Raptors Training Camp Notebook Day 2: Optimizing Scottie & Meeting CMB
Fewer 1v1’s and more stretching.
Sitting outside of the Raptors practice — before they let us in — is an exercise in listening. Listening to yells, listening to screams, listening to trash talk, and all of it without any visual aids. They ran extremely late. So late that I got everyone in the media room to start partaking in typing tests to pass the time.
Meanwhile, the Raptors were running ragged in their continuous 5 on 5 scrimmages. The scrimmages that are supposed to prepare everyone for the dogged physicality and demand of stamina from their playstyle. Speaking of physicality, we got to talk to Collin Murray-Boyles today, and he was a great scrum-mer(?). Good listener. Maintains eye contact. Talks to you like a human being. It’s nice.
When I asked him about what has translated most easily to the NBA for him, his answer was very simple and straightforward: “Physicality.” and he said it with a smile on his face. It’s also what his teammates say about him too. It’s evident in his film from anywhere he’s played. He brings it.
“It’s really just my mentality. Coming into, like, what I can give these guys. Obviously I wanna give them the hardest time on offense. That’s how I’m making them better.” Murray-Boyles told me at practice. “Especially the guys who the offense flows through – I wanna make it as hard as possible on them so that it’s easier for them in the games. So, just trying to bring an edge to the team. Trying to figure out how I can contribute.”
When I asked how his teammates respond to his physicality:
“They can’t do nothing about it. Cause it’s legal. They’re gonna complain. They’re gonna get better and learn from it. That’s what I wanna do.”
The Raptors star forward is taking notice of their young gun forward as well. “Collin (Murray-Boyles) is super physical. Super aggressive. On the defensive side he’s a beast. He’s a monster.” said at practice. “The way he’s able to get steals and deflections. He’s gonna be dangerous in transition where he’s able to show his athleticism. He’s really athletic for his size. He’s very strong. You know, he has a lot of great tools. His games just gonna keep on developing. It’s his first year so he has a lot to learn, but he’s gonna keep developing and keep going. Great teammate.”
Regarding Barnes, Coach Darko was a little bit more forthcoming about his imagined role for the Raptors young star. Maybe most importantly, that it will involve less time on ball, with the addition of Brandon Ingram.
“I think it’s going to really help unlock what Scottie does really well.” Darko said of the Ingram addition. “Last year we had Scottie play on the ball a lot — which, we’re gonna continue seeing that and doing that — but also when he plays off the ball as a screener and roller, when he plays in the dunker spot it just allows him to go get more offensive rebounds and be efficient in that area. Scottie is a real force for us in transition and in the open court with his early seals and post ups. So, I think they’re going to complement each other quite well to be honest with you.”
“Any way I can help the team, you know I’m gonna do it.” – Scottie Barnes
Barnes was also optimistic about the same-size screening actions in particular, which were effective back when he played with Pascal Siakam. “Those two, they’re both really good scorers. They score in different ways, though.” Barnes said after practice. “But, for sure, any chance to get both of us in a screen and roll, we can do so many different things with the ball in our hands. You know he scores the ball really well. I playmake out of it. He’s showing a lot of flashes on how he can playmake really well. So, any chance that, that can happen, coach is motivating us to get into those actions. He wants us to sniff those out any way possible.”
Of course, so much of training camp is the fluff. It’s the niceties, and the optimism. But, there is stuff to glean. Last season they were bad, but they were honest about the style of basketball they wanted to play, and there was a genuine throughline from start to finish in how they went about their business. This season there is far more optimism around the team, especially the decision makers, and they’re going to continue leaning into a playstyle that takes advantage of young legs, and a hopefully, deeper roster.
Last season the Raptors were fourth in the NBA in average pick up point (where they meet the ball handler) with an average of roughly 48 feet. League average was just a smidge under 42 – which was the highest in the tracking era (12 seasons). In a league that will be leaning in, the Raptors will continue leaning harder. We’ll see how it goes.
If you have any questions you want me to answer in the mailbag, let me know!
Have a blessed day.
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