Akil (Raptors & NBA TV Canada) discusses Scottie, Pascal, Dennis, vision 6’9, the bench, the PG position and more.
Great listen for a more optimistic view of the team.
Raptors talk starts around the 18:45 mark.
Pod notes:
* Potentially could see Scottie as a first option franchise caliber player ahead of Pascal if everything goes the right way
* Haven’t seen a talent like him in a Raptors uniform since Kawhi – his potential is “out of this world” – comfortable with the ball, comfortable with the limelight
* Feels more the team make up last year didn’t allow him to flourish based on how the offence was built, pecking order of shots – than being disappointed in Scottie
* Raptors success timeline – are they likely to win in Scottie’s window or OG’s window? Both are closer together than Scottie and Pascal’s windows. Something to take into consideration, timing is a big part of the conversation moving forward with their contract situations. Who are you going to pair Scottie with?
* Not that much money to go around especially with Jakob for the next four years
* Believes it’s going to be Scottie replacing Fred’s minutes
* Sees a situation where you put Scottie and Gary in the backcourt (over Scottie and Dennis). Addresses shooting, defence, shot creation
* Acknowledges Dennis came in under the impression he was going to be the starting PG, interested to see how that shakes out
* Hopes they manage egos and everyone buys into what Darko wants to do
* Keys have to be given to Scottie despite that Dennis has showed a lot at the World Cup in terms of leadership, creating for others. May be more of a conversation
* Believes Gradey will be a top 5 rookie, good shot of being All-Rookie
* Coming into a situation that’s a bit further along than other teams like Detroit or Orlando, easier for him to separate himself
* Coming into a team that needs what he brings in 3pt shooting
* Precious is due for a good season
* Believes he has been frustrated by the way things played out early in his career so far
* Believes he’s a better player than he’s been able to show (injuries haven’t helped)
* Bench will be way better this year, it’ll be a strength
* Darko will be more willing to work with the bench guys + have more tools to work with the guys and give them a longer leash
* Pascal might have taken too many shots, didn’t have the best clutch numbers
* Some people were concerned, can other guys get their game off to their top level with Pascal playing as the lead shot taker (making space on the inside, needs ball in his own hands a lot)?
* He was entrusted to take certain shots in clutch games and it didn’t really work out in the teams favour
* If Pascal is a top 10 scorer as some say, are the Raptors in a great position? Can be a situation where he gets good numbers but the team isn’t in a good position. Being more selective in his shots can be better for the Raptors than a high scoring Pascal
* Too good of a player to attempt to tell him to stop taking shots on a team like this
* When Pascal is scoring is the ball moving? The whole thing about improving our offence is getting the ball moving. Needs a more efficient game
by Plantedballer
6 Comments
Who else does he want taking the crunch time shots? Pascal is not perfect but he’s by far our best scorer.
The Heliocentric offence wont work with Pascal. It never worked with players who are better than him either. There needs to be ball movement, especially in the clutch. It was so easy to game plan. It was always either Pascal or Fred taking the shots and their numbers were garbage in the fourth compared to other stars
If pascal leaves the majority of playmaking for Scottie and Dennis, and locks into his slashing and off-ball movement I mean
That would be pretty sick, he’s got the endurance for it too. hyperactive 6’9 dude who can score on anybody 1v1, running around drawing the defence everywhere. His playmaking would be the power of his game instead of it needing to be a necessity as a primary ballhandler.
Ya. Optimism. Feels like a breath of fresh air man!
We definitely have a bench and if they are giving time I think they will show out. By gawd I hope Precious shows out. Boucher needs a bounce back and his cutting and banging boards could get him back in. Porter. McDaniel. Who the hey knows … Thaddeus!
>Believes Gradey will be a top 5 rookie, good shot of being All-Rookie
I buy that if Dick gets to be a flamethrower off the bench as their 7th/8th man, filling in the outside shooting that Trent would when on the floor. If Trent is off the bench (which is stupid), I am not sure he’ll get the same opportunity in the rotation at the 2/3.
> Bench will be way better this year, it’ll be a strength
> Darko will be more willing to work with the bench guys + have more tools to work with the guys and give them a longer leash
Yeah it’s gonna be nice for Darko to have an actual bench to work with. Since the Jak trade, we’ve added:
-Gary (or Dennis)
-Gradey
-Jalen
-potentially healthy OPJ
to the bench
It’s a pretty massive upgrade over the first two thirds of last year.
The interesting thing will be how Darko chooses to mix in the shooting, because the starters are lacking and the bench has plenty.