On Monday night, a couple of things felt good if you're a Raptors fan:
- The team was back home playing in Toronto for the first time in a long, long time.
- The Raptors blew the doors off the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now, it's only preseason and the road ahead will be long and full of bumps, but there were some encouraging signs from the Raptors in their first exhibition outing this season.
Here are four stats that stood out in Monday's win.
100 percent — OG Anunoby went 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He finished with a team-high 21 points, showing off his midrange and long range improvements.
Two of his three 3 pointers were catch-and-shoot triples, which he's adept at. (Anunoby shot 42.4 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s last season). Pull-up threes, however, were a little bit of a problem, as he converted only 20.0 percent of those opportunities last season. To see him get into his bag and nail a three off the dribble midway through the third quarter might give fans confidence that he can improve in that area.
29 fastbreak points — Toronto was able to put up 29 fastbreak points in its win on Monday. In 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Raptors were one of the best teams in the league in transition, ranking in the top five in both seasons. Last year, they were still a top 10 team, but they didn't put the same level of fear in opposing teams as they had in the past.
For a team that's going to have a tough time some nights finding baskets in the halfcourt, it's important for them to get out and run when they have the opportunity. According to NBA Stats, they played at a pace of 107.5 against the 76ers, which is faster than any team played in the NBA last year. Pace in preseason is a little helter-skelter — it will slow down once the games start counting — but running is something Toronto will have to do this season to make sure it maximizes its offensive potential.
60 bench points — Getting that level of production from the second unit won't happen on a nightly basis, but if the Raptors bench can provide a scoring punch, it will be something they simply didn't have last year. The Raptors finished last in bench scoring last season with just 30.0 points per game coming from the second unit.
When the team is healthy, all signs point to the bench production increasing.
33 team assists — This is a great number for any team. Last season, the Raptors ranked 20th in the league in team assists per game (24.1). Injuries played a part in that number being as low as it was, but when the 2021-22 version of the Raptors are fully healthy, they should be able to move the ball unselfishly and find open looks for each other.
