I miss Peter King’s weekly football column.
The long-time Sports Illustrated writer, who finished his career at NBC, had an all-consuming column about the week that was published every Monday, except for a few in the summer. He basically invented the mammoth weekly internet notebook, an extension of the Sunday sport-specific columns that dominated newspapers for so long.
It was extensive. Some of it was pure reporting. Some of it was X’s and O’s observations. Some of it covered his life on the road and tidbits from his personal life. Nobody loved all of it, but everybody loved some of it, so long as you cared about football. And that was the beauty of it. You could tell he cared about football so much.
He put away the typewriter two Super Bowls ago. There is plenty of great NFL content out there — much of it here at The Athletic — but nothing has fully replaced King’s column for me.
King typically ended his column with “10 things I think I think,” an opinion section. The wording let you know that he was fallible. There was an implicit humility in it. It was “strong opinions, loosely held” in action.
In that spirit, with the Raptors just past the quarter mark of their season after losses in Charlotte and New York on the weekend, here are 10 things I think I think about the state of the team. The Raptors are 14-7, third in the Eastern Conference heading into Monday’s play, with the 11th-ranked offence and sixth-ranked defence in the NBA.
1. I think I think the Raptors are expensive but competent. The second part is the new part. Any team that can go through any part of the schedule of this length, no matter how soft its strength, and nearly wind up as a top-10 team on offence and defence is competent at worst. Jamal Shead and Sandro Mamukelashvili have been two of the most impactful reserves in the league. The starting five has figured things out offensively.
But six of the nine wins the Raptors gathered on the trot before losing on Saturday were against the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards. They have been fairly healthy. They have some nice wins, including ones in Cleveland, Atlanta and Philadelphia, but a pair of coin-flip games against the Pacers and Hornets before Sunday’s dismissal at Madison Square Garden show how little margin for error the Raptors have when not entirely healthy.
Two of the Eastern Conference’s better long-term bets, Boston and Indiana, are experiencing injury-mandated down years. The Raptors are still above the luxury-tax threshold this season, and their starting lineup alone will take them right up to the salary cap next year. These Raptors haven’t proven that the front office’s plan is a good and sustainable one. They’ve proven there is something here, which is the necessary first step, but nothing more.
2. I think I think Scottie Barnes is playing the best basketball of his career. Right now, he would probably be off most All-NBA ballots because his per-game numbers (19.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.6 blocks) are comparable to last year. But he is a definite All-Defense candidate, and his 51.3/41.4/85.9 shooting is evidence of not only a more consistent stroke, but more appropriate shot selection. Brandon Ingram’s acquisition has freed him up to play like this. It’s been a joy to watch him.
3. I think I think the Raptors are starting to lean too heavily on Ingram. It is fine that Ingram isn’t perfectly melded within the Raptors’ offence. But they got concerningly predictable against the Hornets, repeatedly setting off-ball staggered screens to free him up as he came toward the elbow. It’s clear that playing without the injured RJ Barrett, who could return later this week from a sprained knee, has limited the Raptors’ offensive options. Ingram’s usage percentage — the percentage of a team’s possessions a player ends with a shot, free-throw attempts or turnover when he is on the floor — has been 33 percent in the four games Barrett has missed, after starting the year at 25.5 percent. The Raptors have to find ways to involve Ingram more organically and make more plays on the second side of an action — or else a discussion about Ingram’s more divisive traits will begin.
4. I think I think, to that end, the Raptors are going to need more offensively from a couple of Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter, Ochai Agbaji and Collin Murray-Boyles. Each has done pretty well defensively, given their individual expectations. All of them are inconsistent contributors on offence. They are young, so that is OK, but the Raptors need something from their young core. Dick is under the most pressure. This is his third season, and he is shooting 31.3 percent from 3, tied for last with Ingram among the Raptors’ nine shooters to attempt at least 20 3s this year. He is at 35.2 percent for his career. Dick still receives defensive attention as if he is a threat from deep, and he has a nice off-the-bounce game and athleticism. None of it will pop consistently without the shot falling way more often.
5. I think I think if that doesn’t change, it will soon be time for a lot more Jamison Battle. Dick isn’t so much better than Battle at the other stuff that it’s worth the dropoff on those shots.
Gradey Dick will have to step up more offensively for the Raptors to sustain their success. (Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
6. I think I think it’s way too early to talk about trade possibilities, but I’m beginning to look at some of the names on lesser teams’ rosters in case the Raptors’ young players don’t provide enough depth. Collin Sexton, Keon Ellis, Daniel Gafford, Day’Ron Sharpe, Ayo Dosunmu, Jalen Smith, Naji Marshall, Saddiq Bey, Georges Niang and Corey Kispert are all interesting to various degrees. It’s also important to remember that, beyond the starters, no Raptor makes more than $6.83 million, and the team has an incentive to cut salary, not add it. Making a big upgrade, given the Raptors’ limitations, will be difficult.
7. I think I think Immanuel Quickley is becoming the player the Raptors need him to be. Some people will be turned off by his shot selection, but the Raptors need that aggression next to the pass-first and to take some of the pressure off of Ingram. Since the Raptors’ 1-4 start, when Quickley struggled horribly from the field, he is shooting 39.3 percent from deep on seven attempts per game — take more! — and has 98 assists to 26 turnovers. He trails only Barnes in total plus-minus. Stop expecting him to be a floor general and appreciate the necessary ingredients he provides.
8. I think I think Raptors 905, who are undefeated heading into Monday’s game against the Long Island Nets, could provide the Raptors some help this year. Second-round pick Alijah Martin, on a two-way contract, is shooting 45.9 percent from deep. He is turning the ball over way too much, but he could be useful later in the season. A.J. Lawson and Chucky Hepburn, also on two-way deals, have a chance at contributing, too.
9. I think I think the small things are about to become the big things for Darko Rajaković. Against the Hornets on Saturday, the head coach used his second challenge early in the fourth quarter. The call was overturned, so it was a successful challenge — the less said about that officiating crew, which had four calls overturned by replay before crunch time started, the better — but he lost the right to use the challenge later in the game. A challenge used successfully is better than one not used at all, but in a tight game, you have to be mindful of saving those opportunities until the end. It probably would not have come in handy, but you never know.
If team chemistry is a reflection of the coach, then Rajaković deserves tons of credit. The Raptors are playing with identity, purpose and togetherness, and nothing is more important than that for a coach. But nailing substitution patterns, out-of-bounds and after-timeout plays and late-game decisions are going to be crucial in a tight conference race, especially as the Raptors’ schedule gets tougher.
10. I think I think, still, that this is way better than trying to analyze a 25-30-win team that cares about winning only in passing.