Bruce Brown Jr. made quite the first impression with the Raptors.
Toronto lost a close one to Chicago in his debut, but Brown provided a spark off the bench. In addition to scoring 15 points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting, he pulled down seven rebounds in 25 minutes of play. In a game where the Raptors trailed by as many as 14 points, Brown helped give them a real chance down the stretch.
Brown was at his best in the fourth quarter and had one particular sequence that shows what he brings to the Raptors.
You know what that means — to the film room!
MORE: Everything you need to know about Raptors guard Bruce Brown Jr.
This sequence shows why Bruce Brown Jr. is a perfect fit on the Raptors
🎥 The play
✏️ Breakdown
The Raptors lead by two points with just under five minutes to play.
Brown is matched up with DeMar DeRozan, who led the Bulls in scoring on the night with 24 points. Nikola Vucevic approaches him at the top of the perimeter to run a pick-and-roll. Scottie Barnes drops back a bit while Brown ducks under Vucevic's screen knowing that DeRozan isn't much of a pull-up threat from the perimeter.
The Raptors are wise to not switch the pick-and-roll. Vucevic, who also scored 24 points on the night, has six inches and 58 pounds on Brown. Tough and physical of a defender as Brown is, that's a big difference for him to overcome.
Brown is quick to get around Vucevic's screen and picks DeRozan back up again close to the elbow.
He absorbs a shoulder from DeRozan on his drive to the basket.
Then, he swipes at the ball.
DeRozan is still able to get a shot off, but a contest from Barnes leads to a miss.
MORE: Scottie Barnes leaves strong first impression on Bruce Brown Jr.
🤔 Why it matters
Great individual defense and great help defense, right? Oh, but there's more.
It takes the Raptors a couple of seconds to secure the defensive rebound, but it's then off to the races. Immanuel Quickley runs point while Gary Trent Jr. and RJ Barrett make their way down the court. Brown joins them in taking off in a full sprint.
Brown and DeRozan are standing next to each other when the Raptors first gain possession.
But when Brown passes halfcourt, DeRozan is still around the 3-point line.
Brown's effort leads to a 4-on-3 opportunity for the Raptors. Quickley fakes Alex Caruso out (which almost never happens) by staring at Barrett on the 3-point line and instead passing to Brown underneath the basket.
Had he not just spent a full season playing with Nikola Jokic, this might've been the easiest basket of his career:
Welcome to the Bruce Brown experience!
As our Steph Noh mentioned in his trade grades, Brown is a do-it-all role player who makes everyone around him better. He's not someone teams run their offense through and he's been an up-and-down 3-point shooter in his career, but he's a connector and competitor on both ends of the court.
On offense, Brown can do a bit of everything — knock down the occasional 3, punish teams with well-timed cuts, get out in transition and wreak havoc as a roller despite being only 6-4. Defensively, his 6-9 wingspan, physicality and strength help him defend multiple positions. He's matched up with a variety of players this season, from Damian Lillard and Cade Cunningham to Jaylen Brown and even Giannis Antetokounmpo.
MORE: Should Scottie Barnes be an All-Star?
Brown proved in his debut that he has a lot to give to this Raptors team, even if he's not on quite the same timeline as Barnes, Quickley and Barrett. The reason he was able to make an immediate impact also happens to be why it wouldn't come as a huge surprise if he's playing somewhere else by the trade deadline. He fits in just about anywhere and alongside anyone, and he has a very tradable contract.
Noh already looked at some trade destinations should the Raptors take calls on Brown. The Mavericks make a lot of sense, as do the Knicks, Thunder and 76ers.
Toronto's front office still has a couple more weeks to decide if they want to explore trading Brown. Between now and then, you can count on him to do all of the little things that contribute to winning.
