Raptors Shake Up Starting Lineup in Blowout Victory Over Wizards

The Toronto Raptors swapped Gary Trent Jr. into the starting lineup for Dennis Schröder in a blowout victory over the Washington Wizards

The Toronto Raptors had seen enough.

It was nobody’s fault Toronto’s starting lineup had struggled so mightily to start this season. Frankly, Dennis Schröder had been playing some of the best basketball of his career. But after an 11-18 start to the year and an alarmingly bad Net Rating for the starting lineup, a change was needed.

On Wednesday, the Raptors made the swap, moving Schöder to the bench in favor of Gary Trent Jr. in the starting lineup in a 132-102 victory over the Washington Wizards.

It was a move long overdue.

Schröder didn’t deserve it. He was brought into Toronto to help fill a void he was never qualified to fill, and it wasn’t as if Gary Trent Jr. was knocking down the door to take over his starting spot. As Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said last week, Toronto didn’t have someone like Steph Curry on the bench being held back.

And yet, if this season is about assessing fit around Scottie Barnes, there’s been ample evidence Barnes and this Raptors offense are better when Trent is on the court because of the kind of floor spacing he provides Toronto.

It was a convent time to make the change too.

With a few days off over the Christmas break, Toronto had time to regroup ahead of taking on a lackluster Wizards team. And what better way to usher in a new era than a beatdown against one of the league’s worst teams?

Of course, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Toronto’s new starting group.

The Raptors looked out of sorts defensively in the opening minutes and while Barnes looked capable as the team’s starting point guard there were some issues. He was stripped at halfcourt by Deni Avdija who nailed a three-pointer moments later to put the Wizards up by eight. The new starters were a -8 in their 10 minutes, almost entirely in the first half.

It wasn’t until Schröder checked in that the Raptors settled in, stringing together a 15-1 run to close the quarter thanks to a new second unit lead by Schröder, Otto Porter Jr., Jalen McDaniels, and Chris Boucher. Schröder brought some much-needed structure to the second unit and ate up all the minutes Toronto normally gives Malachi Flynn off the bench. In 28 minutes, Schröder was a +29, leading the Raptors off the bench with 10 assists and nine rebounds.

The fact that Precious Achiuwa didn’t get any first-half playing time was noteworthy considering how high Toronto has been on the fourth-year forward in the past. It wasn’t until the second half that he checked when Poeltl fell into foul trouble. Achiuwa had a great stop against Kyle Kuzma, smothering him on the perimeter, and later added a nice mid-range jumper, but mustered just five minutes off the bench until garbage time in the fourth.

Barnes’ improved three-point shooting this year does change the equation for Toronto’s starters moving forward. He shot 4-for-8 from behind the arc, racking up 20 points, eight assists, and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes and ticking his three-point percentage toward 39% for the season. The fact that he’s become a reliable shooter from deep allows Toronto to get creative with the starting, using Barnes as more of a traditional guard who can be a floor spacer alongside Siakam and Poeltl. 

A blowout victory over the Wizards isn’t exactly a huge statement in favor of these new Raptors rotations. Washington looked like one of the league’s worst teams, coughing up the ball 16 times leading directly to 25 points for Toronto. Anunoby was the biggest benefactor of those easy buckets, racking up 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting.

Pascal Siakam, maybe the player most helped out by the extra space offensively, chipped in 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting with a game-high 11 assists. 

Wednesday was an important it’s a step in the right direction for the Raptors who have decided to at least try something new. Sure, the hopes of being a high-end team this year have likely vanished but maybe Toronto can show something different in the next month and a half ahead of the trade deadline. At the very least, it’s worth a shot.

Up Next: Boston Celtics

Toronto's schedule will get quite a bit more difficult Friday night when the Raptors head to Boston to take on Jayson Tatum and the Celtics at 7:30 p.m. ET