{"id":111126,"date":"2024-12-08T12:37:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T17:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=111126"},"modified":"2024-12-08T12:37:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-08T17:37:57","slug":"taking-stock-of-he-raptors-rookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/08\/taking-stock-of-he-raptors-rookies\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Stock of\u00a0the Raptors Rookies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through the first 24 games, the Raptors have seen more of their rookies than initially expected. With the team missing key players, the rooks have been thrown into the deep end to start their NBA careers. Through the first quarter of the season, the Raptors rookies have kept their heads above water, showing they can swim with the sharks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking Stock of the Raptors Rookies<\/h2>\n

Ja’Kobe Walter<\/b><\/h3>\n

After returning from<\/a> his injury, Ja’Kobe Walter<\/a> was thrust right into the starting lineup. Playing alongside the starters, Walter has gotten the chance to showcase areas of his game besides scoring. In his first game as a starter, Walter showed his knack for rebounding, grabbing 11 boards, including two offensive rebounds, in just 27 and a half minutes. Walter has also shown some flashes as a playmaker, dropping five dimes against the Pelicans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite his shooting numbers, Walter has demonstrated real potential as a scorer. Walter has a quick trigger on his jumper and is confident to keep shooting even when it isn’t failing. His handle is functional, taking defenders off the dribble and driving to the rack. It is clear Walter needs to add muscle, only shooting 47.1% at the rim<\/a> and just 15.2% from deep, but the talent is there. Walter is averaging 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 33.3% overall for the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnathan Mogbo<\/b><\/h3>\n

Coming into the season, Johnathan Mogbo<\/a> was known as a Swiss Army knife<\/a>, and that versatility has been on full display in Toronto. Through the first 24 games, Mogbo has averaged 5.6 points, 4.3 rebounds (2.1 OREB), 1.7 assists, and 0.9 steals, impacting the game everywhere. However, what doesn’t show up in the stat sheet is Mogbo’s impressive defensive impact. With his 7’2 wingspan, Mogbo can guard up in size and plug into a small ball five role. He also has the foot speed to switch everything and hold his own on guards. That wingspan also makes him a pest in the passing lanes, where he is excellent at getting deflections and steals.<\/span><\/p>\n

To emphasize Mogbo’s defensive impact, when he is on the court, the Raptors have a <\/span>defensive rating<\/span><\/a> of 109, which would translate to the eighth-best in the league<\/a>. The Raptors defensive rating with Mogbo <\/span>off the court<\/span><\/a> is 116.2, or the <\/span>24-worst defensive<\/span><\/a> rating. Offensively Mogbo needs work, but over the last eight games, he is shooting<\/a> 54.5% from three on 1.2 shots a night and seems more willing to take the open three.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jamal Shead<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After starting the season leading all rookies<\/a> in assists per game, Jamal Shead<\/a> has seen his minutes reduced over the last four games, not playing in a recent game against the Dallas Mavericks. With Toronto getting healthier, it does seem likely that Shead will be spending more time in the G League moving forward. In his<\/span> G League stints<\/span><\/a>, Shead has shown his full playmaking arsenal, averaging 12.5 assists over two games with the 905. When it comes to his scoring, Shead struggles the most. His three-point shot has been streaky so far in the NBA, with some nights him going 2\/2 and others 0\/3. While Shead has the speed to blow by unsuspecting defenders, he can’t turn those opportunities into points, struggling immensely to convert at the rim, <\/span>shooting 34.6%<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shead tries to compensate for his lack of offensive game by being a complete pest on the defensive end. However, he needs to add a jump shot to earn more minutes with the main club. For the season, Shead is averaging 4.5 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 38% shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jamison Battle <\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Jamison Battle<\/a> largely earned his spot on the Raptors due to his shooting ability. Through the first 24 games of the season, Battle has shown to be one of the best three-point shooters in the class. He is currently shooting 42.5% from deep on 3.2 attempts per game. Of all rookies<\/a> to attempt at least 15 threes, Battle is second only to Tyler Kolek<\/a> in percentage, taking over double the shoots from deep. Outside of his shooting, Battle does rebound the ball well using his 6\u20197 frame. He is also a decent passer, knowing when to make the next pass or to take the shot himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to Shead, Battle saw his minutes reduced last night. With the team getting healthier, he will spend more time in the G League. Battle is averaging 14.5 points in the G League<\/a><\/span>, shooting 40% from three on 7.5 attempts. Battle is averaging 5.7 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists on 47.4 shooting overall for the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ulrich Chomche <\/b><\/h3>\n

Outside of the first game, Ulrich Chomche<\/a> has spent his entire season with the 905 Raptors. The 905’s head coach<\/a>, Drew Jones, spoke about how great of a sponge Chomche has been, always trying to learn and apply what he has learned in the game. <\/span>On the court<\/span><\/a>, Chomche has the physical tools to be great defensively, averaging 2.7 blocks in just 20.9 minutes a game. He does need to clean up his fouling trouble, having fouled out of two games and being in foul trouble in an additional three. <\/span><\/p>\n

He has been better in his last two games, only picking up 2.5 per game. Offensively, the coaching staff has kept Chomche’s role simple: screen and roll and look to finish at the rim. Chomche is averaging<\/a> 6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks on 53.2% shooting for the season. <\/span><\/p>\n

Last Word On The Raptors Rookies<\/h3>\n

Through the first 24 games of the season, all of the Raptors’ rookies have shown real promise as NBA players. While this group of rooks has differences, watching them all together makes you think of the Raptors’ old bench mob from the mid-to-late 2010s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through the first 24 games, the Raptors have seen more of their rookies than initially expected. With the team missing key players, the rooks have been thrown into the deep end to start their NBA careers. Through the first quarter of the season, the Raptors rookies have kept their heads above water, showing they can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5210,"featured_media":111154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1608,62,556],"tags":[49324,49199,49793,49467,49282],"class_list":["post-111126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raptors","category-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","tag-jakobe-walter","tag-jamal-shead","tag-jamison-battle","tag-jonathan-mogbo","tag-ulrich-chomche"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111126"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111156,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111126\/revisions\/111156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}