When the Toronto Raptors selected Allen Graves with the No. 19 pick, a sense of uncertainty radiated across the fanbase. It was reminiscent of when the Raptors picked Collin Murray-Boyles with the ninth-overall pick nearly a year ago.<\/p>\n
But just like with Murray-Boyles, the Raptors found a way to add a young player who will eventually play meaningful minutes and produce in significant moments during future playoff runs.<\/p>\n
Here are two reasons why:<\/p>\n
While Graves\u2019 offence is what could potentially tip post-season outcomes in the Raptors\u2019 favour, it\u2019ll be his defence that keeps him on the floor. Graves averaged 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks in only 22.6 minutes per game. While he isn\u2019t an explosive athlete, Graves is six-foot-nine and boasts a seven-foot wingspan. The youngster doesn\u2019t turn 20 until July 28 and yet he already understands how to weaponize his positioning and instincts. It fits perfectly on a Raptors team that finished third in deflections per game (18.4).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you watch him play, the disruptiveness on the defensive end that really stood out,\u201d said General Manager and vice-president Bobby Webster immediately after the draft.<\/p>\n
Like with any rookie, there\u2019ll be rough patches in Graves\u2019 first season in the league. But the front-office is enamoured by his potential on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see him wreaking havoc with CMB,\u201d added Webster.<\/p>\n
Graves echoed that sentiment numerous times during his press conference availability. He referenced priding himself on \u201cdeflections\u201d and \u201csteals\u201d, while expressing an admiration for defensive geniuses Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defensive side of the ball is something I really want to focus on,\u201d said Graves.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a realistic future where opposing ball-handlers must deal with Barnes, Murray-Boyles, and Graves switching on screens or lurking in passing lanes.<\/p>\n
Complete Offensive Ceiling<\/p>\n
Unlike other prospects taken in this draft range, Graves has produced evidence that he can do anything an auxiliary option on a contender should be able to do. He knocked down 41.3 per cent of his three-point attempts. He crashes the offensive glass (2.8 per game) and doesn\u2019t turn the ball over (0.7 turnovers). As a former point guard, Graves\u2019 vision, IQ, and playmaking chops set him up to be a valuable connector, particularly in short-clock situations.<\/p>\n
Expect Head Coach Darko Rajakovic to deploy him as a mystery box type of screener, adding a level of unpredictability in screening actions that the Raptors don\u2019t necessarily have. Graves showcased a growing comfort level in this role, experiencing success both as a roller and a popper. Webster highlighted Graves\u2019 \u201chigh-process\u201d during the post-draft press conference. It consistently shows when Graves makes secondary decisions after setting a pick.<\/p>\n
These are skills that can\u2019t be schemed against in the playoffs. When defences force the ball out of Barnes\u2019 or Ingram\u2019s hands, the hope is that it\u2019s swung to someone incapable of consistently making the right decision or with a limited skill set. Graves projects as someone who is the opposite of that.<\/p>\n
Like with Murray Boyles, Raptors fans will realize that soon enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Toronto Raptors selected Allen Graves with the No. 19 pick, a sense of uncertainty radiated across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3770],"tags":[7,6,681,92377,5038,680,476,65037,3820],"class_list":["post-769010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-raptors","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-raptors","tag-raptors-draft","tag-raptors-analysis","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-raptors","tag-toronto-raptors-discussion","tag-torontoraptors"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116803102542521256","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}