Raptors Discuss Turnovers vs. Ball Movement & How They Plan to Balance the Scales

The Toronto Raptors are willing to accept more turnovers this season if it means better playmaking and more ball movement this season

For all the offensive woes the Toronto Raptors battled last season, there was certainly one thing they did well: Limiting turnovers.

The Raptors tried to take the possession battle to the extreme last season. The plan was simple: If we can’t shoot, let’s just attempt way more shots. Toronto hoped gambling for forced turnovers, crashing the offensive glass, and doing whatever they could to limit turnovers on the offensive end would create enough of a possession disparity between them and their opponent that they’d be able to survive.

From a math standpoint, it was a sound plan. Nobody attempted more field goals per 100 possessions than the Raptors last season and nobody allowed fewer field goals per 100 possessions than Toronto.

This year, though, that’s going to change. The Raptors are moving away from the extremes and hoping increased ball movement means more efficient shooting this season and, ideally, a better offense.

There is, however, a cost.

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Consider this: Nobody recorded more assists than the Golden State Warriors last season, averaging nearly 30 per game, but that came with a league-leading 16.3 turnovers per game.

“If you look at the teams that won championships and really move the ball, turnovers are gonna happen,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Wednesday “You cannot play with a big number of passes and everybody cutting and moving without making mistakes. Obviously, we need to take care of the ball, we need to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and that's gonna come with better execution, with better understanding of schemes, with guys playing more with each other.”

For all the praise Toronto received following its first preseason game, recording 30 assists on 39 made field goals, it shouldn’t be lost that the Raptors also turned the ball over 29 times.

“It's a process. It's gonna take some time,” Rajaković added. “San Antonio, when they were winning championships, they were in the middle of the pack with turnovers. They were not the best or the worst, but they were in the middle of the pack. Same thing with Golden State. So we want to be able to move the ball and occasionally it's gonna come with some cost.”

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Just look at Jakob Poeltl or Gary Trent Jr., two players who should see their playmaking responsibilities grow this season. Poeltl and Trent combined for nine turnovers in their first outing.

“I think those are, yeah, like I said, learning experience,” said Poeltl who is expected to be a hub of Toronto’s offensive in the high post this season. “It's about trying to play the right way, trying to make those reads. like obviously turnovers are going to happen. But the more experienced we get, hopefully, the more we can limit those turnovers, but we can't be afraid to try and make the right pass. Make the right play.”

It's a tradeoff Toronto is willing to accept, even if it’s a little painful at times as players get accustomed to the new system and playmaking for others more than they have in the past.