"The void left at centre forced Murray-Boyles to step in as the starting five and has necessitated him and Barnes playing alongside each other more often to provide requisite husk in the frontcourt. It isn't groundbreaking to play a small-ball lineup with your two biggest forwards in the absence of a centre. But it's required the Raptors to put their two best defensive players on the floor at once, uncovering the team's best two-man lineup. In this case, necessity was the mother of invention."
"In 22 games before Poeltl's injury, the bruising duo played 150 minutes, or 6.8 minutes per game. Since they've played 247 minutes together over 12 games, or 17.6 minutes per game. In that span they have the best defensive rating (100.2) and second-best net rating (8.2) of any two-man lineup on the team with a decent sample (over 150 minutes)."
Poeltl's injury created a centre void that pushed Murray-Boyles into the starting five and increased his minutes alongside Barnes to add frontcourt physicality. The Raptors shifted to a small-ball look featuring their two best defenders together, revealing the team's top two-man lineup. Their minutes together rose from 150 over 22 games to 247 over 12 games, boosting minutes per game from 6.8 to 17.6. In that span the duo posted a 100.2 defensive rating and an 8.2 net rating among pairings with sufficient sample, outperforming the next pairing by 2.8 points per possession. The pairing protects the rim, switches effectively, deters drives with stunts and recovers, and wins through physical dominance—blocks, battling under the rim, superior length and athleticism. The sample must grow, but much of Toronto's future defensive success appears tied to them sharing the court.
Read at Raptors Republic
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