Large winners of the Jazz last night, the Raptors, in the good tradition of the preseason, rotated as no less than 18 different players played, including many new and young.
Among those who distinguished themselves the most, there was the rookie Christian Kolokoholder of the second best “plus/minus” of his team with a +15, in the form of 7 points and 3 rebounds.
The Cameroonian pivot, trained for three seasons at Arizona University and selected with the 33rd choice of the 2022 Draft by the Toronto franchise, has particularly shown itself to its advantage in a role of energizer coming off the bench, offering good sequences on both sides of the field.
Like these two actions in particular, with a nice finish on “pick-and-roll” and an authoritarian tap-dunk on the offensive rebound.
For a first, Christian Koloko therefore generally made a good impression, and Nick Nurse appreciated it.
” He handled it well. He’s one of those players who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. » confirmed the Raptors coach. ” He will block a shot, save a ball from the exit, make an extra pass, save a possession with an offensive rebound. All of these things add up. »
The person concerned, already renowned for his hyperactive profile in the NCAA, says he is ready to tick any box, as long as it is in the service of the team.
” I’m here to just play basketball he humbly declared. ” It doesn’t matter when the coach calls on me, I’m ready. And as soon as he calls me, I do what he asks of me. »
Finally a bully in the racket?
Built with very versatile players, the Raptors squad lacked, however, last season, a real position 5 protector of the circle, since no player exceeded the bar of 2m08.
An area in which Christian Koloko, who shot at 2.8 blocks per game last year for his “junior” season with Arizona, can greatly contribute in his first year.
” For me, it’s a blocker, a circle protector above all ” advanced Nick Nurse, while Fred VanVleet judged that his young teammate of 2m15 had this ability to “ scare ” in the painting.
The native of Douala confirms in any case that despite his inexperience in the Great League, he is already often called upon to come to the rescue in defensive aid.
” I’m trying to get used to our style of defense. We operate on an assist-based scheme, so I just have to trust the judgment of my teammates. Sometimes I don’t want to leave my player alone, but with our style of defense they want me to help often he concluded.
