Depth at guard helping Raptors defensively

Any team facing the Toronto Raptors' second unit this season can expect a rough ride as soon as they approach the three-point arc.

Any team facing the Toronto Raptors’ second unit this season can expect a rough ride as soon as they approach the three-point arc.

Depth at the guard position has been an issue for the Raptors since all-star Kyle Lowry was sent to the Miami Heat in 2021’s off-season. But a series of deals and savvy draft picks in 2024 remade the entire Toronto roster, including renewed depth at the guard positions.

Gradey Dick was selected 13th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft and has grown into the Raptors’ presumptive starting shooting guard. A trade with the New York Knicks last December brought Immanuel Quickley over to become Toronto’s go-to point guard, then a draft-day deal on June 27 brought Davion Mitchell from the Sacramento Kings to Toronto as his backup.

Ja’Kobe Walter — who can play the one or two-guard — was taken 19th overall in this summer’s NBA Draft and Jamal Shead was taken 45th overall using a pick acquired from the Kings as part of the Mitchell deal.

That class of young guards — Mitchell is the oldest at 26 — means the Raptors will be able to apply constant pressure on anyone playing the perimeter.

“That was one of the main reasons they drafted me and it was being preached all training camp,” said Shead, who flew all over the court on Sunday in Toronto’s first pre-season game. “(Head coach Darko Rajakovic) just told us to just play as hard as we can ball pressure and just try to give 100 per cent every place.

“So I tried to do that.”

Shead had 10 points and combined with Mitchell for nine assists and one turnover with Quickley (thumb) out in the Raptors’ 125-89 pre-season victory over the Washington Wizards at Montreal’s Bell Centre.