Despite their lackluster record of 4-12, the Toronto Raptors have been fun to watch almost every night. Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji’s growth into key players has been captivating, with player development becoming a strength for Toronto again. However, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl’s budding chemistry has been even more fun to watch, with the two pushing each other to new heights.
How RJ Barrett And Jakob Poeltl Have Elevated Each Other
The Austrian Hammer
Poeltl is having a career year. He is averaging 17 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, both career highs. His aggressiveness is also at an all-time high, with him taking 12.1 FGA a night, 2.3 more attempts than his previous career high. While some of this increased usage is due to injuries, the team is looking for Poeltl more than ever. This is true, especially for Barrett, who always has an eye out for Poeltl. 30.4% of Poeltl’s assisted field goals have come from Barrett, who has already dropped 25 dimes for Poeltl.
Most of these dimes have come out of the pick and roll, with Barrett using his speed and strength to penetrate the paint before finding Poeltl with dump-off passes. Barrett has also done a great job of finding Poeltl on the roll with quick bounce passes. Poeltl has scored at an elite level out of these actions, posting 1.19 points per possession. Of all players to run 35 or more PnRs as the roll man, Poeltl is scoring the seventh most points per possession. Besides finding him out of the PnR, Barrett does an excellent job of finding Poeltl on post-ups. Poeltl spoke about how the increased usage has helped his all-around game, and Barrett has made sure to feed the big man when he can.
Hometown Star
Since coming to Toronto, Barrett has played his best NBA basketball. The hometown kid has put up 22.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists across 45 games for the Raptors. With Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley missing time this season, Barrett has had to step up as a playmaker. Barrett has more than filled in as a playmaker for the Raptors and has become an elite PnR operator. Barrett is generating 0.96 points per possession on 7.3 possessions this season operating the PnR, which is more than guys like Steph Curry and Tyrese Haliburton and a career-high.
This growth as a PnR ball handler has much to do with the chemistry between him and Poeltl. Poeltl always looks for Barrett in the half-court and excels at getting him free with stiff screens. Once Barrett is free going downhill, Poeltl does an excellent job rolling with him and providing a release value whenever needed. While not a floor spacer out to the three-point line, Poeltl has a fantastic touch from 3-10 feet, forcing opposing bigs to step out to him. This little bit of space is all Barrett needs to explode to the rim and finish. Pick-and-rolls are a vital building block of NBA offense, and Poeltl and Barrett have provided an elite PnR duo for the Toronto Raptors to build off of.
