Barnes: 'Push the pace and play defence' is Toronto Raptors' mantra in 2024-25 season

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives past Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) during second half NBA pre-season basketball action in Toronto on October 15, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The Toronto Raptors will try to live up to their namesake in the NBA team's 30th season and play fast, aggressive basketball.

All-star forward Scottie Barnes, the Raptors focal point on both sides of the ball, summed it up neatly days before Toronto hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in their home opener on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.

“Push the pace and play defence," said Barnes on the court at OVO Athletic Centre, the team's practice facility. "That's our main priorities. That's what we've been working on a lot.

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"We've got a lot of young guys that can be able to play fast and try to get aggressive on defence."

It was a sentiment echoed by point guard Immanuel Quickley, who will be one of Toronto's starters this season along with Barnes.

"Tough, gritty. I think fans can expect that," said Quickley. "I think the league can expect that, that we’ll be one of the harder playing teams around the league, for sure."

Swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., missed most of the pre-season after he sprained his shoulder in a 125-98 exhibition romp over the Washington Wizards on Oct. 6 in Montreal. He participated in a full, non-contact practice on Tuesday but is still listed as day-to-day ahead of the game against Cleveland.

Although it was unclear when Barrett would return to Toronto's lineup, he was on the same page as Barnes and Quickley.

"Defence, playing hard, outworking people, being scrappy, running, playing together," said Barnes on the Raptors' identity in the new season.

It's an ethos forged by three facts.

First, they allowed 118.8 points per game in a disappointing 25-57 campaign last season, sixth worst in the NBA. Second, with an average age of 25 1/3 — buoyed up by 38-year-old forward Garrett Temple — they're one of the younger teams in the league and should have the stamina for a smothering defence. Third, they are relatively undersized, especially at power forward.

Seven-foot centre Jakob Poeltl, the tallest player on the team and at 29, the fourth oldest, said that the fast-paced, defence-oriented style is what he expected.

"We're going to be playing free, which is going to lead to a lot of learning experiences," said Poeltl. "Maybe a little bit of chaos at times.

"We're still trying to figure each other out, but once we do figure it out, I think it's going to be hard to guard, because we're playing hard, playing fast, playing unpredictable."

Part of that hard-nosed philosophy will be crashing the boards.

The Raptors collected a middling 10.9 offensive rebounds per game last season, good for 11th in the NBA. Second-year head coach Darko Rajakovic is determined to improve on that, and Toronto tied for sixth in the league with 13.2 per game in the pre-season.

Rajakovic said the key is to be strategic about how and when the Raptors goes for an offensive rebound instead of playing tight transition defence.

"What are we doing there? Are we just reckless and going to the glass no matter what? That's not our plan," he said after practice on Oct. 9. "Our plan is to be to do a good job of getting to the rebounding spots on the floor, but at the same time doing a good job in transition defence. We're trying to marry those two things into one complex plan."

Relying heavily on point-of-attack defence in transition, especially with backup point guard Davion Mitchell leading Toronto's second unit, is the other key tenet of Rajakovic's defensive scheme.

Like the emphasis on offensive rebounds, it's a plan designed to emphasize the Raptors' strengths and hide their weaknesses.

"I just look at the ball and just get back and think about transition defence if we miss a shot," said the six-foot Mitchell, noting he has work to do on offensive boards. "I've got to learn from that and watch film.

"(Rajakovic) talked to me about it a couple times, but sometimes I'll be thinking like, ‘Man, I'm the smallest dude on the court, no way I'm going to get it,’ so sometimes I just stay back but I need to keep getting better at it."

Toronto's other major issue is that it has the toughest schedule to start the season of any NBA team. Twenty of the Raptors' first 25 games are against playoff teams from last year. Eleven of those teams made it past the first round.

"I know we’re playing Cleveland on Wednesday night and I do not know what happens after that," said Rajakovic on Monday. "I really don't want to know. Nothing changes in my approach.

"I really want to focus on our on our team, and how we go day-by-day and improve."

The Raptors will be missing several key pieces on Wednesday. In addition to Barrett possibly not playing, centre Kelly Olynyk (back) of Kamloops, B.C., small forward Bruce Brown (arthroscopic knee surgery), and rookie combo guard Ja'Kobe Walter (sprained shoulder) will be out too.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.