Statistics showing how Otto Porter Jr. makes the Raptors better

Imman Adan dives into the statistics showing how Otto Porter Jr. makes the Raptors a better team when he's on the floor.

Video Transcript

IMMAN ADAN: Today, I want to talk about the number 8 and more specifically super sub Otto Porter Jr. Welcome to Yahoo Sports Canada, my name is Imman and I'm bringing you my stat of the week. But before we get into that, don't forget to hit the Like, hit the Subscribe, leave a comment down below, and make sure to hit that notification bell so that you're not missing any of our basketball content.

All right, so Otto Porter Jr. The Raptors signed him in the summer of 2022 as the key bench addition, poaching him away from the then defending champions, the Golden State Warriors. The Raptors had high hopes coming off of a 48-win season and a first round playoff exit and he came over to help bolster the bench and provide some much needing spacing. Now, unfortunately, he only played in eight games last season before getting injured and missing the entire rest of the year. And that's where the number eight comes in because this season he's just matched that eight games played number. In his eight games played, the Raptors are 5 and 3. And according to Cleaning the Glass, his on/off is a plus 18.4. Now, what that means is in 100 possessions, the Raptors are 18 points better with him on the floor than they are with him off. He's been fantastic for this team.

- Him just being out there helps us so much, being able to be a leader out there when he's on the floor, talking to us, him communicating while he's on the floor, just seeing those different reads, making those big time plays on the defensive end, getting those rebounds, boxing out, it's a very big time for us. And he helps us a lot when he's out there with us. He also stretches the floor out there on the offensive end. He can go set a screen, pop. He just so he has so much IQ and knowledge of the game, it just helps us so much.

IMMAN ADAN: He provides some much needed size and some much needing spacing. Also, when he's on the court, the Raptors rebound the ball better on both sides of the floor and their turnover rate happens to go down. Now, it's such a small sample size, it's only been eight games. I'm talking less than 100 minutes, I recognize that. But I also have to point out that he has the highest net rating on the team for any of the rotation players. The worry with Otto Porter was never about fit or how he would fare with this team. It was always about how long he could stay active and if he could be healthy. He's only averaging 13 minutes per game this season and I'd have to guess that a large part of that is a strategy to help keep him healthy for as long as possible. Because whether it's a timely 3, a clean defensive rotation, or a clutch offensive rebound, Otto Porter Jr. has been able to help the Raptors hum on both ends of the floor in his limited minutes this season. And so here's hoping for more than eight games this season.