare, it’s impossible to miss.

The 30-year-old centre managed just four points and six rebounds in 21 minutes in Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It somehow looked worse than that as the Cavaliers' big men, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, combined for seven dunks among their 17 field goals, while Poeltl was 1-of-2 from the floor and didn’t grab a single offensive rebound.

In between Games 1 and 2, Poeltl — who last played in the playoffs in 2018-19 with the San Antonio Spurs — pledged to do better.

“I think I can be more assertive in Iooking for my own shots in some situations,” he said. “There were some situations that we looked at on film where I can be more aggressive, I can find better positioning for me to get open and take the shots that I’m used to taking."

The results in Game 2 were even worse. Poeltl was played off the floor and his only field goal attempts were an uncontested putback in the opening minutes that he converted and a layup that he missed under pressure from Allen near halftime.

He didn’t play again after that.

For the series, Mobley and Allen are shooting 74 per cent from the floor and are averaging 21 and 10 points per game, respectively. Poeltl has scored six points total.

There were plenty of reasons why Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic decided to bench Poeltl in the second half in favour of rookie Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili.

The public ones are that Murray-Boyles gives the Raptors more versatility defensively because — like Scottie Barnes — he can switch from guarding bigs to guards on the same possession fairly seamlessly, which allows the Raptors to better contest the Cavaliers' three-point shooters and contain dribble penetration, while also having some size on the floor.

The rookie’s fierceness around the rim makes up for his six-foot-seven frame. He’s third on the Raptors in scoring for the series at 15.5 points a game on 72.2 per cent shooting.

Mamukelashvili isn’t quite as adept defensively, but he’ll try and he’s shown a willingness to throw himself into the action. His 18 total rebounds and six offensive rebounds are the best marks in the series for either team. He also provides the Raptors badly needed floor spacing on offence as a 38.9 per cent three-point shooter.

The next time Rajakovic says something negatively about one of his players in public will be the first, but in supporting Poeltl in his comments after practice on Wednesday as the Raptors prepared for what will be a pivotal third game Thursday night (8 p.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+), he was clear about what he expects from his veteran big man, the only true centre he has on the roster.

“He has to be part of the solution for us,” said Rajakovic, whose team allowed the Cavs to shoot 72 per cent in the paint in Game 2. “He needs to be aggressive. He needs to dominate the glass. When he’s catching offensive rebounds, to be able to put it back and finish … I think a couple times when he was catching the ball, he was forcing to connect with his teammates."

“They always say your biggest strength is your biggest weakness. His biggest strength is he wants to connect with his teammates all the time and get them involved,” said Rajakovic, referencing the role Poeltl often plays as an offensive hub, with his screens and his skill orchestrating dribble hand-offs so Raptors ball handlers can get the ball on the move. “(But) sometimes he just needs to be aggressive for himself, to score and to get in the right spots on the floor and just attack.”

As much justifiable enthusiasm as there has been for the performance of Murray-Boyles in his first taste of playoff basketball, to the extent the Raptors have a chance to make the series interesting with a win in Game 3 — teams that go down 3-0 in the NBA playoffs are 0-159, and have ever even forced a seventh game four times — Poeltl will likely have be a big part of it.

Even as much as he’s struggled, the Raptors are still a significantly better defensive team with Poeltl on the floor — by about 13.2 points per 100 possessions — in his 30 minutes in the series than when he sits.

But his playoff disappearing act adds to the broader concern about Poeltl, who signed a three-year, $84 million contract extension last summer which doesn’t kick in until the 2027-28 season. When the last year of his current deal — $19.5 million for next season — is included, the Raptors have four years and $103.5 million tied up in the soon-to-be 31-year-old centre who was acquired to help the Raptors make the playoffs back in 2022-23 but can’t seem to help them when they’re in them two years later.

Just for context, the list of centres playing more minutes in the playoffs for a lot less money right now includes Wendell Carter Jr. ($10.8 million, Orlando), Onyeka Okongwu ($16.1 million, Atlanta), Robert Williams ($13.3 million, Portland), Luke Kornet ($11 million, San Antonio), Mitchell Robinson ($12.9 million, New York) and Neemias Queta ($2.35 million, Boston).

But even then, presuming Poeltl can stay on the floor, his current deal is reasonable. It counts as just 12.6 per cent against the salary cap this year and 11.8 per cent next season. But the looming extension and Poeltl missing 36 games this season due to a back problem that developed out of nowhere tied the Raptors' hands at the trade deadline and likely will for several transaction cycles to come.

But those are problems for the off-season. The problem now is that Poeltl is healthy and so far hasn’t contributed the way the Raptors need against Cleveland.

As ever, Rajakovic remains optimistic: “He’s going to be a big part of Game 3 and I think he’s going to perform really well.”

The number beside 'minutes played' in the box score will be the true test.

Three-point Grange

Soaking it up: Brandon Ingram hasn’t been running from his performance in Game 2 when he was 3-of-15 from the floor and didn’t have a free throw while scoring a playoff career-low seven points. It was an especially bad look given he went public about wanting more shots after getting up just nine in Game 1.

“It’s tough when you go back and you’re not doing your job. Either you stay in it emotionally or you continue to try to figure it out,” said Ingram, who credited his teammates and the Raptors coaching staff for standing with him through what has been a bit of a hailstorm the past few days. “But I like to sit in disappointment for a little bit, see where I went wrong, give myself some gratitude, think about the things that went well and then get back into the fight.”

Immanuel Quickley better, but is he closer?: The Raptors guard went through practice and another workout Wednesday as he tried to return from a mild hamstring strain suffered in the Raptors final game of the regular season, back on April 12. He is listed as questionable for Game 3.

“Literally every day he’s improving. Literally every day he’s feeling better, he’s moving better, he’s running better," Rajakovic said. "He’s going through that process of returning to play. He’s on the court right now getting extra work. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow."

Not your average rookie: Murray-Boyles has earned the trust of Rajakovic and the respect of his veteran teammates, perhaps the most accurate sign yet that he’s a player with a future.

"He's super mature,” said Mamukelashvili. “…(He) understands his strengths and his weaknesses … he's very, very coachable. He listens to everybody … I think that a lot of rookies don't understand what they can do, and then they try pretty much everything their rookie year and that's why they don't have (an) identity a lot of times. But him, he understands what he has to work on, but what he's good at right now that can help us win.”