"I'll be honest: I sat down to write this piece right after RJ Barrett's injury, I wanted to hypothesize on the two potential ways that Barrett's absence could go. Option one: he misses time, and the Raptors look amazing. Ja'Kobe Walter or Gradey Dick slots in seamlessly to the starting lineup, amplifying the skills of the remaining four starters. Or, option two: the Raptors look like a shell of themselves and come to the realization that Barrett is a necessary piece of the Raptors' ecosystem."
"The pork chops are well-seasoned, full of flavour, and absolutely delicious. Left at that you'd have a good dinner. But what truly elevates them to the next level, is the sauce that they simmer in. A simple sauce, just some stock, apple-cider vinegar, and honey. Nothing fancy. But the addition of the sauce takes the meal from just okay to absolutely mouth wateringly incredible. That is what Barrett provides the Raptors offense, he is the sauce!"
"I mean, just look at the drop off in these offensive categories, via Zulfi Sheikh. (Ranks since Barrett has been out with injury first, then ranks prior to the injury in parentheses).PPG: 29th (13th)ORTG: 30th (10th)Halfcourt ORTG: 30th (5th)TS%: 30th (8th)Transition freq: 14th (1st) While the drop off can't be entirely contributed to the absence of Barrett, I don't think there's many people that would argue that the offense has looked good without him."
Two potential outcomes were considered for RJ Barrett's absence: the Raptors either thrive with Ja'Kobe Walter or Gradey Dick seamlessly stepping into the starting lineup, or they falter and reveal Barrett as indispensable. Four games without Barrett made his role as a secondary, tertiary, or quaternary scorer central to the Raptors' offensive identity. Barrett is compared to a sauce that elevates already-good elements into something exceptional by amplifying teammates' strengths. Offensive rankings dropped markedly without him: PPG 29th (13th), ORTG 30th (10th), Halfcourt ORTG 30th (5th), TS% 30th (8th), Transition frequency 14th (1st).
Read at Raptors Republic
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]