What is the Priority for the Rest of the Season? | Raptors Today

What is the Priority for the Rest of the Season? | Raptors Today

Basketball fans the keil Austine Javon Shepard Sherm Hamilton on this show Raptors today I am the voice of the fans unfortunately so whether they’re being reasonable unreasonable they’re always pass you’re usually unreasonable okay so I joined them um huge conversation online really excited coming out of this All-Star break you see what’s happening

With the Brooklyn Nets you find out about the Trey young injury and so the conversation starts to percolate well do we continue to focus focus on the future and maybe securing that sixth pick or is the play on playin the option for this group now some people say playin for

What I’m going to start with you Sher your thoughts on the kind of fork in the road the Raptors are at in terms of committing to focusing on their young guys or securing that play for me personally there’s no Focus fork in the road okay I think when you’re talking

About young players and and getting them reps in development you need them to experience the highest level of intensity you only only get that playoff basketball okay and if they can get into the playing game and and give themselves a chance to feel a taste of it because

It’s not the whole thing yeah but it’s intense it’s much more intense than regular season play one and done that’s a tough situation on a professional level so I think that if they can get in you get them in get them that wear and tear the scratches the the understanding

The the emotion of it the intensity of it and you take that out into the summer and you build off of that I I don’t think as young as this group is you necessarily look at adding more youth as a priority as opposed to getting this

Group The Experience they need yeah I I agree it’s a no-brainer right and I think with with young players you’ve got to establish a culture you’ve got to have them in those moments where they need to win games and you know breed good habits but also bigger than the

Players this is a young coaching staff as well right so they’ve got to learn those those close game situations they’ve got to get better you know late game after timeouts and so forth and I think you got got to practice winning now to do that you earn yourself let’s

Just say you land a a top six pick and they’re coming into a culture that’s not winning doesn’t have winning habits um hasn’t been in those situations you’re still two years behind right so give me give me winning now or an attempt to win now and get these guys experience get

These guys the Reps and development that they need and again we’ve already established you’re building around Scotty right so he needs to you know Foster his game and become you know more of a dynamic score be in a situ where he has to control the game for four other

Play players on the floor I think that’s more important than anything I know you expected me to say no get the draft pick I can go play golf but see I’m mature I Spar you that one I Spar you that one okay but on the flip side though like is

There any interest like everyone talks about this six pick being a weak draft does it also kind of add to um your drive for the playoffs knowing that keeping your pick next year in a deeper draft looks a lot better yeah I mean it comes into play yeah and by by default

Basically if you’re trying to get into the play in or if you’re trying to hold on to the it’s all going to shake out itself and then I think again the priority is the experience the High Reps at the big level obviously in the The Long View picture you’re thinking well

Next year’s draft is going to be pretty good it’s going to be pretty good this might be an option so but you have to deal with what’s in front of you and I think personally I get them to reps and I figure out who they’re going to be and

Kind of in pressure situations what who I can count on and what I can see from guys we also have to acknowledge that there’s so much uncertainty in the draft right and this this is why it is a draft this is why it’s the lottery that’s why

They got a guy like oai and traded a pick cuz he’s better than potentially what pi be in that situation you don’t doesn’t matter where your pick lands I’m there’s no there’s no LeBron’s in in these drafts right there’s no there’s just a Cooper flag who I like a lot

There’s a Cooper flag he’s decent um so you really don’t know what you’re getting and look how many good draft picks have have come late in the drafts or late in second round um so there’s so much uncertain I’d rather give me the the the guarantee give me the certainty

Over uncertainty all right enough of players we don’t have let’s check in with the players we do have how much does it open up the offense and just things that you can do offensively when you’ve got kind of a a hub in the middle there um yeah playing with a passing big

Is great um just playing off the ball getting cuts um getting behind the defense um I feel like the second unit we should do that a lot more um just to get the ball movement um get better scoring to help starting unit um but playing with passing passing bigs are

Great what’s the learning curve like when I mean you guys have a pretty set second unit now Kelly comes in does he need time to get to know you guys in terms of like where you like the ball where you want the ball do you have to

Get to know him or I think we all need to figure it out um we’re all what basically new the whole second unit is new um Grady’s first year um so I mean we just all trying to figure figure it out um it’s been tough the uh when you

Look at this part of the schedule having a playing possibility is it is it kind of a good thing just to focus on even if uh you know it’s not like you’re GNA for a title but do it kind of keep people focused keep people yeah um I played in

The plan like two years ago um so it was great it was a good atmosphere um we ended up being Cleveland um when I was in Brooklyn so it was good um I mean we’re definitely trying to get there I mean you never know what happens know

Like I said as a as a player you got to be as steady as you can evil even killed and even headed and you know go in and be professional and you know keep getting better and putting your best foot forward every day because you know you

Put a little building blocks on you know that’s how you you build a tower or a building I mean it’s not going to come overnight um so you got to keep those habits and get you know a little bit better every single day um and you know

Hopefully it translates into to wins and then you know this year next year wherever it is I mean having a play in possibility like sort of there is is that is that something yeah I think it’s great I mean you definitely have something to play for I

Mean I think without that it would be statistically really hard but I mean shoot if if you can sneak into that t spot and that playing you know anything can happen all of a sudden you have a playoff series and you cat you get hot and now you’re rolling and now you build

Your confidence and you never know what happens thanks for watching Toronto Raptors YouTube channel check out our latest videos and subscribe for more Trent answers back Gary Sid step great got it

Akil Augustine, Sherman Hamilton and Jevohn Shepherd discuss the remaining games for the Raptors and what the main priorities are for this squad. With the new addition of the Play-In Tournament it makes things very interesting this time of year.

0:00 Introduction
0:20 Goals for rest of season?
1:45 Developing
2:40 Interest in the Draft
4:08 Bruce Brown
5:22 Kelly Olynyk
6:20 Thanks for watching!

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