Like a musician’s last album or an author’s last book, Precious Achiuwa will always have unfair expectations from Toronto Raptors’ fans.
It seemed at first like Achiuwa may not exactly live up to his namesake, but at the bare minimum he was worth having.
Even though the team went 4-3 over that stretch, Achiuwa had the lowest net rating on the team, as the offense struggled and the defense collapsed when he played.
He played a measly 737 minutes last season with the Heat, much of that in garbage time, so he was only in the process of finding his sea legs in the NBA.
They went 0-3 in their next three games, and the center position seemed extremely thin; the Raptors gave up nine offensive rebounds in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, as well as 127 points, as they were unable to protect the rim.
Since rejoining the roster, Achiuwa first came off the bench before rejoining the starting lineup in his third game back, against the Memphis Grizzlies.
That’s easier to do off the bench, when his aggression is more helpful because he’s not alongside established scorers like Pascal Siakam.
Or he can solve it by cutting and screening smartly, moving without the ball, but he isn’t yet a quick enough processor to consistently do that.
One is that it’s critical for teams to have a center available at all times, and when he was on the shelf, Toronto couldn’t hack it with just Birch in the lineup.
He actually has a number of skills about which Toronto should be salivating when trying to think about what type of player Achiuwa will be years down the road.
He doesn’t have an elite block rate, but he has been protecting the rim exceptionally — holding opponents to -12.8 percent lower than expected from within six feet, which is comparable to the current marks of proven rim protectors like Myles Turner or Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Achiuwa is mobile for a big, and he’s able to stay with many smaller players.
Achiuwa has to switch on to the perimeter, rotate around the floor without hesitation, guard pick and rolls, protect the rim, clean the glass, and know at every moment which of those tools is required not only in that moment but also in the next one.
Though Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and VanVleet may be the most obvious players who have benefited from added responsibility this year, there are plenty of others taking steps forward.
