Raptors’ young players offer encouragement amid veteran injury concerns

The Raptors are getting useful answers from some of their younger players. The bigger questions involve veterans they expected to count on.

A stock report from Jeremy Brener and the Raptors On SI staff highlights that contrast, pointing to Jamal Shead and Collin Murray-Boyles as encouraging developments while raising concerns about Jakob Poeltl and Kawhi Leonard.

Shead’s playmaking is particularly worth watching. As Rocco Moschella notes, he has recorded at least six assists in six straight games, averaging 8.2 during that stretch. That included 16 assists in a win over the Bucks with Immanuel Quickley unavailable.

That’s a good way to earn more responsibility. It also gives Toronto another option when its starting point guard sits.

Moschella wondered whether Shead’s progress could eventually make Quickley more expendable. That’s a roster question to consider, rather than an indication the Raptors are preparing to trade him.

Murray-Boyles offers a different kind of flexibility. Marc Nolan pointed to his defensive fit alongside Scottie Barnes and willingness to attempt threes as reasons to expand his role.

The Raptors don’t need him to become a finished product immediately. They do need to find out how much his activity and versatility can help a frontcourt dealing with Poeltl’s uneven play and health concerns.

Leonard’s absence is the larger issue. Brener notes that he played in the first two games before knee swelling sidelined him for the next eight.

That doesn’t establish how the rest of his season will unfold. It does leave Toronto trying to build continuity without one of its most important players.

Shead and Murray-Boyles are giving the Raptors something to work with. Getting the veterans healthy enough to complement that progress would make the picture considerably better.

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