Consistent Bench Minutes Come Down to Defensive Ability For Raptors

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse is looking to get more out of Matt Thomas' defence before awarding him more minutes this season
Consistent Bench Minutes Come Down to Defensive Ability For Raptors
Consistent Bench Minutes Come Down to Defensive Ability For Raptors /

It's hard not to get excited when Matt Thomas checks into the game.

The 26-year-old Toronto Raptors guard is a 3-point marksman. He forces opposing defences to adapt as he whizzes around the court looking to get off his deadly 3-point stroke.

Last season he shot 48.5% from behind the arc, the highest in the league with a minimum of 95 3-point attempts.

It's given Raptors coach Nick Nurse a utlity weapon that even he can't help but get excited about.

"I’m just like you, my eyes light up just like yours do when I see him come in there and start banging shots," Nurse said.

But for Nurse, there's a catch. If you're going to get playing time on the Raptors, it doesn't matter how good you are offensively if you can't be trusted on defences. That's why Thomas, for all his offensive firepower, averaged just 10 minutes per game and only played in 41 regular season games last year.

This season, Nurse said he wants to find a more consistent eighth or ninth man and Thomas is certainly in the discussion for that spot.

"Somebody probably needs a role, right, that they understand, they’re coming off the bench in let’s say the eighth man spot or ninth man spot or whatever, but it’s a consistent chunk of 15 to 20 minutes in the second unit and that’s their job each and every night," Nurse said.

Last year the Raptors constantly rotated that bench spot, sometimes going with Terence Davis II for extended stretches, other times it was Thomas or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who took on the bulk of the eighth man role.

The problem for Thomas is his physical limitations. He's an older sophomore having played four years at Iowa State and two seasons overseas and there probably isn't much more defensive development to get out of him. And despite his willingness and effort on the defensive end, he doesn't have the speed or lateral quickness to be a defensive difference maker.

For Toronto, that's a problem.

"You’ve got to understand you’ve got to play both ends," Nurse said.

That doesn't mean Thomas can't be a useful player for the Raptors this season. He should still be able to come in and be an offensive sparkplug when things get bogged down in the halfcourt. But long term, it's hard to envision the Raptors ever going to Thomas consistently for extended stretches as long as Nurse can't fully trust him on the defensive end.


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Aaron Rose
AARON ROSE

Aaron Rose is a Toronto-based reporter covering the Toronto Raptors since 2020.