Toronto Raptors Media Availability | Postgame vs. New Orleans Pelicans | March 5, 2024

Toronto Raptors Media Availability | Postgame vs. New Orleans Pelicans | March 5, 2024

Javon coach was just in here praising you for the uh energy you brought especially in the second half uh obviously uh a tough game but what what were your takeaways from it personally um earlier me and Coach had a one-on-one talk uh he told me to stay ready and I

Just feel like I stayed with that mindset through the night and I stayed ready and came out there and gave everything I had obviously uh it’s tough with uh some major injuries on this team but it does create opportunities for you and other players like you um you just spoke about

That mindset but like what else does that mean in terms of sort of the practicalities of like more film study you know talking more to other players talking more with coaches um definitely um I feel like that I got that opportunity um you know uh god-given opportunity but um just like you said

Just stick around uh stay longer days um watch more film um and just always stay ready and just compete at my highest level I can obviously the front office uh has been pleased with your work to convert the two-way contract to a standard contract where do you think

Your game has grown most this season over the course uh with 905 um I feel like just having those uh having coaches um on my back or on my side just to talk to me and tell me um what I have to do and what I have to be

Good at to um get to this next level and I just feel like I’m taking each thing from each coach and just um trying to prove that I belong here so what do you think are those most important steps uh for you to sort of you know go from

Two-way to standard contract to like being able to like fight for a roster spot and maybe a rotation spot down the line um just come in like I said earlier Stay Ready um defensive um obviously you know just come out there and just give energy and just give everything all I

Have how good did it feel I mean knowing all the work that you put in this year paying your dues um in the G League to have that contract converted and to kind of to get that um a boat of Confidence from the front office um well I got to

Say is a a blessing honestly I got to thank the man above um but I appreciate the opportunity that they given me um you know um the prayers that they give me um I just take take it all in and just praise them and appreciate them and

Thankful for them for giving me this opportunity to just be here with this team this organization obviously there’s been so much roster turnover on the team this year is there somebody when you’ve been up with the NBA Club that’s been a special helpful like a player one of the

Bats either that was here or that is here now that’s kind of taking you under their wing and and giving you advice um I can say the vet on the team Garrett Temple um you know he’s he’s a talker um so I just take everything in from him

That he tells me and I just try to bring it to the floor or to the bench or any way I can it was uh when the Falcons were inting the corner threes early on in the game CJ and her were both like looking back up the one time yeah that

Was Garett they were talking to Garrett yeah was it can you share any of it or was it like not uh no I think they just saying his name honestly I believe you and Moji got a share a couple minutes on there like having that moment with him after the

905 together it always feel good to share moments with my guy you know I’ve been with 905 with them played a lot of minutes with them so it’s good to see us both out there again you play with like um any extra layer of confidence or has it you know changed mentally just

Knowing that you know you’re not necessarily figh to get your cont converted you’re now you’re on a multi-year um I just try to come in stay with the mindset the same mindset as I go into a game whether it’s 905 game was a game here I try to just stay the same

Clear my mind just go out there and do everything I can this a couple of times going like transitioning between NBA and G league but as far as like going from that g League role where you have so much of the ball and really you are relied upon

To create for yourself and others repeatedly and then you kind of have to shrink yourself down to fit into the NBA concept where there’s more players who want more of the ball what’s that like that transition to change your game um I could just say um coming in

Like with this career I knew this what I would have to do I would have to change my ways I won’t always have the ball I won’t always be the main guy on the team so I just try to just figure other ways out that I can be more helpful to this

Team to just try to win ask you I was watching your film like early in the preseason you had a lot of really great cuts what triggers a cut for you like you make a lot of great 45s but what are you looking for to like trigger that action

Uh in defense terms they here when they not paying attention to me uh that’s the perfect time to get a easy layup or easy cut that seems good yeah a game like that what kind of things do you learn about yourself and your team and what you have to do going

Forward um I Think uh probably the biggest thing is just understanding the process and understanding what it takes to win on any every given night that you come out uh you have to play with extreme energy effort uh Focus intensity on every possession to win in to win in the NBA because everybody’s good everybody can

Play um and they’re a very good team so um a team like that you got to be even better you have no room for error you have no room for uh really mistakes almost got to play Perfect to be honest have as much talent but you got to fight

Through it hard times that second quarter kind of got it’s spiral I think got away from it that’s absolutely um effort energy have to be at a very high level uh and and we didn’t do that that’s to reclaim to be reclaimed in the last 21 games right that’s what this

Team has to do to learn about itself yeah absolutely uh win or loss win or loss this team or any team honestly you have to like I said the NBA is too good to come out and um just try to outscore everybody everybody’s good everybody’s talented so uh

Defensively uh effort is is what separates mental is what separates teams in this league I don’t want to ask you about your jump shot it’s Unique in the way that like similar to kawh ler you prefer going and loading on the same side as your shooting on most players like load

On the opposite side of their shooting arm and it means you like the fade right more often that what goes into that for you to develop that as a jum Sho um I don’t know honestly uh every day I try to come in work on my game and try to get better uh

Been working on my jump shot since I was little uh but that is an accurate statement uh like to go right fading but um I I honestly don’t know it’s just years and years of shooting when you’re working with coaches and trying to get you ready for like counters to certain

Teams is that a consideration for them as you work through some of your reps a consideration to do what to to go to be more comfortable pulling up going right or more comfortable pulling up going left I feel I can I can go either way uh

But yeah just working on all facets of the game to try to be a complete player I think in terms of uh Javon provide a bit of a spark Off the Bench obviously top L but what what have you made about his sort of whole journey to no he was

Great what he gave us is exactly what we need uh he was great he hustled got got an open floor got steals uh got to the line he was aggressive uh so really proud of the way he came out he was he was big that was good for him good for

Our team as well a really good team was bigger than you guys what did you think of your team’s effort in fight especially in the first half um I thought that the started the game uh pretty well those first six minutes and uh they called the timeout I think it was

2317 uh we were able to make up a couple of shots there uh we were trying our best to to stay in front of Zion and and and uh protect the paint and uh they caught fire they caught fire uh there in uh in at the three-point line with with

Herb Jones knocking down a couple of corner threes and uh then uh obviously uh Murphy uh he he got really hot as the game prog progressed but uh start of the game we had it when we start subbing and we when we went to to our bench guys it

It quickly went went South from there just team gets up 49 threes and makes half um is there anything you can say to explain explain that other than them shooting the ball really well they shot the ball really well tonight and uh if they can shoot the ball like this every

Single night probably they’re going to win the championship so uh um I I believe that this is their season record uh tonight and uh as I said like Brendan Ingram was Zero for one from the three-point line CJ McCullum made three threes but Trey Murphy made 10 and her

Jones made uh five yonas made two for two uh so lot of guys uh they they felt it felt good you think the uh brought some energy there right away when he jumped in on a court he was able to to get couple of deflections and

Steals and uh he was able to run in transition and and uh he had a couple of good good minutes there thanks for watching the Toronto rappers YouTube channel check out our latest video And subscribe for [Applause] more

Players and Coach speak with the media following the Raptors’ 139- 98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.

0:00 Javon Freeman-Liberty
4:47 Immanuel Quickley
7:45 Darko Rajakovic

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