Toronto Raptors blow 23-point lead, fall to OKC in 2OT | Barnes’ quiet finish, RJ’s return & more

Toronto Raptors blow 23-point lead, fall to OKC in 2OT | Barnes’ quiet finish, RJ’s return & more

On your Monday episode of Locked on Raptors we dig into what went right and what went wrong as the Toronto Raptors snatched defeat from the jaws of Victory against the very good Oklahoma City Thunder you are locked on Raptors your daily Toronto Raptors podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team

Every day hey what’s going on and welcome to to another episode of lockon raptors part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day it is Monday February the 5th and I’m your host Shan Woodley free of covid just about and uh glad to be

Back with you here for a Full Slate of shows this week I’ve of course been cover with the Toronto Raptors now for 10 seasons on various platforms you can find all my work over on the website that don’t work very well at Woodley Shan you can find the show on Instagram

At lockon Raptors and of course you can join us in the place to be the locked on Raptors Discord baby the link is in the the description of the podcast it’s free to join and we’d love to see you in there it’s the single best place to talk

About the Toronto Raptors on the internet without getting screamed by lunatics it’s fantastic come hang out again free to join Link in the description of the podcast you can also find the show for free wherever get your podcast follow subscribe rate review tell a friend it’s much appreciated you

Can also join us on YouTube subscribe to the YouTube channel hit the little notification Bell and you get a heads up every single time the show is about to Premiere so you never miss a snippet of that sweet sweet locked on r CH action Today’s Show is brought to you by

LinkedIn jobs uh they help you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster post your job for free at linkedin.com loock innba that’s Lo linkedin.com lockon NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply all right let’s get to it on today’s show breaking down a thrilling double

Overtime loss to the West leading Oklahoma City Thunder for your Toronto Raptors one of them wins and lessons type games of course of of which there will Sur be many down the stretch and I’m sure we’ll all get sick of saying that refrain I believe uh originated by

Tyo way back in the day uh and here to break down this loss to the Thunder that at one point looked great 23-point lead everything was hunky dory then the Thunder do the thing and come back and are very good at basketball etc etc here

Talk about it all is our pal big VC Jacob from sportset and Cricket Canada big V how’s it going pal it’s going well I mean it was a very fun game yes yeah then uh yeah I think outside of that had a good weekend caught up with

Some friends caught up with some family and ready to roll love it uh yeah by the way we’re just like not going to talk about the Rockets game Friday it was bad we’ll just put it down we don’t even think about that it was terrible no RJ

Doesn’t count IQ and purle just getting back Rusty doesn’t count it’s fine so big V Let’s uh dive in here of course a game where things went right then things went wrong and it seemed seemed like things maybe were going to get back and finish right for the Raptors as they

Punched back as the Thunder went on a surge in the second half of this game of course they couldn’t quite close it no finish whatsoever for the Raptors multiple chances to win this game at the end of regulation and at the end of the first overtime and yet they could not

Convert big V what was your biggest takeaway from this one I guess maybe on the negative side of things like what was your biggest takeaway about why things went wrong for the Raptors we’ll get into what went right we’ll get into our good bad and hm but we should start

With where it all fell apart for the Raptors late in this game as the thunder came back from down 23 if I had to look at the biggest reason why things went wrong um I’m almost wondering how much Darko was trying to do right in this one right

Beyond beyond the first half because I thought the first half was great in terms of the defensive scheme and it was very Nick Nursey sure and we saw obviously Shay get a lot of pressure a lot of attention paint was packed and you were disrespecting the non-shooters uh Lou Dort Josh Giddy and

So for me what changed in the second half was when those guys started to go get going there wasn’t uh a real change in strategy and so I think that’s where you know you kind of had to heed the warning signs a bit and make adjustments and

Maybe show that respect to guys who were really starting to heat up and once they you know what was it when they cut it until about 11 that’s when you know you knew it was like okay this is going to a bad place yeah that happens against the top

Team in the western conference is uh sometimes they’re going to make you feel like you’re in a bad place I so I I’m feeling unsure of how to feel about the lack of a stark adjustment in the second half because I think the reason they got out to their lead was doing precisely

What they kept on doing in the second half which was all right we’re just gonna let Josh giddy do stuff and we’re gonna force him to hurt us and if you look at the impact numbers if you look at the shooting percentages everything screams let Josh giddy beat you about

This Thunder team right especially when you don’t have Jaylen Williams who’s a 45% three point shooter you don’t have Isaiah Joe who’s a 42% three-point shooter those guys combined for like eight attempts a game with those guys not on the floor I thought it was pretty

Wise to say all right like giddy Dort you’re gonna beat us Shay you’re not getting to your office they did a pretty good job of keeping him out of the mid-range this game the Raptors completely walled off the paint you mentioned it uh it did lead to the

Thunder having the 100th percentile game for three-point frequency of any team in the cleaning the glass database this season 63 threes put up over the course of this one um so you know maybe you’d like to find a little more balance there but I I didn’t find that it was all that

Egregious to keep leaving Josh giddy open because all of the the book on this season is suggested leaving that dude open is probably gonna lead to good things I think Alvin Williams made a good point there was one giddy three late in that game where there was just no contest whatsoever like Scotty

Rotated over to force the pass and then just like no one rotated back over to the wing of for giddy like you don’t want to give him free ones you want to at least make can feel you a tiny little bit if you’re not going to earnestly

Guard them but I I it’s hard because like the sort of regression wave hit like a ton of bricks in that second half Aaron Wiggins was a big part of this as well you know leaving a guy who’s a north of 50% three-point shooter wide open a whole bunch maybe not the best

Strategy maybe you know that’s where you kind of adjust the scouting report a little bit but to get beaten by giddy for 246 and six after he has been one of the most damaging players in basketball this season per the impact numbers I don’t think it was all that bad of an

Idea the other thing that went wrong in this game I would say is the the closing sort of offense the Scotty Barnes of it all which I think we should probably address here uh weird finish for Scotty in this one big V uh he kind of just was

Not really an active passenger down the stretch of this one you know the two overtimes in particular obviously the play that stands out is the end of the first overtime where they clearly draw something up to just get it in his hands and go to work he sees Lou Dort for one

Second and says no thank you and pitches it off to Gary Tren Jr and he doesn’t get up a good shot Shay with a big block what happened there well this was a weird finish for Scotty Barnes I thought so specifically on the play I think I think you know he may

Have uh seen a Mis communication on the switch is what I’m going to go with sure I’m give Scotty the benefit of the doubt and I think uh you know initially it was Shay on him and then uh you know with the action uh it that’s where he saw D

For a second and maybe he was thinking oh they’re both on me I I’ll kick it to Gary but sure the Shay was uh right with Gary so there wasn’t uh really much of an advantage to be with the pass and so I think you know uh he could have he

Should have probably attacked and I think when the broadcast actually uh they actually showed a clip of Scotty right after that where he seemed to have like you know that disappointed look of a man I I really should have just gone with it sure um so that’s like a

Split-second read um where you know you can you can acknowledge that he made the wrong read but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and you know not being like Oh my God is who I want nothing to do with this I mean look could I blame

Anybody for not wanting anything to do with that dude uh no but yeah that spot maybe you’d like a little bit more aggression yeah just the the passiveness from Scotty the sort of just standing in the corner and I know that they ran a lot of the quickly purle pick and roll

Stuff down the stretch of this game and that was a source of conversation oh why isn’t Scotty getting the ball we’re back to this thing where it has to be Scotty all the time which I think is ridiculous like I think they have multiple players who can go and create stuff in high

Leverage spots that’s a good thing you should want to quote our pal Dwayne Casey multiple ways of skinning the Apple but to the point that I made earlier about the lack of balance in terms of allowing as many threes as they did in this game and sort of selling out

As hard as they did you know I I think you got to find more balance there right you have to find ways to involve both Scotty and quickly I don’t think there’s been nearly enough tapping into what that two-man game can be as like a really Dynamic connection obviously Yak

Is very valuable as a screen Greer and a dive man and all that stuff um but it did feel like a little bit tilted towards quickly I don’t think it’s a bad thing in the grand scheme and ultimately this is what everybody who was pounding the drum to pick a direction build

Around Scotty trade pass kakam was asking for there are going to be learning experiences there going to be moments where things don’t go very well and these Scotty Barnes is the number one guy experience he’s 22 years old and whether it was pouting because he didn’t

Get the last shot in regulation which I don’t think is true if you look at the play that that was set up there he had all the runway in the world to go and just drive if he wanted to he pitched it back you know whatever there there

Was he didn’t look to me like he was notably dejected for not taking that last shot should they have drawn up a three for RJ Barrett maybe not get to the rim something like that but uh you know I don’t know if this is like oh you

Didn’t give me the shot therefore I’m not going to try an overtime type of thing and if it is like that’s a learning experience too it’s an adjustment period for him for quickly as a lead guard kind of figuring out navigating the balance of when am I

Looking for my own when am I setting other guys up and I think this is the exact type of learning experience type game that we can expect a lot of for the next little while with this team and I think it’s okay to have some failure and

I think you have to allow room for the failure because the path they’ve decided to walk is one littered with failure it’s a young team trying to figure stuff out and ultimately that’s kind of where I come down to the Scotty Barnes thing was it a perfect finish for him no would

I have liked to seen him you know exercise more aggression in the overtime absolutely did he also seem totally gassed after playing 48 minutes 100% he did and so I don’t know where to sort of put the blame on you know was it his tiredness was it him pouting was it uh

You know all sorts of different things coming together one way or another it’s something he can learn from and that is what this whole thing is supposed to be about so I can’t get that mad about it big fee any sort of thoughts there before we move on

Yeah I mean I agree with you on like this all being part of the growth uh I I think we can also acknowledge that yeah okay even when you don’t have the ball and you’re in the corner you can find ways to get yourself involved and cut to

The basket or you know try to create some kind of distress for the defense um and I think uh if it was some pouting in there and being like hey I should be involved in these actions and they’re AB absolutely should have been more quickly Scotty actions uh then I think again

That’s also a learning opportunity so uh I do think there should be a directness in which in how that’s handled between Darko whoever I mean I don’t I don’t think you know unless you see a pattern of this like consistently I don’t I don’t see why you know Messiah or anyone

Would have to get involved Um this can just be a quick thing between uh Darko and him and yeah I think you just move on I mean you got a game uh to get ready for tonight so yeah you move on quick yeah and it’s not like it’s a recurring thing

Either right like Scotty typically is the dude who just takes the bull by the horns in the fourth quarter of every game and it’s fine and didn’t happen in this one it’s a shame I I think there were other sort of reasons you know the Dort matchup number one you know having

Scotty go to work in his usual office as like a post hub with Chen holgren hanging out as a helpman maybe not the best idea and Dargo did note afterwards they were trying to Target Shay because he had five fouls which I think is pretty worthwhile as well when you’re in

A double overtime game if you can foul that dude out you stand a pretty good chance of winning and so all these different things kind of came together I don’t think it was one thing of one player letting the team down or quitting on the team in the buying moments of the

Game or anything extreme like that but certainly lots of little stuff to learn from which again is like kind of the whole point here we’ll come back under aside it’s been a little negative off the top we’re going to talk about what went well because that’s the thing is

Lots of things went well for the Raptors in the leadup to the things that went wrong in this game we will get into that coming up in just one second Today’s Show is brought to you by our friends over at LinkedIn when you’re hiring for your small business you want

To find quality professionals that are right for the role and that is why you got to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Prof na for your team faster and for free LinkedIn is not just another job board LinkedIn has a vast network of

More than a billion with a B professionals which make it the best place to hire it gives you access to professionals you can’t find anywhere else LinkedIn does all that while making the process easy and intuitive hiring is easy you have that many quality candidates rolling in so easy in fact

That 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within the first 24 hours LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing so many different hats you may not have the time or resources to hire it’s a timec consuming process to go through all those resumés LinkedIn is constantly finding ways to

Make the process easier they even just launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions making the process even easier and quicker two and a half million small small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring you should to post your job for free at linkedin.com lock. NBA that’s linkedin.com loock NBA post

Your job for free terms and conditions apply Today’s Show is sponsored by better help sometimes we all need the opportunity to get something off of our chest whether it’s big or small certain things can really start to get at you and it’s important to let that out especially to someone who’s unbiased on

Your life having someone with no agenda who’s just there to listen and offer insights on the things that you have going on we want to talk to you about feeling stuff today and look we all feel stuff I feel overwhelmed by the lack of the sun just the mere lack of the Sun

That beautiful glowing orb in the sky really gets me feeling down it makes me feel unmotivated it makes me feel like I don’t want to do anything that lack of vitamin D can be a real thing that makes you question everything it is probably happening to so many people in Southern

Ontario as we now live in the Pacific Northwest all of a sudden therapy can be different for everyone but most of us have bigger problems than your favorite sports team and it’s important to get things off your chest every once in a while if you’re thinking of starting

Therapy give betterhelp a try it’s entirely online designed to be flexible and suited to your schedule visit betterhelp.com loock NBA to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp.com locked on NBA okay continuing on here your first listen of the day with big V VC Jacob

From Sportsnet as we dig into a very fun very entertaining very heartbreaking loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder is the Toronto Raptors road trip of six games trudges fourth uh big V some good stuff happened in this game a 6347 start to this game in the first half was pretty

Damn thrilling uh the way they punched back as the thunder made their surge also pretty encouraging you know the fourth quarter there overall what do you think worked in this game what popped out to you is sort of the biggest sort of things to build upon from the Toronto Raptors performance in

OKC yeah so I mean the defensive scheme early in the first half I mean for the entire first half absolutely worked I thought that was really effective uh I think that uh quick Le’s playmaking again continues I mean overall I think I’m still writing the high of like

Quickley and Barrett adding to this team that have been missing for quite some time yeah and so RM pressure baby we love it so yeah quickly his ability um to push the pace to pull up that’s probably the thing I really enjoy the most um and

Uh yeah part of why they were running so many quickly portal actions was because you know those opportunities where you know whether it’s getting get switched uh which at HR whether it was being able to just uh Blow by um I think those were uh things that were work working really

Well RJ Barrett I think brings such a life and energy to this team he’s so forceful um and in a healthy way uh and you know you think about the way his sort of narrative has changed from what he was as a Nick to what he’s been as a rapper

It was like forcing too much it was you know making the wrong reads all of that and he seems to be doing exactly the opposite we saw some of the bad forceful stuff when he first came over um but it was still being largely outweighed by the positive and that continues to be

The case uh and we’re seeing I feel like we’re seeing less and less of um the bad forceful stuff and so I think he’s getting more and more acclimated to this system um and again the the speed with what which he’s making decisions and just cons consistently both those guys

Just getting downhill uh is probably the aspect that I enjoy the most yeah I I think with RJ you know there were some moments last night a pretty tough turnover on a live dribble pass I think trying to hit Scotty in the corner that you know went the other way uh obviously

Not being able to squeeze that ball near the end to you know secure possession as he falls out of bounds that was tough but overall also you know helped him a little bit out of bounds yeah yeah uh you know weird snap play they’re trying to call timeout etc etc like I don’t

Think that’s just weird basketball stuff right I don’t think RJ did necessarily anything wrong there you got to have the strong hands Etc but you know overall yeah having RJ back and had such a dynamic of like downhill ball to this team his finishing has just been so

Impressive around the rim and he just I was thinking about this last night every time he takes a shot it feels like The Logical end point of the SE sequence that led to it right nothing feels like it’s out of the flow nothing feels like it’s okay he’s commandeering things now

No it’s like this action was created and you know executed and it led to a very understandable RJ Barrett whatever it’s layup whether it’s you know roaring off a screen whether it’s a catch and shoot three whatever it is it’s all just so within the flow and you know the way

He’s playing off of the quickly Barnes P of it all like those three those four guys together like there’s a lot of synergy that can be found there they need to work on it obviously it’s been a month of upheaval which I think is another thing to consider here in terms

Of how things kind of broke down like they’re still figuring this whole thing out there’s been no continuity I would argue the last month or so has been like the least continuity a team has ever had in season like the number of injuries combined with the two massive roster

Changing trades like it’s been very strange and so like I think it’s going to come I think there will be more Unison to be found between all of those guys and RJ just seems to fit in so easily that I don’t think he’s ever going to detract from that Dynamic

Whatsoever and yeah he he’s just been fantastic uh and him quickly Barnes purle that quartet to me there’s no reason why I tweeted this last night there’s no reason why that they can’t go into the post deadline run here and actually like play some pretty competitive interesting basketball and

Win some games ultimately too like I think my bigger positive take take away from this game is this is the exact type of game I want the Raptors playing close game intense real developmental reps like this is Player Development right big V like having them play games that actually matter this feels like

Something getting those learning experiences against very good teams and high leverage moments like that’s what this kind of all about is it not yeah I mean I I don’t think I would go with you know this being the exact exact uh model you know I think terms of

The Scotty involvement I would want to see more of that uh in you know down the stretch uh and into the overtime but uh these are the opportunities that you would like right where you see um a solid defensive game plan being executed uh in the first half you see uh

Quickly getting reps you’re seeing Barrett get reps um and and I think you’re seeing the future a little bit right yeah and I I think that’s what you want to see so from that standpoint absolutely I think you can nail down the specifics a bit better uh uh and beyond

That yeah I I think you wonder how much is being you know managed from a tank perspective because if you zoom out like there is that Vibe of like oh yeah you know team looks good in the first half and then things just fall apart and nothing’s

Really being done to stop the falling apart and and then you go on to lose yeah I don’t know if I feel like that was an orchestrated maneuver from the top down to go lose that second half like it’d be pretty stupid if it was I I

Here’s my thing I know everyone’s horny for the tank and all that stuff right like oh God I get to the fifth spot the Blazers they can be passed like I’m of the mind that right now the top priority should be trying to play as many games

Like this as possible get into games where you’re trying to win where you’re working on stuff where you’re seeing your best players for the Long Haul actually build habits build chemistry build feel for one another and if you win games great and you pushing for the playin great if you’re not doing that

And you’re you know wallowing around in the fifth sixth seventh eighth range of the lottery great let the lottery odds which are entirely out of your control fall where they might control what you can control between them the end of the season which is trying to actually play

Meaningful basketball to build habits to not just piss away a third of a season because the possibility of being the fifth overall pick is there and I I just think that’s got to be priority number one and the rest will figure out when they figure it out right if they are in

The play a like I just I think where they finish is basically irrelevant at this point yeah I wasn’t I wasn’t saying it from a philosophy perspective I was just saying that when you look at it from the outside if you were to look at

It from a neutral it’ be like like oh this is a bad team that showed up for the first half and then when things started to fall apart it just completely fell apart um sure and on the other side you look at it from a thunder

Perspective you say okay this is a team that looked like you know thought they were going to have it easy against a bad team uh and then really had to crank it up and then came out with a W sure and hey if they like lose all these games down the stretch

That they play like this fine whatever I I that’s that’s fine but uh you know I I guess this is me just sort of imploring that to not sort of lose games on purpose I’m not saying you are out here going fire up the tank machine and all

That stuff but um I just you know you see where the fan base is at I I I see where people want to be I see people like lusting after the fifth overall pick I just feel like the lottery odds are so out of your control and so

Volatile and there’s no guarantee you’re keeping your pick anyway and so play up the season with the guys you have you already know worst case you have three picks in the first 31 of this draft like you you’ll find some dudes and if you need to trade up you’ll trade up or

Whatever um I’m uh I’m just like so unconcerned it’s like a nice thing it’s like oh I don’t care where they finish they could finish 12th in the East where right where they are now they could finish 10th and I would not care one way or another it’s fine like just play some

Games like this and I’ll be a happy camper baby uh we’ll come back on the other side round it out with The Good The Bad and The to close things up we’ll get to that coming up in just one second Today’s Show is brought to you by our

Pals over at FanDuel the number one sports book in all of North America happy superball Super Bowl to all who celebrate from FanDuel and if you’re like me Super Bowl is uh something where I mean I don’t really watch the Super Bowl I hang out I’ll put maybe put some

Money on basketball games that day but if you’re like basically every other person Super Bowl Sunday is all about scoring the best seat on the couch grabbing your favorite football snacks and placing some super bets on things like the uh national anthem and how long that’s going to run who’s going to score

The first points and will there be a safety and things like that maybe have a little uh you know action with your people at your at your Super Bowl party with all through FanDuel it’s that easy go check it out FanDuel has so many ways

For you to end your season with a W or two or three not only can you bet on who will win the Super Bowl 58 but FanDuel is also got bets for you which you know who’s going to score a touchdown how many points are going to be scored etc

Etc so much more new customers can join today and get 200 bucks in bonus bets at the first bet of $5 or more wins again that’s 200 bucks in bonus bets if your first bet of five bucks or more wins visit fanduel.com lockon to sign up that’s fanduel.com lockon make every

Moment more with FanDuel official sports book of the NFL closing up the show here with The Good the Bad and the H the way we close out every Raptors recap episode of the podcast here uh think we liked I think we didn’t like I think it’s got us a

Little intrigued from the game that took place the night before uh again we’re skipping the Rockets game nothing from that godforsaken event uh all Thunder related stuff here big V let’s begin what you got for your good my good is RJ man I think you know

Having him come back uh after an absence and play the way he did and uh you know I just love the sort of take the bull by the horns intensity that he brings and I love the uh force with which he attacks the rack uh you know we saw the the the

Three-point shot drop off for a bit before the injury uh so it was nice to see him nail a couple triples in this one um but yeah again that that ability to get downhill to get to the rack uh overall I think his decision- making was

Good uh you’re right to point out that you know still a couple mistakes in there but overall I’m loving what I’m seeing from RJ and you know again that shift where you know I think when the trade happened you were thinking okay he just played well enough to maybe be another trade down

Line and now it’s like okay like he could be a real piece of this court my good I was gonna go RJ my as well but I’ve kind of used my RJ thoughts already today so I’m gonna go Thad young the Chad homr stopper uh man I’m this this

Month of Thad has been so bloody fun uh they actually won that trade by a mile and in fact won that trade so decidedly over the Spurs that it also makes the yaka purle trade more of a win this is my take now uh like you got Thad and

Yaka purle for only two first round picks like okay man uh swindling the Spurs this garbage franchise giving up these two Superstar bigs unreal um yeah just fad rules uh I I wonder if they’re actually like maybe G to get something for him at the deadline now if

Like some team needs some sort of sagewise pass throwing Chad hren stopper to come in hey lots of West teams could use a Chet stopper uh yeah just an absolute blast to see him outg Gunn by like six inches and just being old and wise and giving

Chet some problems the best love that this month has been so damn fun Thad shutting down a young guy in the playoffs would be the most like YMCA like in the playoffs thing to happen like more YMCA than when he crossed over Joel embi and hit a pullup

Midi in the playoffs oh hey man there’s I’ve never seen a Jo and beid at the why like I don’t think I would have ever gone back oh man uh all right let’s uh go to the bad what you got for your bad in this

One um you know I think for me it’ probably be just the lack of Scotty quickly actions yeah sure I think when when I look at darko’s comments at the after the game as well and saying hey we were just we were targeting the matchups where uh there was foul trouble and

Uh we could maybe take advantage there there was only one real guy in foul trouble for the Thunder and that was sh just Alexander uh and you know you’ve also got to acknowledge that Shay is the Superstar in the league now that the chances of him getting call for that

Sixth foul sure sure pretty slim um he’s also like an excellent Defender too so like yeah maybe going at him not that I mean I quickly was getting where he wanted to go but yeah noting that so I think just you know the lack of uh Scotty quickly actions down the stretch

You know again when we have this whole development conversation that should be the bread and butter in terms of the future of this franchise right so uh I think the absence of that I’ll probably chalk up as a bad my bad a lot of Dennis

In this game man man this was a not very good Dennis schruder game minus 23 in a game where they blew a 23-point lead that points that that stands out and slaps you in the face as a number um and I just thought like way too much of

Calling his own number he clearly was not having any luck finishing from two-point range in this game two of 10 Chad Hol GNA give him problems they’re just a big big nasty team on the Interior right and so like when you got Jaylen Williams in there and whatnot big

For Dennis shuder to deal with at the very least and so yeah not my favorite shrer game he’s been awesome Off the Bench I think they leaned on him a little bit too much in this one and you know I think if you’re going to get upset about the hierarchy on possessions

You know quickly run possessions not really going to be something I get mad about shuder run possessions in high leverage moments look at the big picture here like this is a probably a stop Gap guard for a couple years and not someone who’s going to be on the long-term good

Version of this team so you know maybe funnel a little bit that way and but that maybe that’s where you get more Scotty involved there less Dennis so that was my bad uh let’s go to the hum what you got for your wh for my home uh I was really just

Gonna bring up Darko and say sure you know obviously we know he can be a great individual development guy and I think uh that’s why he was brought in but I think we’re also going to get a taste of you know how he manages uh these opportunities now uh

Where you have these close games and you wna get as many possessions as possible for uh Scotty quickly Barrett um and then kind of move down from there and that’s where kind of leads into what you said about Dennis Schroeder uh and it’s like hey why is Schroeder getting all

These opportunities and like can you put that relationship aside uh we get that there’s a great friendship there and kinship and I think you’ve really just got to prioritize the development um and I agree you know there’s going to be moments where they also have to earn it

Um but I I don’t think uh Dennis schroer did much to earn it in this no I would say not yeah and so that’s my going forward right it’s like sure uh and and we say this all the time with assistant coaches right it’s a big move from there

To the head coaching position um and he has been very successful at uh working with an individual player over a course course of a period and bringing them along um and players have spoken very highly uh about that Desmond ban being at the top of the list Desmond Bane

Being at the top of the list um and so I think now you’ve got a lot more mouths to Fe when you’re the head coach yeah so what does that look like for sure yeah I think it’s uh a notable thing any first year coach’s first year is like an

Ongoing hum I’d argue like there’s just there a lot to learn about what they’re all about I think I’ve been mostly encouraged by a lot of what we’ve seen from Darko but yeah the sort of dependence on Dennis the sort of strange late game stuff once in a while like

Yeah that’s something to keep an eye on no doubt a worthy hum uh my hum is just uh for forgot the deadlines this week uh but the Raptors getting their big business out of the way it’s like oh yeah three days there’s more stuff to probably come here um and I guess the

Guy who figures into this conversation is Bruce Brown who did not seem uh much up to it last night I would say little joggy on defense one might argue he didn’t hit any of his shots it’s is not his best game as a raptor by any means I

Still am of the mind that you know a guy like Bruce Brown is a perfect type of guy to keep around if you want to if you’re interest trading him for the sake of trading him you shouldn’t um but you know fascinated to see where that one goes before Thursday and what happens

Does that open up Jordan War minutes if uh you know because War obviously was out of the conversation last night how does the dust settle this week and I guess Gary Tren Jr is also a big part of this as well he’s been playing pretty pretty damn well of late in that

Starting lineup continues to be frustrating in his own Gary Trent Jor like way but uh yeah just the the deadline being this close and being this quiet is bizarre and I kind of frankly have no idea what to expect expect from this week like maybe they just offload

One guy maybe it’s three guys they offload it seems like Chris bue is not really part of the plans anymore we’ll see there uh it’s a it’s a weird any quick thoughts on the deadline and sort of what’s looming this week on your end uh yeah I mean I’m waiting to see

The clarity on whether it’s uh Gary utto Chris bue um oh my forgetting Bruce Brown and yeah I mean we didn’t really say much about Bruce brown but but I feel like he’s kind of in a space where he is ready to move on um and so uh I

Would like to see that happen and hopefully you know you can continue to uh set things up for the future as well as possible and so I think that’s you know that quartet is probably what I’m looking to see uh over the next few days but we’ll see what

Actually materializes who knows maybe maybe with a guy like Bruce there thinking you know maybe a Draft Day package uh you know been saying this man there’s opportunity cost to just moving in for the first thing you can get when there’s lots of other things you could potentially move

Him for in the summer in maybe more additive trades than just selloff trades to contenders we’ll see obviously it depends on what you can get back this week but uh I would like those those that th those uncertain Vibes to go though so I feel like the more move on

The better and like you know uh clearing Clearing House in terms of those vibes would be a positive thing sure I mean you get through the deadline and he’s untraded I’m sure the uncertainty goes away a little bit as well right like maybe there’s uncertainty about the Long Haul but um

You know I think it it’s at least a signal of oh hey like we want you to be part of this mix and see what we got down the stretch if that is in fact the case it does seem like it’s tracking towards him getting moved um but you

Know I I do think one way or another trades or not Thursday will be a salv for all of those waiting and dreaming and hoping for the day where uh there’s just like clarity as to who is on this basketball team for the last third of the Season uh we’ll leave it there

There’s another game tonight Raptors Pelicans that’ll be fun the Raptors tend to get waxed by the Pelicans uh based on recent history so fingers crossed it doesn’t go that way uh but yeah we’ll get into that on tomorrow’s show do you have anything you want to promote for the good people big

V usual stuff uh I I did a piece on All-Star stuff for sportset I will have one I will have a deadline Day winners and losers coming up on Thursday um so you can check all my general NBA stuff uh at sportset you can check out my cricket stuff at Cricket

Canada um and besides that you can follow me on Twitter at VM Jacob everyone go do that find me at Woodley Shan follow subscribe rate review tell a friend Etc uh full slatest shows this weekend maybe even more than that if stuff goes down to the deadline and we

Need some bonus content cont in there so uh back to normal after a couple of weird weeks with moving and Co etc etc it’s been bit of a hard one over here but appreciate y’all hanging it through and sticking with the show and rocking with it nonetheless and uh with that

We’ll leave it there we’ll come back tomorrow talk about Raptors Pelicans in the meantime thanks so much for hanging bye-bye I’m 0 for three since I started taking that shot over the head to close the show it’s really disappointing we’ll get it one day

In Episode 1568, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet) to chat about the Toronto Raptors falling short in double overtime against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahome City Thunder on Sunday night. Off the top, Sean and Vivek chat about where things went wrong as the Raptors blew a 23-point lead over the course of a troublesome second half that saw the Thunder adjust to the Raptors’ defense and get red hot from deep. Plus, what can be read, if anything, into Scottie Barnes’ strange finish to the game, the hierarchy of the Raptors’ offense, and the lack of interplay with Barnes and Immanuel Quickley to this point in their very brief time playing with one another. Next, Sean and Vivek chat about the things that went right in the game, from the play of RJ Barrett, to the defensive scheme giving SGA trouble, to the mere experience of playing in a high leverage, intense game with one of the league’s best teams being something to build on. Lastly, they run through The Good (Thad Young, Barrett), The Bad (the lack of IQ/Barnes actions, Dennis Schroder) and The Hmmmm (the impending NBA Trade Deadline) to round out the show.

Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/qAN9GVhd

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LORaptors?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Nissan

Our friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level. Take the Nissan Rogue, Nissan Pathfinder, or Nissan Armada and go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

eBay Motors

For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

BetterHelp

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

PrizePicks

Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime

Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel

Make Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your best bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#NBA #Raptors #TorontoRaptors