Do the Raptors have a potential star?

From Samson’s piece:

“Firstly, they have to count on shooting variance to swing in their favor.

Quickley’s pull-up 3-pointers by year:

25/26 – 31.5% | 24/25 – 38.7% | 23/24 – 37.6% | 22/23 – 34% | 21/22 – 34% | 20/21 – 35%

So, he is underperforming his shooting talent pretty aggressively. For a Raptors team that is 7th worst in the NBA in terms of pull-up shooting EFG%, dead last in pull up three volume, and 3rd worst in the league in pull up three percentage, that improving would be… very helpful. The pull up three is one of the most transformative skills in the NBA in terms of changing defensive coverages and creating playmaking and scoring opportunities. Ingram is a good pull up shooter, but he’s in his 10th NBA season and I don’t think it’s likely that you can radically change his shot diet. A diet where he’s currently about 6 times more likely to take a pull up middy, rather than a pull up three. Quickley is the sole opportunity on the roster to improve this aspect of the offense.”

From Louis’ piece:

“But firepower superiority in the form of Ingram won’t always be enough. Most NBA teams are, you know, NBA teams.

It is true that the Raptors can only beat the teams in front of them. And the Bulls were in front of them, and the Raptors beat them. But the game could not have been less convincing. The Bulls pulled the game back within four points early in the fourth quarter. But Jamal Shead played the defence of a lion, and Ja’Kobe Walter hit a triple in transition. Murray-Boyles swatted a shot at the rim (and Walter missed a triple in transition). Murray-Boyles sealed deep in the paint on an ingram drive and created an and-1 with his early work. He blocked a triple from the corner with seconds remaining. Toronto closed it out, if imperfectly. That’s what real NBA teams do! The Raptors certainly are that.”