\u201cDefensively, I think he\u2019s really good at the chaos rotation,\u201d Vecenie said. \u201cI think he\u2019s really good at making those quick split-second decisions. It\u2019s, okay, can he guard on the ball? If a team gets him in a switch, is he going to be quick enough to be able to stay in front of somebody? Is he going to be able to consistently deal on the block?\u201d<\/p>\n
Defense is the key to earning minutes with the Raptors<\/p>\n
Graves should get a shot at claiming a spot in the regular rotation early on\u2014and more so if Jakob Poeltl can\u2019t stay healthy. The Raptors\u2019 big rotation isn\u2019t exactly deep or high-quality. Unless Trayce Jackson-Davis, Nate Bittle, or Trey Jamison prove to be ready for rotational minutes when Poeltl is out, the Raptors will have to play a lot of small-ball lineups with Collin Murray-Boyles, Graves, or Kyle Anderson at the five.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Graves can punish teams from behind the 3-point line, it will go a long way for the Raptors\u2019 offense and carving out a role for himself. They don\u2019t have a ton of floor spacers and particularly not in the frontcourt rotation. But the key to really sticking in the rotation is defense. Defense is, after all, the Raptors\u2019 identity and what they built their success on last season.\u00a0It\u2019s one of the reasons why Gradey Dick fell out of the rotation this past season. <\/p>\n
Graves has a lot of potential defensively if he can keep up with the speed and athleticism at the next level\u2014and it could quickly get scary for Toronto\u2019s opponents. If Leonard joins the Raptors, they can build a defensive horror<\/a> with a lineup of Jamal Shead, Ja\u2019Kobe Walter, Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Murray-Boyles. If Graves can be as impactful defensively as the Raptors are hoping, they will be even scarier to deal with.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on Google