Who's peaking / who's not at their peak
At times throughout the year, every rotation player for the Raps has looked fantastic. Could we get the prime version of all of them this playoffs? Here's my take on who's on a roll heading in, and who's not:
Peaking lately
Scottie: solid play all year, have to feel he'll be ready to go
Ja'kobe: Has shot 60 for 126 from the 3pt line since the all-star break. 47.6%. That's a big sample size. Defense solid all year.
Mamu: Has shot 40 for 100 from the 3pt line since the all-star break. 40%.
Brandon: In the biggest game of the year, put up 38 points. Has history as a monster playoff performer (averaged 27 points over a 6 game playoff series in 2022.)
CMB: to quote Zach Lowe: "(he's) impacting winning on a real team. And since he came back from his thumb injury, particularly the last 10 games of the season, that guy has been a freaking force, on both ends of the floor. He makes winning plays all game long. Tipped out rebounds, offensive putbacks, good extra passes. I'd like to see him shoot more, he has a little bit of layup-phobia, that's probably linked to his thumb injury. He's an ace defender."
Not at their peak lately
Jakob: When actually healthy, Jakob had a few great games. But only a few. Notably a 3 game stretch in mid-March where he averaged 31 minutes, 20pts, 12 boards. Nobody happier about avoiding play-in than him.
Quickley: Bad timing for injuries. But the best version of him was on display for a solid couple months earlier in the year.
RJ: plenty of solid play this year, but feels like he's been under fire a bit more than average lately. Some memorable matador defense moments.
Jamal: Had a multi-month run of solid play over the winter, but recently has looked overmatched (at times).