The Raptors’ 2-1 start hasn’t made the Jakob Poeltl questions go away. If anything, his opening stretch has kept the spotlight fixed on a center rotation that already looked shaky before the season began.
Toronto entered the year with real concerns about the middle of the roster. Poeltl missed much of last season because of a back injury and didn’t look like his usual self when he was out there. Even with that in mind, the Raptors didn’t add much help behind him, leaving 6’7” Collin Murray-Boyles as the primary back-up big.
Poeltl has been available in all three games so far, but the production has been barely there. He has scored nine total points across the three contests. His best outing came in a 112-102 win over the Washington Wizards, when he posted 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
Everything unraveled in the next game. In a 117-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Poeltl didn’t score at all and missed both of his field-goal attempts.
He played 19 minutes, finished with one rebound, picked up three fouls, and committed one turnover. For a player whose value is never going to come from volume scoring, that kind of empty box score is a problem.
The Raptors need more from the tallest player in their rotation than one rebound in a game where he’s not scoring or making an impact defensively. 6’6” RJ Barrett is averaging almost as many rebounds per game as Poeltl, while Scottie Barnes and Murray-Boyles have both outboarded him by a wide margin.
It’s still only three games, and Poeltl has time to turn this into a strong season. But the early warning signs are already there.
“Just monitor Jakob Poeltl’s minutes,” Zach Lowe said on the October 26 episode of the Zach Lowe Show. “Sort of early-season disaster potential emerging there for the Raptors.”
And that’s the issue for Toronto: there isn’t an obvious fix waiting in the wings. The same center problems that hovered over the Raptors at last season’s trade deadline and through the summer are still there. Poeltl’s contract remains a burden, quality starting centers are still tough to find, and the rest of the roster is still undersized.
If Poeltl keeps trending this way, Toronto will have a hard time finding an upgrade - or even a dependable reserve - before the trade deadline. That puts the pressure back on the front office, which has boxed itself in with the extension and may now have to get creative just to squeeze value out of the only true center in the rotation. For almost 20 million dollars this season, the Raptors need more than this.
In Other News...
Raptors Win Came With One Frontcourt Concern Fans Can't Ignore
Scottie Barnes gave Toronto the kind of all-around night the Raptors have been waiting for, pouring in 28 points and helping set the tone at both ends in a win over the Orlando Magic. RJ Barrett added 21 points in the first half and helped the Raptors build their early momentum, making the victory feel like a step forward for an offense that has searched for more consistency.
Still, the game also offered a reminder that the frontcourt remains a spot opponents can test. Jakob Poeltl and the other bigs had a tough time defensively, and the foul trouble only made that problem more visible as the night wore on. For a team trying to turn good wins into sustainable ones, the concern is less about what Toronto showed on the wings and more about whether the interior can hold up when the competition gets heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Allen Graves Is Giving The Raptors Something They Desperately Need
Allen Graves has given the Raptors a useful jolt in the opening stretch of his NBA career, and it has come in the area where they can least afford to be soft. Through his first three games, he has chipped in modest offense while making his presence felt around the rim, where his blocks and rebounding have stood out in limited minutes. For a Toronto group still sorting out its identity early in the season, that kind of low-usage, high-impact production is the sort of thing coaches notice quickly.
Graves also arrives at a time when the Raptors are still looking for more answers from deep. Jamison Battle, JaKobe Walter and Immanuel Quickley have carried most of the load from beyond the arc so far, but Toronto needs more than a few reliable shooters to keep defenses honest. If Graves can eventually stretch his game outward to match the defensive value he is already providing, he could become even more important to a roster that is trying to patch together two-way stability wherever it can find it. [Read more 🡒]
Scottie Barnes Is Raising A Real Concern For The Raptors Offense
Scottie Barnes early-season shot diet is turning into a small but meaningful issue for Torontos offense. Instead of living around the rim the way he has in the past, Barnes is taking more mid-range looks than attempts in the restricted area, a notable shift for a player the Raptors need to anchor both as a scorer and as a creator. Coach Darko Rajakovic said opposing defenses have played a role in that change, but the message from the bench is clear: Barnes has to keep pressuring the paint while still helping set the table for everyone else.
The concern is less about one off night than the direction of the possession-by-possession picture. Barnes has had solid games to open the season, but a poor shooting performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves was another reminder that Toronto cant afford for him to drift too far from the areas where he does his best work. The Raptors still need his playmaking, but they need his rim pressure even more, and finding that balance may end up shaping how effective the offense can be. [Read more 🡒]