NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 05: Yuta Watanabe #18 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
By all rights, Yuta Watanabe shouldn’t have even sniffed the Toronto Raptors rotation at the beginning of the year, as he is currently signed to a two-way contract that allows him to be sent down to Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate. However, after Nick Nurse got desperate amid a 2-8 slide, Watanabe ended up as a valued member of the Raptors’ rotation.
Watanabe has averaged 3.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game. Those numbers have increased to 4.