Over the last three seasons, the Toronto Raptors has been unable to have an impact player in their lineup at the center position. Just over two years ago, they lost their two big men from their 2019 championship team to free agency (Marc Gasol of Barcelona, Spain signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on November 24, 2020 and Serge Ibaka of Brazzaville, Congo signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on November 25, 2020). Since then, the Raptors tried Brisbane Bullets center Aron Baynes, Canadian Khem Birch of Montreal, Quebec, and 2022 second round pick Christian Koloko of Douala, Cameroon to fill the void, but they have not had significant impact.
At the trade deadline, the Raptors made a deal with the San Antonio Spurs in bringing back center Jakob Poeltl of Vienna, Austria. Poeltl was initially selected by the Raptors ninth overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, and played two seasons in Toronto before being traded to San Antonio in the high profile DeMar DeRozan/Kawhi Leonard deal.
So far, Poeltl has been outstanding and has been everything that the Raptors have hoped for. In four games, he is averaging 15.8 points per game, nine rebounds per game, 2.5 blocks per game, 1.8 assists per game, 1.5 steals per game, and an outstanding field goal percentage of .829.
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Among the most notable games came on February 14 and February 23. On February 14, Poeltl had an impressive 30 points in a 123-113 win over the Orlando Magic. Then last night, he had a career-high 18 rebounds (to go along with 21 points) in a 115-110 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Most importantly, the Raptors are at three wins and one loss with Poeltl. With the wins, Toronto has improved to 29-31 and have a two and a half game lead over the ice cold Chicago Bulls (losers of six straight) for the final spot in the NBA play-in tournament. The Raptors are also four games back of the New York Knicks for the sixth spot in the East.
