NBA Draft Lessons From the Finals ft. Tyler Rucker From No Ceilings
hello hello everyone it is Kenyan here it is basketball rewind and guess what we are not in the finals but the finals is going on if you uh just woke up from a coma or if you decided to finally start watching basketball with Raptors again well I’m sorry we’re not in it right now but the Mavs and Boston are with that being said it’s not it’s not over yet it’s not over yet we have a Mavs fan and Beyond we have Tyler Rucker joining us who is representing the the Boston Celtics coach and I are just innocent bystandard hoping to you know make sure that the frey doesn’t go crazy yesterday was an insane game Luca slapped down no I’m just kidding it was good though it was good um I don’t have a tunnel fit or a Tunnel Walk uh how are both of you feeling uh Tyler I’m going to start with you uh is there any sort of anxiety going into the next game and the rest of the series are you calm cool and collect did almost Joe moula style um it’s it’s the anxiety is looming than thank you guys for having me back on I’m very honored by the way I should have started off with that um but then you got me distracted with do I have anxiety because I was like well that’s a heavy question this time of the year with the finals for sure there’s it’s looming I feel fine I’ve calmed myself down like I I was going to be completely shocked if Boston really like took care of business just because it’s so hard to close out teams and Dallas I was like I’m waiting for the Kyrie Luca game and Brian windhorse going off on Luca I was like don’t poke the Bear right when the Celtics are about to close this please so I was like LCA is gonna have a big night and then he looked great in the first quarter and I was like yeah they’re in trouble um the Celtics looked like they had a lid on the hoop and Dallas was just feeling good and finding good shots so um little anxiety moving forward um I’ve liked how Boston’s responded this year but just kind of their past of it always seems like they struggle to get over the The Mountaintop and um until they get till they do that which I really want it to happen so we can see if it’s just this big weight or side relief for this team but until they do that I’m I’m not counting um I’m not counting my Championship right now I’m not getting ahead of it because you gotta win four to win the finals smart smart man you I mean you also have a few you know in the back pocket two count already in the meantime to keep you busy so uh you know that yeah see I’m like one of those like I’ve I’ve rooted for the Celtics my whole life but I’m also like I wasn’t alive for a lot of those so I can’t be like yeah we’ve got all these I’m like I’ve seen the Celtics have W one championship in my lifetime so I’m not going to get cocky and you know people are like you guys always went I’m like I wasn’t alive when they won so you know I took the first one for granted I have watched and win those ones in this case here you know I have watched a gentleman named Larry Bird make my life miserable as a Pistons fan trust me my favorite player is Isaiah Thomas I didn’t say nothing more about how I feel about box okay I I grew up on those stories with Larry B like I’ve watched all those games like I basically didn’t have a choice growing up but it’s just one of those like when when you when your team wins it for the first time you kind of almost like oh that was fantastic like how can that happen again then you take it for Grant you’re like wa I missed that so now I’m like I’m not getting too cocky because I’m like I I know how hard it is to win in this league and also to close out a team on on on the road um so it’s going to be crazy now you guys are giving me more anxiety because I’m getting nervous for the game while while I’m talking about it just breathe man just breathe exactly uh beyond your thoughts honestly I’m gonna start in a strange Place actually whatever happens this series Luca Donis needs to go in that locker room and apologize to all the other 14 members of his team including the coaching staff because the effort he actually put in on defense you know in that fourth game you’re sitting here wondering if you’re a teammate where has that been for the first three I’m not asking to be M meta World piece or Ron arest whichever way you want to go with in this case with de I just ask him to be competent and it’s like just be at least give the guy a little a little friction and finally we see it now for the positive in this case here uh they play with Force last night they need to play with Force throughout the rest of the series where how long it goes the one thing I will say I not saying it’s going to likely happen I think that Boston win the series I’m a realist I’m always a realist with you guys you know that man even my team I’m realist however there is one Confluence of events that is possible if it ever is goingon to be the case is this one and here’s what I mean when you have a team that plays with so much variance when it comes to three-point shooting all right where you could go hot as a hot knife through butter for three games we saw it last year and it go dead as a cold fish for the next three games you play with fire in those circumstances and then you throw in the fact on the other side of the Ledger you might have be potentially looking at an alltime great right that where all of a sudden it’s like oh this isn’t playing no disrespect I’ll take shots of my own team this ain’t the old four Pistons right when it comes to talent wise there’s a couple dudes on here that if you know if you let you keep messing around one guy’s already done down 3-1 okay so so you start around and gets to 3-2 things start getting interesting that’s all I’m saying because the way Boston plays is is feast or fam a lot of times now I will say this there is one guy that got the memo and I appreciate that he’s the one guy that’s gotten the memo that’s Jaylen Brown because he’s not quite playing like the rest of the guys from from what the Boston system is he’s like I’m trying to get the rck as much as possible okay he’s not trying he’s not settling right I think all the other guys are still kind of playing what they want to play and when it’s not going right like oh well but Jaylen Brown is the one guy if I’m a Boston guy I would feel good in the sense that he is making sure I am not gonna get into this routine of just we just chucking up threes all day long so we’ll see I I must admit as I said before I’m a little more of a great beard than the three of you guys here this is a dynamic in Boston I have never quite seen the Boston Celtics you know watching as a a proveyor of the Celtics from afar usually Celtics in this case fans for the most part have always been like oh we’ll take care of it the leprechaun will take care of things it’ll just work out for us and for the most part for 40 50 years some strange event comes along be Magic Johnson loses his mind or isah th just have to throw an inbound pass out of the blue bird comes the way I G go with the 60s and some of the stuff happened that with Jerry West it just seems to always work out for Boston however in the last few years now is a dynamic I have not seen what Boston fans and our well esteemed you know guest here today has kind of exuded that where I’ve never seen Celtics fans have anxiety before I’ve seen I’ve seen Red Sox fans have anxiety I’ve seen Bruins fans have anxiety I’ve never seen Celtics fans have anxiety in my life until this era of Celtics basketball it’s a fascinating thing to watch because what is gonna happen here if that game gets close to the fourth quarter something you did not hear in the old Boston Garden and rarely heard up to me about last five six year ago anxiety in the building which does not happen it’s only happened I think two times I can think of where I’ve heard Boston fans have anxiety in the glory years one when a guy in red and black was wearing 23 and one another guy in this game is wearing crimson and brown or blue or whatever he’s wearing wearing 23 that’s the only two other times I’ve ever heard it I you know for teams per se not really so I am fascinated to see how this is gonna play out on Monday night because if this game close the fourth quarter where you know it is man you just want Road team want be hanging around if I’m still there with a possession up by two possessions with the guys I got on my team I’m feeling good you know like James Brown said I’m feeling good man this case here I might be start to book some tickets back to sell sell Texas I’m like yo I’m sitting there going like guys man then gets really interesed at that point right because then the Talk starts happening he’s been able to skate so far his man he knows I’m about to say he’s been able to skate so far but them percentages have been pretty rough for Jason Tatum okay and what I’m noticing with him this isn’t like oh I got The Yips and the finals type of thing to me this is almost a systemic issue with him in his game he has some troubles really working off the bounce and finishing around the hoop and I’m curious as it gets tighter what he’s gonna look like we’ll see I’m not concerned about jayen Brown I’m not concerned about Drew holiday them dudes I’m not concerned about even to some extent old easy ow he can be okay but guys that I know about the past like Tito and porzingis we’ll see we’ll see so you know and the bench dudes like preacher them dudes they ain’t never been these these deep Waters they so we’ll see you so I I I’ll say this and this is a great segue into part of our next segment where I’m going to actually ask coach first you know seeing all of these games and you got have probably seen a little bit more than me because I’ve just been a little bit busy recently but I’ve watched as much as I have been able to what is the takeaway that a lot of GMS are going to you know because you mentioned something about Tatum we’re definitely going to talk about some some of those type of deficiencies and maybe some there’s some guys that have those deficiencies in this draft but who like how do you think that this is going to inform the draft it always happens every year and you know I have some thoughts in my mind but I’m going to start with Coach first I’m just kind of curious where where your thoughts are well Talent always is number one for me in the draft it’s the best player available but at the same time the way Boston is built I want to give Brad Stevens a lot of credit for this he built a team and I Tyler I believe I may mention that to you maybe on on on on DMS or something but I think the way that Boston is structured is they have these two centerpiece players and Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown and they’re all stars and they’re all NBA players how do I complement my two star players and I think for teams in the draft because this draft I don’t think there’s any generational players we’ve talked about that there’s definitely don’t think there’s any franchise changing players this is like the let’s go find a fifth starter or a role player kind of draft and then maybe if you take someone young enough who’s like 181 19 maybe they blossom into something so I I really think it’s just finding those complimentary pieces to your star players I think in this draft in particular not so much next year’s draft but this draft uh I think if you were to zero in on some guys that you know fit your team culture I think if you zero in on some guys that fit a particular skill set with your star players or your cor let should say I think that would be an effective approach to take yeah absolutely I I think um you know I hate comparing it to guys that are in the finals because people always overreact but like if you this could be the draft you find your Derek white for your your like the idea of of what he is where it’s just that smart player that kind of helps everyone’s game Blossom um just because of what he could do on the court I I think this is the draft to find those guys um I don’t think you’re finding the the Superstar upsides but I think you’re finding what helps you get closer to winning a championship what helps you closer to being in the playoffs every year so that’s why I think a lot of people are starting to open up about this draft and be like okay it it’s Got Talent we always see every draft does have talent but um and I still think the guys with that are going to go early that have high upsite it just might take a little bit longer for them to to find their groove but there’s there’s talent in every draft class I think we’ve had three Allstars in every class since 2000 I got at least three Allstars you can always find talent in the draft um doesn’t have to be you know the Victor wom yamas or the Yannis hmos you can always find guys beyond your thoughts yeah I I’ve always been consistent on this front because I think Brad Stevens just looked at how teams are constructed throughout the years you need at least seven two-way players seven guys you know that cannot get played off the floor if you are fortunate and deep enough you have eight and if that’s the case you’re going to be you know and of course the talent is the talent but if you have those type of guys with what you expect as far as star players and everything like that you will put yourself in a position to be always in the hunt and Brad Stevens has done a good job by identifying players that have those type of skill sets to be able to play both sides of the ball from other teams be it Derek white making the deal at the begin the season for Drew holiday grabbing porzingis in this case here and certain guys in this case even someone like porzingis who’s not notoriously known for his defense per se but he’s one of those guys that if you put him with the right team he’s going to kind of join the party he’s not a leader guy in this case that’s why when he was in Dallas he have no one to join the party with the top dude would barely even look at the play defense there might some other guys like hard way so he didn’t have really guys to join the party with now he’s got guys that are GNA do so he’s like okay this is what we’re doing that I will do so too there’s guys who just personal personality are like this so he’s been able to identify that that’s been a long tradition throughout any championship team you got to have those guys man as you further you go you’ll find out which guys are susceptible to get play off the court be offensively or defensively that’s the reason why I look at the draft when I see a guy as a specialist for example as a defensive player I’m like I get nervous because the first thing I start thinking of okay if I’m watching the playoffs can this guy still be on the floor a playing game can this guy still be on the floor when the when when the high leverage games come up and I’m sitting there going like no he can’t or vice versa if a guy is so atrocious on defense because just a flat out be do the size do the do do the speed and you’re sitting there going like he ain’t going to get faster and he ain’t going to get bigger I’m just looking around like okay you know so those are the things that go in my mind a lot of times so it’s a good kind of a jumping off point because um you know I know there’s some folks that we want to discuss but that’s why I’m always looking for yeah I mean before we get into that I’ll say this I you guys covered it really well talked about the depth pieces talked about two-way players I’m going to say something that you guys haven’t covered I’m going to focus on the big men this goes back to a little bit of the 2019 Championship where I first had these types of thoughts I think that you don’t necessarily need a top five big men in the league but you need to take the equivalent of a Max slot and spread that out through as many Diversified skill sets as you can at that spot I think that that helps a lot in the playoffs let alone the finals I haven’t seen a traditional back to the basket or call it more traditional you know big man in this I think the most limited guy is Derek white or sorry Derek uh um Lively and he’s not necessarily like an old school big men anyways so I mean yeah we talked about this offline and I think that the kind add to your point I don’t it’s the big to your point but we about the front court but it’s also the mobility factor of the big man that’s exactly exactly because no one is slow foot the slowest footed guy is maybe Al Horford but Al Horford is so positionally and this goes back to the mark Gul point for my Raptor listeners Mark Gasol knew where to go it didn’t matter he was so I’ve never seen a big man since then uh you know yeah I on the Raptors I should say I’m sure that there are in the NBA but there’s very few that are that POS positionally sound and he was surefooted enough to not get caught with his pants down in switches if he ever had to be at switches but phenomenal phenomenal Defender plus the thing that I noticed about the Celtics specifically and especially the Celtics that communication it’s like they become a blob um that is just of togetherness and when you have everyone in think where you have the different pieces of The Blob moving and shifting all over the court you know I’m sure like some sort of Pokemon like ditto or something it’s just it becomes a thing of beauty and that specifically that takes time to build yes um I I just forgot to jump in because coach brought up Brad Stevens like what he’s done in the front office and you guys were talking about and I was like I haven’t been able to talk about Brad Stevens as a front office guy with anyone so I have to talk about it um it’s been incredible the job he’s done since transitioning there like I’ve been as a Celtics fan but just as someone who loves the draft um always wanted to be a GM so I’m always just fascinated how they are thinking and looking into it and every move he’s made has been just so impressive because it’s calculated it’s you know he looks at the previous years like when they lost to the Warriors He’s looked at that team and said okay okay we we’re eyeso heavy in the fourth quarter we don’t have other options unless it’s our two guys like what do we do to to help out and then he looks down the road he says well porzingis healthy gives us a a huge Dynamic um weapon where you can post up like he had that year where he was just the dangerous post up one of the best in the league like in terms of putting him on the Block like he’s a huge guy so and everyone’s like well can you stay healthy yep but that’s a gamble that if it works out this is why you’re in the fin then um listening to him talk about you know just the trying to get more balance and trying to find the right pieces and making the trade for Derek white which at the time people were like they’re giving up a first round unprotected for him and it’s like it looks really really good right now um and then I I heard him once when he was coaching the Celtics he said he went into Dany AG’s office he’s like I probably went in once a month and was like how do we get Drew holiday he’s like just how do I how do we get him on this team I Danny Angel would be like yeah I’d be I’d love to get through a holiday but it’s impossible so you know he became available and and you just saw we need him we’re getting him so it’s it’s been really cool I like when GMS build through the draft but I also like when you know how can I bring out the best of my stars like we have two guys here how can I make their lives better what are their weaknesses and how can I find them more of a balance and Boston’s been great this year and I I think the last thing about it is he’s gotten guys that are B are buying in they’re buying into to being like I don’t have to be the guy we can win a title here I’m later in my career so kind of over myself of being like oh I’ve got to be the guy I think it’s just been really cool like seeing this team how they they communicate and everything and it’s gonna be like it’s gonna be very interesting game five because it it’s it’s been a team that’s really struggled to win like we know how teams have to learn how to be a champion Austin’s had plenty of time I I’m I’m I’m ready for them to show that they’ve learned it but until they get over that hump I don’t know you just said an interesting point there Buy in because you could be pop you could be spola Joe moula in this case you don’t have player buying good luck right and you mentioned about pornis porzingis had his best year I think last year in Washington quite frankly I remember I was talking with Kenyan last year I’m like Kenyan he’s having a really good statist statistical year not only from a traditional stat standpoint but analytically he’s been really good and then Drew holiday and Derek white are just what Beyond had said earlier versatility I can depend on them to guard people I can depend on them to score if I need to to complement my two best players in brown and Tatum I just think I just applaud Brad Stevens for the team that he that they put together complimenting their star players because that doesn’t always work go we’ve been through in Toronto with redundancy for three years until recently and we come to realize that redundancy might not be the best method of trying to build a championship when we built one before with no redundancy just complimentary skill sets but anyway I just want I just think Brad Stevens he’s he’s done a good job and Joe missou has done a good job too sometimes it’s not easy coaching Stars sometimes it’s not or or when expectations are real high but that’s why they’re in that job to go win yeah just to fin finish up this I guess I’m not sure if kenyon’s got any more to no no no go for it man I just think just you know you know you know T mentioned a in this case here I’m not trying to pick on Danny a in this case he’s a very good executive in his own right but one of the things that kind of used to make me prickly with a was you know and mid’s got a bit of this too it’s like hey I know where you’re going with this I know where you’re going too like it’s like if you don’t get the deal don’t come put out the press release afterwards oh we were about to do this and do that well like almost got ad Paul George from an age standpoint we almost got Chris Paul we almost we almost got ynis he goes about his business and just gets the stuff done don’t say anything I think one of his strengths heard someone mentioned on a podcast earlier this week talking about Stevens about how I guess I’ll refer to it as he’s he’s a he’s a he’s emotionally aware of of his environment and what I mean by that is he knew he could go any further with that team he knew it like it’s done I can’t get I can’t squeeze any more orange out this this case here any more juice out of this orange and he knew which type of Coach when he moved on is like the ideal type of guy to get the best out of them right I think him as a as a executive actually that skill set is actually better in the in the front office because he knows in this case he’s looking at mixed match players like you know what I know what these two dudes need in this case here you know j& J this is the type of player that would help them you know at this phase of their game if you look at all the guys around them for the most part they’re very mat sure players around them right you know I would say probably porzingis is grown into it but I wouldn’t say him so but Horford white holiday those guys like they a grown men in this case here they get about their business and it helped them to get to the stage that these guys are now about their business that you could then bring a guy porzingis who’s a little bit a little more a little more weer let’s put this way it times he could kind be he kind of be brought into the group in this case here and it’s all right you know and I think he’s very good at that I think to be a very good executive you have to kind of read the read the room of who could do what and who can’t do what so is the compliment thing but it’s not just the skill set on the floor it’s the personalities as well too I think I mean one of the things that people don’t talk about in terms of coaching is the management of the personalities the egos in the room and maybe I’m not saying everyone has to be Jeff you know sorry Stan Van Gundy where you know you’re doing two jobs at the same time but there might be an argument to say more more coaches even those who were part of development staff at one point they move up almost doing Casey style and now you’re Consulting and giving input because you know the team usually from what we’ve seen better than some of the executives end up knowing and you know you’re also a little bit more removed in some ways but then closer as a really good coach to be able to know what personalities work how to you know push a guy or or or you know sometimes you pull back or whatever it has to be you know there’s a conversation about Nurse there’s also a conversation about Messiah beond I’ll give you the final word on this topic uh and then we’ll move on I’d love to discuss this one day yeah I just want to give prop to my man out there in Dallas Nico Harrison because I think he’s done a fantastic job he’s kind of similar blueprint um for all you guys in this case you know like to do the analytics stuff in the analytics language in this case here he found distress faets let’s put it this way see I can play the game too like PJ Washington and stuff like that and said hey what the heck he did like Brad Stevens too I’ll find some sucker in this case with some bad teams some pretty good players I think I’ll pick them off in this case too and he also found ways to compliment his top dog as well too because Dallas let’s face it man I a Mavericks fan but we were pretty soft like jello man I’m sorry we have a lot of dogs in the house and he got us some dogs now okay we got some he drafted Lively he barks he drafted PJ he about that business gaffer he about that business you see we got some guys down where it’s like okay we get rolled over anymore man no disrespect to some of the guys we had here and some are still on the team I ain’t trying to disrespect anybody this case here no one’s going to play for our national team but in this case here those guys ain’t built for that and there’s nothing wrong with that but for this team they needed some guys like that that’s all so to you sir back to you K so I mean that just brings us full circle I mean we asked about you know some of the things that are going to inform the next year well this year’s draft but also just next year’s uh team building in general that is to come um here’s the thing though I think we need to kind of Go full circle go back to messiah’s comments and just talk about what he said that they need and then turn it to the I guess the expert here to basically say is that in somewhat of an abundance in this draft so Messi said we need and I always joke about this but it’s true he said we need a lot of things but he started off by saying we need you know I guess a backcourt initiator or a point guard initiation at least Off the Bench number two from a raptor standpoint that we also need front Court depth he didn’t specify uh forward or Center but either way we won’t complain the other thing is that Wing Defender so out of those three what do you think is a most abundance at number 19 and 31 Because by the way Raptors fans in case you again are waking up from a coma we conveyed the pick 19 and 31 um pretty much all of it that’s that’s why that’s why we’ve been pretty excited about you know No Ceilings and we’ve been pumping everyone’s been down on this year and it’s like no if you need that if you need depth if you need um you know roster construction like finding the pieces we just talked about two teams that have been very very impressive with understanding what they need and um being aggressive on the trade market to get it Dallas Nico Harrison’s done a fantastic job Brad stev’s done a great job there’s a reason why they’re playing still and it’s it’s a process that doesn’t come together all at once I mean you have to make moves you have to build through the draft you have to see the trademark and I think this is the year where you you find those guys you can get PJ Washington’s you can get Daniel gaffords you can get um you know I’m not saying Drew cuz I love him but you could get guys that are going to come in and help and put everything together so that’s why I think you even hear that some some executives are getting excited about this draft because they’re realizing hey we’re we’re not picking early and that’s fantastic because there’s G to be some good talent down the board to to help out your rotation and have some upside too so I I think you know bigs I I like a lot of The Bigs this year because I think there’s a different flavor like it whatever flavor you want this year you can find it um if you want athleticism if you want defensive minded if you want toughness if you want you know some bigs that can St step out and shoot the three ball there’s a little bit of everything and that’s why I’m I’m pretty excited about the big class but I’m also excited about a lot of these other positions that you can look to Target so I can never figure out what the Raptors want so my size comments have me even more confused I was like can you I was like is he about to just say he also needs like a one two three four and five like because I was like gez you’re really I mean soon GM too um you never know I like M he he swings but I I’ve liked you know when I was like seriously like trying to track of like all the track record and and guys like side made some moves I was like man that was a nice move and you know when you’re doing it for so long you’re going to miss and everyone remembers the misses and um but I I think he’s also aggressive like he’s open-minded to be like I’m swinging a little bit here like um I still like Scotty and but I also think you you get to a point where you start realizing okay the way I wanted to build around this guy isn’t the way I need to keep going like now I got to get creative and think of maybe a different way in which it could it can work so um I think the good GM adjust you know that’s just it because I think what happens sometimes is some GMS become a victim of their own success we don’t have to have a whole full-blown thing about this because I want to get into the big conversation soon but I think that when you’ve done certain things for example Messiah had a tendency to wait people out and then pounce and take advantage the NBA moves faster now so you almost become a victim of an era and a victim of your own success sometimes you need to take a step away from that Danny a did that for example yes um you know I don’t know I’m don’t worry rappers Raptors fans I’m not you know chill to the audience chill to the audience um but you know I just yeah it is interesting um in terms of rankings uh for the bigs we’re going to play a bit of a game we’re going to give every single person we’ve already decided who’s going to get what uh basically the college shot clock we’re going to go through and luckily for us most of these bigs went to college and so we’re going to go through that we’re going to give everyone 30 seconds to give their elevator pitch and at the end as a I guess a committee we could both rank the presentations but also we could rank the you know the overall uh who actually would be the best pick at uh potentially at 19 as a big specifically um and then from there we’re going to kind of come to a close for this first segment of the of the Pod so uh you know I’m going to just outline who we are going to cover we’re going to be covering khil wear zachie for everyone who loves Zach Ed we’re going to be covering Zach Eed today we’re going to be covering yees Missy we’re going to be covering you know you get you get some time you get some time Kyle filipowski come on down step down you know Dron Holmes step right up here okay everyone is going to get some time oh that’s actually about it um and we’re going to go and cover those guys right there I might be forgetting someone but you know actually no that is it so we’re going to rank those guys pick 19 uh because realistically there’s some guys that are just not going to be available or way too much of a reach um so without a further Ado uh how are you guys feeling before we get into this I actually do have a shot clock I have a timer I’m got to tell you when you guys are on the clock and uh you know Tyler I don’t know if you want the honors or if you want to give the honors away to someone else no I want I I don’t want the honors I want to hear I want to have the final or say I I just want to see set the tone see what I got to do I’m scared you guys are going to bring some heat and then I’m going to be like oh man I got to really no really dig deep here okay Coach you are up H you’re stepping up with your man that would be Dron Holmes so uh I get to start a timer you’re going to be on a 30 second and I’ll tell you when you’re done starting now of our big so far Dron Holmes is the best scorer of them he is second in blocks of all the bigs that we have so far he led our bigs in player efficiency rating 31.7 really really high he has the highest BPM of 12.3 very good Dron Holmes has a little bit of I can play traditional basketball but I can also space the floor and play This Modern basketball as well so he shot what did he shoot this year he shot uh 3 % from three and at 6′ 10 that’s you’re you’re you’re up in time I’m up in time that’s all I got people that’s all you fast wow okay oh wow this is Gonna Get Dangerous that wasn’t that wasn’t the high school shot clock of 30 seconds let you got let me coach you got the road whistle man you got the road with you got the I’m sorry I let you go I actually let you go a little bit longer too I Am I amate game where they had the clock go off a little bit before they started I am I am the Lakers and the Boston guard in 1986 man I don’t know exactly exactly or is it Sacramento at one point um anyways um Beyond you’re gonna go next uh and then we’ll come back because Beyond you’re doing two two uh so you get to pick uh do you want to do Mei first or do you want to do your favorite dookie all right here we go okay so which which one okay me’s first all right and we’re we’re on so you know E Mei in this case from Baylor of course um you know freshman came out he’s 611 235 240 pounds so he’s extremely athletic guy young raw the classic type of raptor type of pick that you know that you guys love in this case here um you know run the floor finish round the heot you know he gets around 61 Point per from the field so he’s a guy could finish around there and he he actually know from a rebounding standpoint he’s going to give you about six boards from college we can see that expanding with his role in the Raptors as well too he can move he has great Mobility so he could be a guy in this case that you get in the switches as time goes on you can see him as a big that can be getting out in switches as well too so he’s a and end time yeah that was quick we’ll expand it next year to 45 seconds or something old school NCA CL man we run that it feels like they call like the the 10 or the 8 seconds in the back court and you’re like that was seven like that just like no exactly it’s tough it’s tough uh but this is fun though uh Tyler you’re doing K Weare you’re next all right you’re gonna be starting right around now okay former McDonald’s All-American went to pack 12 school didn’t work out didn’t hit the ground running uh transferred to Indiana turned 20 years old a couple months ago 71 with a 75 Wings span 230 pounds can shoot the three ball can finish Above the Rim good shot blocker much improved this year still has a lot of upside to untap and character has been very promising talking late a lot of Versatility positional versatility nasty on the defensive side of the ball that’s all I got and done I like this guy does this for a Liv and then itow down and then it slowed down I was like this has been an hour exactly done this before I don’t know why done this before I was wait was like I got nothing just keep just tell me it’s time yeah all right so that could be a good thing or bad thing yeah no I was just like I was too worried I was trying to get it all I was like what’s the big big Parts but no you guys were good okay so I’m gonna do Zack Ed now hopefully I do a good job and so we’re gonna start right around if you don’t okay do you want me to time you Kenyon yeah for gonna say it’s been 30 seconds and you’re gonna go for like two minutes we’re gonna be like that seems a lot longer hold on all right coach you tell you tell me when here oh my goodness that’s funny it is tougher when you have to do the elevator pitch when you think okay what what points can you get out as quick as possible that you think that the cl okay is it 30 seconds or 24 30 I you can make it tougher if you want this man is gonna be an NBA player okay 20 20 seconds three 20 seconds 30 30 oh it is 30 he’s making it tough I men all right 30 seconds in three two one go okay first of all Canadian all right biggest guy in the draft okay biggest wingspan he he had the highest agility uh drill beat even Grady dick okay Yours Truly he is a force of Nature and you know for Raptor fans he will sell tickets I will tell you that right now he can also do good drop coverage I’ll leave it at that you know what you’ll sell tickets get PR play with Ed let me tell you the Ed ba might have to look for a new agent pretty soon hey man I’m cheap okay you get what you pay for just remember that I I’ll tell you what if that pitch was to the owner you probably got a good fan right there the owner probably oh tickets huh selling tickets all right I’m in exact hey they jacked up ticket prices I just I’m just saying we got to fill seats and that was asked about in the press or so like so we we traded seaka but you’re jacking up the seat prices uh why um you know well this is what the market will bear um headed hedge fun guys guys and khakis still get you uh with that being said we have one guy left that’s going to be covered by beyond the locker room it’s going to be Kyle filipowski you’re gonna have 30 seconds are you ready yeah and go so KY filipowski 611 almost 250 pounds so he’s giving you good size um he’s shown that he has he can shoot a little bit from distance it’s still work in progress but there’s been some growth there he’s also a very good passer for a big man he’s giving almost four assists a game scoring six points so he could give you a little inside outside it’ll be a great blend for darko’s offense that wants a lot of movement Kyle filipowski could fill that role by’s hitting Cutters with his passing ability and his ability in this case to even score from from from Deep or even the mid-range so I think from that standpoint I think he could be a good fit for the Raptors and also too I mean he’s got the pedigree coming from duke as much as hates for me to say so that is a fact that’s time okay um now before we go any further i r the pitches I think mine got the the worst uh I will say this about Ed in all honesty I do think that he would be an excellent drop coverage big I think that he could actually cover um you know some ground not in transition defense but on you know non-transition defense more in the half court uh just because he is so big he has actually worked on his his speed although I do think he’s a little bit more slower footed I do think that he actually could potentially uh be good in certain situations are those the situations that the Raptors are going to be in well we’re going to let the committee decide but I think that uh you know would it be the absolute worst am I going to be you know as as some Raptors fans were last year crying when Grady got you know and on the floor when when Grady got selected absolutely not um so I’ll leave it at that um okay how are we ranking these guys do you guys want to what do you guys think who goes number one I okay I’ll go I think I’m still I still like the the the the the upside potential where I think of all the guys to me I think he has the highest ceiling of all five I just I mean where where the Raptors are I just can’t let that slide man it’s like uh so I go with him as one honestly Holmes your man’s growing on me coach I think I would move him to two at this point you know I think he’s one of those guys that you can’t miss even at floor level you’re G get something productive from him so I like that about him I think the other three guys that gets a little dodgier in this case here man because you know my mindset I think third I think Philip palski based in the system would be my third pick honestly and fourth would be Mei fifth being Edy you know me I like the projects so sorry Mei I’m not waiting around we’ve been down that road too many times in Toronto I’m not waiting around there three years for him to be what he might be and that scares me a little bit so I have a little bit of separation from the first two guys the other three guys coach there you go I’m probably going with we of our bigs right now uh certainly the upside is intriguing I get it there are risks with him but I’m okay with swinging for the fence and going for a home run and Holmes I think Holmes is a safe pick for us as well but his his style of game can fit next to Scotty and the core that that we have as well and like kind of like what Beyond said I like Mei I like the defensive upside with Mei I like the ability he might be able to go on the perimeter and defend but at the same time I he needs time offensively and we only got one Center who can’t shoot I don’t know why I’d want another one who can’t shoot and with Philip Kowski um once again a safe pick I guess but I I kind of Wonder just about the the upside moving forward I’d rather take a swing on where or you want to have a bit of a swing but also a bit of a safety net I’m going with homes and we’ll get we’ll get this in the next discussion but injuries concern me with filipowski yeah I you know we’ll get that that’s gonna come into play in the next discussion but but I I don’t like guys that get hurt early in their career I get nervous Mr Rucker your uh your ranking for uh you’re not Toronto Raptors oh come on I I root for every team I like the Raptors um except for except for the finals yeah except for the finals um then all bets are off that’s what I say I root for everyone until the playoffs start if my team’s in the playoffs all bets are off I I I like wear a lot for them um and I’ve I’ve kind of done a complete 180 on wear like the whole year I think the biggest thing for me is it really like we we get really excited about these guys as like incoming freshman sorry I thought I had something on my face um we get so excited when they’re McDonald’s all Amer and like hey they’re going to be a star they’re going to be a top five pick and guys just don’t hit the ground running sometimes in the freshman year they got to figure it out and he looked good this year I was skeptical because I was like that a very favorable fit for him they were just letting him do everything and then he looked I just kept being more impressed and I’ve asked around about him and everyone’s very impressed with his interviews like they just say he’s kind of accepted you know he’s matured they said he’s matured a lot and and taken the right steps and they’re like pleasant surprise it was a really good interview and I’ve heard that a bunch of times and bir look good in workouts um and I’ve some Scouts I’ve talked to have just been like the expectations his freshman year were not realist like they were just very heavy and he didn’t live up to it right away and they’re like that’s fine but I think now he’s kind of accepted just like you know bought in over got it over himself you know like what we were talking about earlier and I think he’s kind of understood what he is now as a player so you’re getting a floor spacer with still really good upside for Toronto I’d like to get that I know they like the length there and the defensive specialist but I I want Toronto to get some floor spacing and and balance so um I think where would be there Holmes I love Holmes so he’s he’s a popular name I think he’d probably be up there too I think I’d have him at two um the Ed Wild Card uh I can’t have him that high but I I understand if they’re going to go swing in um but I also don’t like Phil palsky I just would be lower so yeah I think I could you can put them equal you can put them equal if you want Mei is the one person you Haven mention it I yeah I put probably Mei third there but I’m with you guys I don’t want that project like and I like him a lot it’s just I think a team drafting him needs to be be patient and I’m like Toronto needs to probably get a guy that seems a little bit more further along so I think I’d probably be Mei and then Ed filipowski for me the filipowski last for you yeah interesting I’m with you guys um I don’t you know I don’t want to go too deep because I know we’re gonna talk about it but the injury scare me um Missy had a fun day with Philip palski if you go watch that game he he one guy looked very very good and it was not what I was expecting going into that game and I was kind of like whoa so um yeah that’s a notable one and I’m just there’s just been a lot of I’ve been trying to buy in on Philip palsky for two years and I finally got to a point where I was like I can’t do this anymore like but if you get him in the late first round I would absolutely jump all over that it’s just um I’d like Toronto to go in a couple different directions if they can right yep so the way that I kind of rank them is in two ways it’s like for me I’m like What’s My Hope Who projects cuz everyone say the you know the this is how they could be and if I’m going based on that I probably mimic Beyond’s ranking the most however in terms of what we know who’s on the team in terms of who we know who’s running the team Darko all that kind of stuff Darko is not Nick nurse he does not coach like Nick nurse Nick nurse you got to fight for every minute you got to be ready Darko ain’t like that so when as much as I like wear as the number one fit because I think that he has a diversified skill set enough to transcend the length of darko’s ten and I say that mainly because most most coaches who are developmental coaches usually these days they get bumped up to front office rules eventually um and then they bring in someone in when they’re ready to get serious so I think or or if you change darko’s system how it is right now because I know people said he’s a good you know I don’t think he’s the best screen Setter personally but I think he he has the ability to be a good screen Setter and he he definitely has the tools to roll Pop all that kind of stuff I just I have to lean against that because of the uh previous motor issues I think you see that when at times he lets he could be better on defense he becomes a two-footed load up jumper to make up for previous blow buys and that there’s that discipline I don’t know if that’s going to be there with the coach who hasn’t mentioned defense in the longest time and I do think he has upside on defense for sure as well as on offense for that reason Dron Holmes gets number one for me number two I would put Mei I know it’s going to take some time I know that there’s a ton of raptors fans that don’t care they would be happy they say this is a messiah guy cool I also think though he does something different than the centers that you have Kelly oin is not a center he is a power forward Samson folk said it himself he said statistically speaking and itest that is the worst center defense that I’ve ever seen to end the year people think he’s a center we played him as Center uh we played him as a center they they knew what they were doing when they did that I didn’t think he was a center I think these thought he was a center but you know yeah it’s you know not some some some people are basketball fans and some people are fans of teams and I get it yeah you get you get it um and it’s not his fault I mean the other guy was betting on himself so and that didn’t you know that didn’t quite work out so uh for that reason I think the remainder I think I did three so there’s two remaining I would put Philip palowski last as well I think he’s too close to a guy that we already I just talked about I don’t know if filipowski is a center either at the big Club I think the when he worked best if I’m not mistaken you correct me if I’m wrong he was next to Lively who was a center yeah so it’s fun how that works out you know it also hides a lot of stuff when you start realizing one guy might have helped the other guy a lot more than it was the other way and I think initially at one point last year people thought it was the other way around people thought it was Phil palski kind of you know bringing out the best of lively when I think it might have been Lively was starting to find his Groove and really like he he was at the end of the year was fantastic compared to the beginning of the year so it’s always interesting um yeah yeah it’s just tough with with Phil palsky and I I like that you were high on Missy because I I get it if you’re he’s what you’d want if you’re getting a raw ball of clay for a center so there’s no motor questions ever and it’s like he’s that Energizer Bunny I do think processing wise he needs to catch up a little bit but there’s the the the typical you know he’s only been playing since XY Z so I I get it and that’s that’s that’s something that I factored into my ranking but my heart tells me where so I’ll just say that I would love to see Mei go back to college for one more year really develop one more year I know it’s I get it next year he’s not going to go probably in the top three four like he’s still if he went back to college he still could have been in that top 10 range probably but he’d have another year of development but that’s just me I understand him coming out in this draft too at the same time it’s yeah I I think I I agree there with you I think there was just another level to reach for him for sure um I think he just had momentum and was like ready to go so I get it he just has some that’s that’s where we were talking about like roster construction earlier you know that’s where it comes into play of okay what do you have working already alongside do you just need that DK Lively type of presence where it’s like play good defense and rebound and finish lobs Missy might make some sense then because he he’s got a great frame I I saw him before the season started at Nike hoops and I was like who’s this kid like this just he just was humongous I was like this kid’s 18 like what like he just was really young that when I saw him and I was like okay he’s probably gonna need a couple years but this looks like in my head I was like finally Baylor got a big guy to work with because I was like they’re always have good guards and they have no bigs and then um I thought he over achieved this year I thought he just showed that he was way further than his development than I thought seeing then so he’s fun it’s just it might take a little bit of time to come around but could he be like a DeAndre Jordan presence where you’re just like hey he’s not an offensive weapon but he’s a very nice Center to have um maybe but I don’t know now before we end off this portion of the podcast I’m just going to ask you a really simple question about where and that’s is it possible for him to be morphed into a four does he have the foot speed for that because he he in in you know coming up in high school he kind of played more differently and I think that’s where his skill set kind of grew yeah I my problem is is I I want the game to go back to that like too big thing I loved when it was just like big like Center power forward I was like that’s fun now we’re just fascinated with small ball and it’s like well can we get the guy to go back to old school I think it’s quite gone back though I I I that’s what I’m saying I think Minnesota started the when they made that trade I was like oh gosh they’re going to do it they’re going to bring it back it’s going to be fantastic and I think we’re starting to go back that way I think it could it could be a it could be a lineup versatility because now you’re trying to figure out like can we have different lineups can we throw different stuff out there that that makes our team unique gives other teams headaches that’s why I think he’s four right like as a four potentially I don’t know but as a four he’s he’s interested he has the size to play the five I think but like if you could play him with another big right like hypothetically with Wy would be really interesting for sure I mean it would be fantastic you you if I’m playing him with a four i’ want some muscle with him because I’d want him to be like he you on the perimeter we got like a hard-nosed rebounder inside that could also help out um you know I I I had talked to a scout and I was like what’s up with we and he where’s the crate he said get work and then I he’s like Lively is making him a lot of noise right now because he’s just said like everyone’s watching Lively and NBA is a copycat league and he said where’s where’s getting hot at the perfect time so I think teams are warming up to him I think he’s had a great process and that’s why I think if you were a team like that You’ be like hey might work at the four we might have also a five that stretches the floor open things up so that’s where teams start getting like oh well we can do a lot of stuff with him if if everything’s going to work out and um it’d be interesting I I I just would like him with Toronto I feel like he checks a lot of boxes that Messi coveted and you know this is a high upside guy still that we just haven’t been buzzing too much about but there’s a lot of tools to work with and I I think the motor questions going back to last year have kind of watered down a little bit from from what I feel like I’m I’m taking back and we’ll see but I I think he had a good year he had a very very good year like he had some games where I was like uh and then the next game I was like that’s a great bounceback game like you you woke up and um I I just like him a lot for a lot of teams in that range but I think Toronto would be a great landing spot absolutely uh we’re going to take a break right there uh folks like comment subscribe and stay tuned for the next episode that’s going to be coming out uh fairly soon for you
Basketball Rewind chats with Coach Roache, BeyondTheLockerRoom, and Tyler Rucker from NoCeilings to discuss all things related NBA draft 2024.
Chapters:
Finals Talk – 1:30
Draft abundance 25:45
Elevator Pitch 30:47
DaRon Holmes II -32:44
Yves Missi – 34:38
Kel’el Ware -35:52
Zach Edey 37:48
Kyle Filipowski – 39:38
Coach Roache – https://twitter.com/CoachroacheT
BeyondTheLockerRoom – https://twitter.com/BeyondLockerRm
Tyler Rucker – https://twitter.com/tyler_rucker
NoCeilingNBA – https://twitter.com/NoCeilingsNBA
Check out all No Ceilings content below:
NoCeilingsNBA.com
#Raptors #nba #basketball #rewind #nbadraft2024 #ware #missi #center #brucebrown #bruce #brown #basketballrewind #toronto #torontoraptors #wethenorth #scottiebarnes #gradey #poeltl #celtics #bucks #dame #scottiebarnes #Barnes #noceilings #tylerrucker
6 Comments
Luca does not have to apologize, because the Celtics let go of the reigns. We need both teams to be at their best during the same game.
K'EL WARE is giving me KAT vibes. We should get him.
I am surprised how so many are misunderstanding the Celtics. The Celtics style is very different from most NBA teams. Most NBA teams rely on emotion. The Celtics are a systematic team, that relies on the system, over emotions, and more sharing of the ball. To understand the Celtics, you must understand their system.
The Celtics are 15 on 3, in the playoffs. 7 wins, 1 loss in the conference final & finals. Boston was first in the NBA with an amazing 780 winning %. Boston lost one game in the last 36 days, and some are grossly overreacting, lol.
What is wrong with JT? Answer nothing, accept his 3 point shot has slumped in the playoffs, which is a one off thing. JT's average in this years playoffs is 24.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6 assists. He has also been a very important impact player on D. All that while taking a step back on offense, and letting his teammates shine. Side note: JT is being double teamed on defense, Luka is not being doubled teamed, wink, wink.
Luka's stats in this years playoffs. 28.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.2 assists. He is probably both the best offensive player, and most ball dominant player in the NBA. If you compare the stats, and add that JT is playing great winning D, and Luka is not, … How can you question JT's impact this playoff? I will take JT's playoff stats, and D any day of the week, thank you.
Kyrie's playoff stats: 22.5 points, 5 assists, 3.7 rebounds. JB's playoff stats: 24.1 points, 3.1 assists, 5,8 rebounds. Compare the offensive stats of Boston's big 2, and Dallas's big 2? Not much of a difference? Compare the defense of Boston's big 2, and that is a big difference.
Boston has been the most consistent team all season, and in the playoffs. They also have been the most consistently physical team in the playoffs. They had not lost a game in 36 days, took a game off, where they were surprisingly not physical, … and now some see that as a crises? Serious, what you saw in game 4 was a rarity from the Celtics, why are some trying to define them based on one bad game?
Kind of like the way some reacted when Malachi Flynn, had one good game off the bench for the Pistons. And then they started to label him as an impact player, lol. The fact that Atlanta refused to play any D, had more to do with that game then his skill level.
Tyler is a great guest, and smart guy. However he got everything wrong on Masai. Masai "aggressive, & decisive, lol. Sorry, but Masai is the complete opposite of that. Raps fans know that he takes forever to make decisions, and struggles to pull the trigger on deals.
Steven's has been great as the GM. It is good to have an insightful coach as the GM, over an analytics guy, who does not understand chemistry and things that can't be measured by stats. When Nurse was coach, he pushed the org in the right direction, now Bobby & Masai, are on their own, with no "adult in the room", to prevent them from messing up.
I remember when the Raps had JV as our center. Anyone with a small amount of common sense knew that you could not play another slow big next to slow JV. When Masai signed JD Sullinger to play with JV, the incompetence button on my red phone started ringing like crazy. Masai has made that exact same mistake many times, .. even a pigeon can learn from his mistakes, so why can't Masai?
I like the point Beyond made about needing at least 7 two way players in a line up. I think many people have been underestimating defense lately. I want a line up of players who can defend, not only a couple of players who can defend.