Raptors Seeing Early Defensive Returns as Jakob Poeltl Finds his Footing in Toronto's System

The Toronto Raptors are already seeing the kind of difference Jakob Poeltl can have on the defense just two games into his return to the organization

Aaron Rose | Feb 13, 2023

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

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Toronto Raptors

For all the offensive innovation the NBA has seen over the past decade or so, one thing will never change: The best shots always come right at the rim.

That’s where the defensive issues have been for the Toronto Raptors this season. Far too often this year teams have had no problem getting to the rim against Toronto's center-less lineups. It's no coincidence the Raptors have been a below-average defense this season while simultaneously giving up buckets at the rim at an above-average rate.

For so long this season, Christian Koloko was the defensive outlier for the Raptors. Despite an up-and-down rookie season, Toronto has been 12.6 points per 100 possessions stingier on defense when he’s been on the court compared to when he’s on the bench. It’s a number twice as high as Toronto’s next-best defender. Well, until recently.

A two game sample size is hardly anything to read into, but Jakob Poeltl’s defensive impact is already paying dividends for the Raptors since the team acquired the center at last Thursday’s trade deadline. In two games with Poeltl, the Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons scored just 90 points in 42 minutes with the big man on the court (a 98.9 Defensive Rating) compared to 150 in his 54 minutes on the bench (a 130.4 Defensive Rating).

How?

It starts in the paint. Poeltl has done a fantastic job of keeping opposing teams away from the hoop. In terms of shot frequency, the Jazz and Pistons were less willing to get into the restricted area when Poeltl was on the court compared to when he sat, a difference of about 7%, per Cleaning the Glass. As important, those same teams shoot 8.6% worse at the rim when Poeltl was on the court compared to when Toronto went without a traditional center.

“It’s certainly a luxury to have someone with this size, and he's just such a smart, intelligent player,” said Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin following Monday’s practice. “Sometimes we may get beat off the dribble because we're out there pressuring the ball so much, but to have someone like Jak give us that rim protection, block shots and limit them to one shot — you limit teams to one shot and you can get out of the run, you’re gonna have success.”

Getting beat at the perimeter has been a major part of the problem for Toronto this year. The Raptors have been so focused on gambling for turnovers that opposing teams have easily blown by the initial defense almost routinely this season. It’s why Toronto simultaneously leads the league in generating turnovers while also allowing opposing teams to shoot 49% from the floor, the fourth worst in the league.

With Poeltl on the court, though, Toronto can gamble with the understanding that the worst-case scenario actually isn’t all that bad. Getting beat on the perimeter is still going to hurt, but it’s a whole lot harder to make a shot at the rim when a 7-foot-1, 245-pound giant is standing at the rim ready to contest that shot.

“He gives us a big presence down there to discourage guys from coming in driving into the paint and stopping short for contested twos or contested mid-range jumpers,” Thad Young told AllRaptors last week. “It gives us that ability to contest those shots and get out and get off to the races.”

Toronto’s defensive aggressiveness has, however, been a little different for Poeltl coming over from San Antonio’s more conservative defensive style. For most of Poeltl’s career, he’s been a traditional drop coverage center, sagging off pick-and-roll coverage and staying in the paint the way most slow-footed big men around the league defend ball screens.

With the Raptors, though, things are more complicated. There’s not going to be a ton of situations in which Poeltl finds himself on the quickest guards, but he knows he’s going to be pulled out to the perimeter a little more often than he’s been used to in the past.

“It’s different to the last couple years in San Antonio for sure,” Poeltl said Sunday. “It’s definitely something I can do. I don’t think I’m gonna be in a 1-5 switch situation all the time. But I’m gonna end up on guards. It’s just a matter of closing those gaps as a team and making plays.”

Poeltl looked OK in a few tough switches Sunday night against Detroit. He fouled Bojan Bogdanovic in an awkward switch with Pascal Siakam in the second quarter leading to three Pistons free throws and got beat again in the fourth quarter by Bogdanovic with a blow-by for a bucket at the rim. But overall, Poeltl isn’t too worried about being asked to do a little more in Toronto’s defense.

“You just do it over and over again, reps like that,” Poeltl said Monday. “I’m going to apply my own identity to the scheme but I’m going to adjust my personal style to a more aggressive way. I can only do what I’m capable of doing.”

The key to making it all work will be positioning for Poeltl and Toronto’s help defenders, Griffin said. It’s not easy being the slow-footed guy on the perimeter, but if everyone knows their assignments, disasters should be mitigated.

“A lot of defense is positioning and working angles and knowing how to cut people off at the right angle,” Griffin said. “You don't have to be the fastest guy. With him, he knows how to kind of get wide and long and use this length and keep guys in front and if he is not able to keep them in front he knows where the help is.”

If the goal of the trade deadline for Toronto was to see what this group would look like with a true rim protector on the court, early returns suggest Poeltl’s presence is going to make a big difference.

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