"Jamal Shead has been nothing short of spectacular in his role this season. Head coach Darko Rajaković has not asked him to be the focal point of the offense. Instead, Shead's job has been to make smart decisions, protect the ball, and compete relentlessly on defense. For much of the season, he has thrived in that role. However, the last 10 games have seen Shead become far less effective, to the point that Toronto has played noticeably better with him off the floor. That naturally raises a fair question: have NBA defenses figured out Jamal Shead, or is this simply part of a young guard's development curve?"
"In Shead's first 45 games, he averaged 7.2 points, 5.6 assists, and just 1.4 turnovers while shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three. Those numbers do not overwhelm at first glance, but his advanced metrics tell a more impressive story. During that stretch, Shead led Toronto's rotation players in net rating at +5.0. He posted an outstanding 4.08 assist-to-turnover ratio, stabilizing the second unit as the team's only true point guard. He consistently made the correct reads and rarely forced passes."
Jamal Shead served as Toronto's stabilizing reserve point guard, prioritizing smart decisions, ball protection, and aggressive on-ball defense. In his first 45 games he averaged 7.2 points, 5.6 assists, 1.4 turnovers, shot 36.5% overall and 32.7% from three, and led rotation players with a +5.0 net rating and a 4.08 assist-to-turnover ratio. His defense included drawing offensive fouls, hounding ball handlers, and fighting over screens. Over the last 10 games his production dipped to 5.2 points, 4.4 assists, 1.6 turnovers, 35.2% FG, 28.6% 3PT, a 2.75 A/T ratio, and a -2.5 net rating, prompting questions about opponent adjustments or continued development.
Read at Raptors Rapture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]