Threes on top of threes: Toronto Raptors looking to add extra dimension to offence

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors are fleshing their offence out this season, and that begins with taking more three-pointers.

Nearly half of Toronto’s field-goal attempts in a lopsided 148-98 pre-season win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday were from beyond the arc. The Raptors went 51 for 89 on field goals in the victory, including going 17 for 44 on threes.

“We were running to the corner, sprinting to the corner, we got some corner threes and some were off the catch,” said all-star forward Scottie Barnes after practice on Wednesday. “I think every shot that we took was a really good look.

“I think when we draw the defence in and get good kickouts, that’s the best shot we can take.”

Recently acquired star forward Kawhi Leonard went 4 for 8 from beyond the line, sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles was 2 for 2 and G League player Tyreke Key was 3 for 4. Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley is a career 37.5 per cent three-point shooter but missed all five of his attempts against the Knicks.

It’s all part of a plan to take at least 35 three-point attempts per game this coming season after Toronto averaged 32.1 three-point attempts per game in 2025-26, fifth worst in the NBA.

That should be easier as Leonard’s presence on the court demands more attention from opposing defenders.

“Just getting downhill, even in some of the ISO situations, just being able to get downhill, running transition, seeing him wide open, just giving him the ball,” Barnes said of Leonard, who averaged 6.8 three-point attempts for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, making 38.7 per cent of them.

“Every time he shoots the ball, it just looks like it’s going in every single time, and it feels that way. He’s going to draw so much attention.”

Murray-Boyles is the perfect example of how all the Raptors are expected to take more threes this season. He averaged 0.9 three-point attempts per game in his rookie campaign and worked all summer on taking more in 2026-27.

“Just building that confidence to shoot it more, I think that was my biggest focus,” said Murray-Boyles. “Not really like trying to fix my jumper or anything like that. Just getting confident with getting shots up. Obviously, me reading the defence is the biggest part. If they’re sagging off me, then I have to shoot it.

“We want to shoot more threes. We want to get to that 35-ish per game number. So I’m just helping the team out with that as much as possible.”

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said it’s critical for teams to establish themselves as a three-point threat in the modern NBA.

“If you’re making those three-point shots, it just relieves a lot of pressure. It makes the defence more honest, less help, opens up the paint more,” said Rajakovic. “I think those things are very, very connected. The better shooting you have, in theory, should open up more space and get more paint touches.

“Once we touch the paint, we’ve got to convert those, and we’ve got to be making the right decisions to find that open man if the defence collapses.”

Although the Raptors looked like world-beaters against the NBA champion Knicks on Tuesday, Barnes doesn’t expect it to be so easy when they meet again in New York on Thursday.

“Obviously, they didn’t really have their guys out there on the floor,” said Barnes, referring to the fact that the Knicks didn’t play any of their starters. “It felt solid to win the game, but we’ve got a game tomorrow.

“It should be better.”

The Raptors (2-1) will play their final pre-season game in Detroit on Friday. Their home opener will be on Oct. 21 against the Chicago Bulls.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press