Murray-Boyles\u2019 standing as a pillar of the Raptors\u2019 future and the high regard he\u2019s held in has been quietly taking shape, even this early in his career. So hearing the youngster praised for his work and potential on both ends of the floor should come as no surprise. What does sound a little juicier to me, though, are Coach Darko\u2019s passing comments about using CMB alongside Jakob Poeltl. As I said at the beginning of this piece, a lot of the discussion has focused on choosing one over the other as a starter \u2014 I\u2019m not sure many people were considering the possibility of playing both at the same time.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not impossible, but with two non-spacing bigs in Murray-Boyles and Poeltl, you risk clogging the paint. That frontcourt duo certainly fits the Raptors\u2019 traditional defense-first mold<\/a>, and in certain situations (especially against teams with a similar look), the pairing could work well. Against more athletic, dynamic opponents, though, I can trust CMB to hold his own with his burst and active hands. Poeltl, on the other hand, worries me quite a bit when it comes to moving his feet and defending in space.<\/p>\n Making Collin Murray-Boyles and Jakob Poeltl work means fixing key gaps<\/p>\n I\u2019m open to seeing the vision in small spurts, but the Raptors\u2019 coaching staff will need reliable shooters around them to make this clunky interior fit work. That brings me to the players in Toronto\u2019s arsenal who could help make CMB-and-Poeltl lineups work.<\/p>\n A hopefully rejuvenated Immanuel Quickley could do his thing as one of the Raptors\u2019 most willing and highest-volume shooters. Ja\u2019Kobe Walter, another promising pillar of the team\u2019s future, could thrive in this kind of lineup, too. The other spot would likely go to Scottie Barnes and\/or Kawhi Leonard, since I\u2019m not sure this is a lineup you\u2019d want to roll out every night. If it gets some run deeper into games, when the starters need a breather, a sneaky sniper like Jamison Battle<\/a> could fit perfectly in the lineup too. <\/p>\n Perhaps we even see Point Scottie running the show, or Jamal Shead stepping in at the point. The mega dream, though? CMB making a real leap as a three-point shooter<\/a> and taking this type of lineup to another level \u2014 or, at the very least, steadily building his reps and confidence from beyond the arc as the season goes on.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bold strategy worth testing, especially since we haven\u2019t really seen the two play together, because of their respective injuries last season and their different roles. That said, there\u2019s another concern for CMB lingering in the background: if he\u2019s logging minutes at both the four and the five, brushing against tough competition for extended periods \u2014 there\u2019s a risk of playing him into the ground<\/a>. Given the injury adversity he already faced last year, the Raptors will need to be mindful of fatigue and wear and tear.<\/p>\n But we\u2019ll have to wait for the eye test and a decent sample of metrics to come to a more definitive conclusion. In fact, we may get an early read on whether this strategy can work when Raptors preseason action begins this Saturday against the Miami Heat, so I\u2019m looking forward to see what reveals itself there.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on Google