Early Saturday, the Toronto Raptors announced that Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam will join Fred VanVleet in the injury report for their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The jokes are fast approaching on social media, but it seems the Raptors are not starting to tank, but only Gary Trent Jr.
The swingman put up a performance on 17 or 19 of the field and reached a career high of 44 points, while the Raptors sailed to a 135-115 victory. Here’s everything you need to know about one of the most surprising numbers of the season.
Trent sets up a shooting clinic
Trent erupted on the scene last season with the Trail Blazers due to his ability to shoot the ball. Well against the Cavaliers he made a clinic for shots. Obviously he had an easy look along the way, but you are not going to go 17 or 19 completely on wide open 3s and layups.
He made all sorts of incredible shots, including a few he probably wouldn’t even have had to take in the first place.
Absurd driver? Cheque.
Back 3? Cheque.
Moderate step-back? Cheque.
A performance in history
Not only did Trent achieve the best performance of his career on Saturday, he also made history with one of the most effective points games of all time. Going 17 of 19 off the field, he only became the 11th player to score more than 40 points while shooting 89 percent or better off the field.
In addition, Trent scored a 107.9-effective field goal percentage, which was the second-highest score for a 40-point game in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The only more effective night belongs to Klay Thompson, who had a 110.9 eFG percentage in 2019.
For those unfamiliar, the effective percentage of field goals is a stat that takes into account 3-points that are more than 2-points and is calculated using the following formula: (FG + (0.5 x 3P)) / FGA. So if you have a very efficient game and make a lot of 3s in the process, it is possible to have an eFG percentage of over 100.
Here you can see the line from Trent as an example: (17 + (0.5 x 7)) / 19 = 107.9 percent
Trent’s legend grows in Toronto
In one of the many moves by the deadline, Trent was traded to the Raptors along with Rodney Hood in exchange for Norman Powell. It was only his ninth game with the Raptors since the deal, but he’s already becoming something of a legend in Toronto.
Earlier this month, the Raptors absolutely destroyed the Warriors. They led by as many as 61 and won 130-77 to achieve the biggest result of the season. Trent finished the evening with 24 points and five rebounds, but it was his plus or minus that caught everyone’s attention. He was a plus-54 for the game, setting a Raptors franchise record.
A few days after the big win over the Warriors, the Raptors were in a very competitive game against the Wizards. Actually, they were only one second to play, and needed someone to perform. Enter Trent. He chased the length of the floor, pushed Raul Neto to the ground and buried the 3-pointer for victory at the buzzer.
Trent does not make his name in Toronto just for his play on the floor. He also became a favorite with fans of all aspects of the city, including the baseball team, the Blue Jays. During the Jays ‘home opener earlier this week, he turned up the Raptors’ game in a custom Jays jersey.
Add the 44-point outing on Saturday, and you have some amazing weeks ahead of Trent in Toronto. He’s going to be a free agent this summer, but after this start it’s hard to imagine him going anywhere else.