Toronto Raptors internal power rankings: Best of a long December
Picking the five best Raptors from a month the team would like to forget.
Oof.
The Toronto Raptors finished up their first full month of the 2022–23 season surprisingly well despite a number of obstacles, going 7-7 in November. But with relatively few excuses in December — their best player was fully healthy, at least — they flopped.
The Raptors’ three-point shooting continued to be a sore spot, but it was the team’s usually solid defence disappearing that provided the worst blow — Toronto allowed opponents to shoot 50.2 per cent from the floor, tied for the worst mark in the league.
Add it all up, and the Raptors ended December with a 5-10 record, giving them a 16-20 record overall. That’s good for 11th in the Eastern Conference, a half game behind the Chicago Bulls for the final play-in spot.
The month was bad enough that the conversation around the team went from chatter about fighting for home-court advantage in the playoffs, to whether they should be a buyer or — gulp — a seller at the trade deadline.
But before we get too far ahead, let’s take a look back at who comported themselves best in this month of challenges. Here’s a ranking of the team’s five biggest contributors from December.
1
Pascal Siakam
December games: 15
Key stats: 28.3 PTS/G, 7.7 REB/G, 5.9
AST/G
Why does Siakam deserve the top spot for the month of December? Let’s put it this way: It’s probably more appropriate to ask whether Siakam just put up the best regular-season calendar month in team history than it would be to suggest he should be No. 2 on this list.
Any lingering questions about Siakam’s ability to carry a team? Long gone. On Dec. 19, he put up 38 and 15 rebounds in a narrow loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Then, two days later, he dropped a career-high 52 in a win over the then super-hot Knicks at Madison Square Garden to snap a six-game losing streak.
For his trouble, Siakam won NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career.
No, he didn’t will the team to a winning record, but 1) that’s not all on him, and 2) it’s about all he didn’t do.
2
OG Anunoby
December games: 11
Key stats: 18.6 PTS/G, 5.4 REB/G, 2.0
STL/G
A change in role on offence from November couldn’t limit Anunoby, who’s basically been the Raptors’ rock this season.
With Siakam back after missing most of November, Anunoby’s usage percentage dropped quite a bit month over month. To wit: He took over 17 shots per game in November to just 13.6 in December.
That kind of jarring shift can mess with a lot of players, but not Anunoby. He averaged 18.6 points in December — just 2.6 off his November pace — and he did it by partly by raising his efficiency from beyond the arc. He shot 37 per cent from three this past month compared to 33.8 the month before.
Sadly, Anunoby’s early-season iron-man streak ended mid-month, as he missed time with a hip strain. And his absence was palpable. The Raptors were 5-6 with Anunoby in the lineup this month, and 0-4 without him.
BASKET + THE FOUL for @gtrentjr https://t.co/GRXeUFNo0c pic.twitter.com/6Jf6clEjYC
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 31, 2022
3
Gary Trent Jr.
December games: 11
Key stats: 17.9 PTS/G, 1.5 STL/G,
40.3 3P%
A late charge definitely pushed Trent up this list, as he finished the month with a game stretch in which he averaged 25.0 points per game on 51 per cent shooting from the floor and 50 per cent shooting from three.
The topper was a much-needed 35-point explosion in the Raptors’ final game of 2022. Trent hit four threes and went nine of nine from the line to help secure the 113–104 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
On the season, the Raptors sit 29th in the league with a 32.8 three-point percentage, which makes Trent’s shooting an indispensable piece of the puzzle — whether he’s starting or coming off the bench.
Overall, the fifth-year shooting guard was the lone Raptor to break the 40–per cent mark from beyond the arc in December, a hugely welcome site after an extended November slump that saw him hit just 27.4 per cent of his shots from outside.
4
Fred VanVleet
December games: 13
Key stats: 19.5 PTS/G, 5.5 AST/G, 1.5
STL/G
A week before Siakam was putting up 38 and 52 in back-to-back games, VanVleet had consecutive games of 39. In narrow home losses to Sacramento and Brooklyn, the guard shot a ridiculous 55.1 per cent from the floor, and played pesky defence to the tune of five steals and two blocks.
Those games came in the middle of a six-game run of at least 19 points per game on generally solid shooting.
And yet, it still ended up feeling like a subpar month for one of the Raptors’ key players.
On the whole, VanVleet shot 39.4 per cent from the floor and 30 per cent from three, and often looked a step slow on defence.
In his final appearance of the month, a Dec. 27 loss to Kawhi Leonard, Norm Powell, and the Clippers at home, he played 22 minutes and shot just two of six from the field — zero of three from three-point land — before exiting with lower back stiffness.
It was a remarkably bad sign for a player who typically plays big minutes, and was too banged up by the end of last season to make a positive impact in the playoffs. If he’s sitting with back issues in December, what’s the likelihood he’ll be fresh in April?
The way the Raptors play and organize their rotation, they’ll need VanVleet healthy and playing his best if they still intend to not just make the playoffs but win a round or more.
5
Scottie Barnes
December games: 15
Key stats: 15.3 PTS/G, 7.7 REB/G, 3.9
AST/G
See above, basically.
There‘s zero doubt that Barnes performed well beyond the level he showed in November, upping his offensive contributions basically across the board — his FG% and FT% rebounded, as did his number of trips to the line per game. He he had several standout performances, including back-to-back games of 27 and 26 points versus the Kings and Nets, and a couple of near triple doubles.
He also rebounded pretty well over the course of the month, and he tied a career high with 17 boards in a win over the Lakers on Dec. 7.
That said, he also posted some offensive duds. Three of 13 shooting vs. Orlando on Dec. 11. Three of nine in the Philly game that got away on Dec. 19. One of 10 for two points vs. the Knicks. (At least the Raptors won that one.)
And despite the statistical improvements from November, the bottom fell out of his three-point shooting. He hit just 21.6 per cent of his threes in December, absolutely exacerbating the Raptors’ woes from beyond the arc.
No one said acclimatizing to the NBA is easy, and we’re seeing just how difficult it can be even for someone who had as much success out of the gate as Barnes did in his rookie year.
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