Toronto Raptors’ Collin Murray-Boyles reveals what team is focused on this offseason, it’s an area of pride

Murray-Boyles identifies Raptors’ mindset

The Raptors, with Barnes and Jakob Poeltl leading the way, could be an elite defensive team, although they were a player or two short. Murray-Boyles aims to be the missing player, and a lineup of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Ingram, Barnes, and Poeltl with Murray-Boyles coming off the bench to start the season will be very hard to score on.

The Raptors, who ranked 11th in pace last season, aim to turn that defense into offense.

“That was the first thing I think we went over, it was how they want to play on defense and how they want to get out on offense,” said Murray-Boyles.

“So obviously that’s something that I feel like I do pretty well, and I fit in with what they want really well, so, you know, just being aggressive and who I am being who I am and what I would define myself to be.”

Murray-Boyles has a clear defensive background and prides himself on not only getting stops but turning stops into points on the other end. By forcing turnovers and even crashing the glass, Murray-Boyles can jumpstart fast breaks, creating easy points for the offense.

“Nobody really emphasizes defense as much as my previous coaches have, and I’m lucky for that, but it’s another engine for offense,” he explained.

“I feel like what my goals are is to go fast, play hard, make the offense wear out, and stuff like that.”

Murray-Boyles cements Raptors’ identity

Despite being a below-average team in many aspects of the game, the Raptors had a middling defense last season, causing the tenth most turnovers in the league, and scoring the 11th most points off of those turnovers.

Murray-Boyles is not an elite shooter by any means, but he thrives in transition either as a finisher or as the initiator, provided that the Raptors can get out on the open floor.

With Barnes, Quickley, Ingram, and Barrett running the break with him, the Raptors should be impossible to stop once they get a full head of steam.

Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder had a similar play style. Granted, they were more well-rounded across the court than Toronto is, but by feeding into their strengths, the Raptors should be able to cement their spot in the playoffs.

While they can’t compete with the likes of the Knicks, Cavaliers, Magic, and Hawks, expect Toronto to be a tough first-round matchup and formally announce to the league that they are a team on the rise this season.