Toronto Raptors Seeing Vast Improvement From 2026 in One Category

Ahead of the highly anticipated matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets, it’s time to take a moment to evaluate how Toronto compares to last season. Now that it has completed its first seven games, fans can get an idea of what they can look forward to this season, although there is much that is yet to be seen. 

The biggest question mark still revolves around how seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard will fit with his new teammates; the better question is how they will fit around him. While the offense looked dominant in the first few games with him on the floor, it plummeted as soon as he went out. 

One thing that appears to be certain to maintain throughout this season is franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes’ offensive assertion. After finishing in fifth for the DPOY voting last season, he was snubbed from being selected to any of the All-NBA teams because of his lack of versatility on the other side of the ball. This season, he has proven that he is no longer a one-trick pony on offense; he’s using his aggressiveness towards the basket to open up his spots in the midrange, as well as finding his teammates for open threes. In his last four games, he’s averaging 30 points, eight rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.3 steals per game on 55.8% shooting. 

There is one aspect of this Raptors offense that has opened the eyes of many: the fourth-quarter scoring. The reason is that Toronto ranked as the fourth-worst team in the league in this category last season (26.4), and without Leonard so far this year, the Raptors have completely flipped the script. So far, they rank first in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring (33.9), including 90 combined points in the last two fourth-quarters against the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. 

It would be ignorant to assume this will be maintained throughout the entire regular season. This is especially because in the rather impressive last two fourth quarters, they entered the period down by 13 to the Clippers and 22 to the Lakers. Taking a deeper dive, the Raptors were down by 17 with just four minutes to go, but Jamison Battle rattled off 15 points in the final 2:10 to give LA a scare. As for the Clippers game, Barnes and Quickley went on a tear, scoring 29 points combined to revive Toronto and fuel it to a comeback win. 

However, there is still valid information to gain from the first five games. There are no outliers like the two LA games, and the Raptors averaged 29.4 fourth-quarter points, which would be good for fourth in the NBA. A much bigger sample size is needed to see if Toronto can maintain this level of fourth-quarter scoring. With Leonard completing the recovery process from the swelling in his left knee, the Raptors only have to prove their worth without a two-time Finals MVP leading the way for a few more games.