Toronto Raptors Summer League Availability | Postgame vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – July 13, 2024

Toronto Raptors Summer League Availability | Postgame vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – July 13, 2024

how do you feel after your first performance here at Summer League it feels good you know it was uh you know get good to get the all the nerves out um first game and stuff I’m proud of the the team and how we came out to start the game you know it’s uh I’m excited to just continue to to keep rolling with them so was it everything you thought it would be uh yeah I mean it was a great crowd tonight I thought it was a little bit more packed than I thought it was going to be um and yeah I mean the the the physicality the the environment of the games the the speed of the the game as well you know kind of how I I pictured it and you know it was great to to finally play won was there something about the opportunity with the Raptors that stood out to you when you know you were making those decisions after the draft yeah I just I love their um their organization the people that I met with when I came and worked out with them you know it kind of hit it off great and I felt like they were um fantastic and coaching me up um at the workout as well and thought that you know it was a great place for me to be able to learn and can improve on my game really praising your um Rim protection ability he said you’re a little slender but you know you really got up there to challenge shots um how how do you assess your own performance on that end defensively and how much you’ve grown over the years yeah I mean I think I’ve taken a lot of pride in being able to protect the rim um and just making shots more challenging or you know blocking a couple and so being able to do that today and kind of show that’s you know part of my game is um you know what I was planning on doing and on the other um the three-point shooting has that always been part of your game and if not like how much work have you put into that and of the floorida we got good at pick and Pops I mean I’ve I’ve always kind of worked on it a little bit but it’s never really been a part of my game until maybe like three years ago when I really started to focus on that a lot more um and you know with the the game changing for the the big man in the NBA I felt like that was something you know I kind of had to you know add into my into my bag and so um being able to work on that and get better at that each year has been you know super helpful when Jam was here saying like you’re efficient when protecting the rim rim like what does that mean to you to me it means I just not falling for shot fakes and um go when I’m supposed to go if they’re they stay in front of the guy I don’t need to go over and try and block it um and just going at the right times I think is what um I take away from that I mean has that always been something you’ve been pretty strong at or did someone coach you up that way or it took a lot of like I think a lot of Natural Instincts as well as some coaching you know just kind of really figuring out when you you can go when you are going to make an impact on that when you have helps side to crack down your guy when you go to uh to block that shot so a lot of coaching and and practice for sure uh I saw that you took a knock on the hamstring on a screen there first and foremost how the legs feeling post game I’m good you know it’s a it’s a brutal league but it’s a lot of bumps and bruises Everybody Plays through them so I’m doing good first ones out of the way how do you feel or how do you assess your performance today I feel like as a team we did really good um we had a lot of ball pressure we did all the things we emphasize and um me I got a little too tired and got to pick my conditioning back up and you know pressure the ball all the time so I think we did good overall as a team though talk to anyone coming into summer league about you know how to approach it uh you know how to make the most out of it yeah of course you know there’s Marcus jarus you know Taj played in it last year Kyler played in it last year I had a lot of teammates Quinn Quinn was here um that I asked questions but you know you ultimately got to go through it yourself and see what you feel and how you feel cuz everybody’s experience is different so I think that uh my first one was a little different for me than compared to them but it still went well like as a point guard like how how’s it been explained to you what they’re looking for for to run a team in this kind of situation um just the their points of emphasis and uh what they emphasize try to do it and try to do it to your best ability and um you know just heat up the ball and do what I do and try to win the basketball game so we got the win so overall good day we we’ve spoken to jamama and Darko he they’ve both talked about how important on ball defense is this year and you know you and daveon are like obvious examples of that what is the you know when you’re defending what is it you’re trying to do more than anything else what is it you’re looking for more than anything else um one of our instanes is just to pressure the ball and make things as hard as possible for the ball handler so I just try to do that um in whatever way that it happens I try to just heat the ball up and make it as hard as possible J side just now that you don’t really get slowed up or uh sped up on defense that’s usually something you hear about an offensive player not a defensive player what what does that mean to you um I’m a lot faster than a lot of people so is DJ and um you know us coming in going back and forth was really good for you know whoever we guarded tonight and uh we just tried to speed them up but it’s playing at our Pace anyway so it was pretty good um your obviously your defense it’s it’s a strength what are you trying to Showcase offensively as well um just play Within the offense um take good shots make the right reads and you know just do what we emphasize um I think that you know I’m playing with a great group of guys and you know Grady had a double double tonight um oai did a lot jacobe had a lot of great shots that he’s probably going to hit tomorrow so I have a lot of good guys around me it’s my job to get them the ball how would you define sort of success for you in the summer league experience um you know everything for a point guard is based on winning and uh we’re off to a one-on no start so I think we’re off to a good start did your two feel any different feels like a you know a year under my belt um and I know I talked about a little bit earlier but just you know kind of a sense of a more of a leadership role that I can kind of pass on to the new rookies so yeah a little bit we saw you driving the ball a lot has that been one of the points of emphasis for you coming into this uh summer league yeah I mean I think it’s just you know be aggressive you know any chance I can get um I feel like I say every you know interview is just doing what the team needs and you know when I see a lane you know I want to um get down and you know try to finish around the rim and you know make extra plays you finished through contact a couple times today I know you mentioned the other day that you’ve kind of gotten stronger over the summer is that something that you’ve really worked on putting on muscle is that sort of been an emphasis of course you know as a 20-year-old I feel like you know I’m just you know getting bigger every single day so um it’s definitely an emphasis of kind of sh my versatility at the same time and um I feel like you know summer league is a great chance to you know showcase that jam and spent a lot of time talking about on ball defense this year or this past week um obviously you have a few guys now on the roster who are known for that for you know everybody else on the roster what is is anything changed and what he’s saying or you just feel you have the roster to maybe be show a bit more pressure than you have in the past you’re talking about the summer league summer league but also going forward this summer league team you know I was just talking about earlier is you know super exciting you know for that you know exactly that defense um you know Jamal just here you know one of those guys that um one of our best you know haded on ball Defender um so when I’m you know it’s it’s kind of a thing where you know we’re in practice and maybe I can have a chance to you know teach him um with having a year under my belt but at the same time I’m still learning from him about defense so um I feel like when you can kind of Bounce stuff off each other like that you know it’s just great chemistry all the way around you talked about taking the leadership role jacobe had a game tonight missed a couple shots what are you going to say to him or how can you help him based on your experiences so far in the league just being around him already I know that I really don’t to say too much um with his U mentality that I’ve already kind of learned you know in these couple days we’ve been together um he’s going to you know fix that you know I have no doubt about it you know the work I’ve seen him put in um away from these games that nobody sees at all is you know what’s going to help him be prepared so yeah he’s great were you excited about the summer league I know you’ve been putting in a ton of work uh in the gym you know all that kind of boring stuff so to speak but it was it nice to were you looking forward to just play it was great to play again you know there was a couple times I was winded more than I wanted to be um but um any chance I get up to go up and down and um you know play for this organiz organization excuse me is is amazing and it’s a great time and you know I’m ready I know for tomorrow is there is there like something that you’ve been training that you’re hoping to put into gain action if so is what is it I think just continue to you know develop my versatility on the offensive end but more importantly the defensive end um like we talked about just the on ball stuff and um trying not to be you know up and down or not up and down but you know straight up where I’m off balance you know I’m always prepared cuz usually you know what helps my offense is you know getting stops on the defensive end and that helps me translate to the other end so yeah BR 10 rebounds tonight bunch of them felt like it was just kind of like angles or routes to the ball that you were taking where you seem to have a sense of where it was going to be before anybody else did is that something that you sort of study and work on or is that just like like a sick sense that you have and a nose for the for the ball on uh yeah there’s no really secret about it um it doesn’t really take I mean I guess it is a skill but it doesn’t really take anything secret it’s just being active and um you know coach jamama and you know Darko made a a big emphasis about that before we got here um to Las Vegas where we were working out with the summer league team in Toronto of um we’re going to all crash and um stay active and we’re not going to be a team where you know we’re kind of you know taking plays off and so I feel like kind of BU end of that help me you know get to that you know double double how fun is it to play with Jonathan mobo he seems like a sort of classic grab and go type guy off the glass like does it when you’re playing with him does it seem like transition opportunities are are there a bit more often of course you know I love playing with him you know it’s it’s just another um asset to the team where you know might as well just throw the ball anywhere in the air and he’s going to go you know punch it so um to have a player like that that can also with his versatility too you know it helps the know defense stretch out for other guys to you know get to the rim and you know ultimately get him the ball back to you know finish above it you know a lot of a lot of guys on this roster that you know I you know probably will be on the Raptors roster going forward a lot of guys came to support today um does it make a sort of a big difference to have you know kind of feel like your team is all together in the summer it’s huge um not only that but just you know the guys on the sideline you know Scotty and all them um watching us you know it’s just motivational um seeing them and the support system I feel like is amazing you know that helps the chemistry build so much easier and um you know it’s kind of away from the Court like I was a little talking about earlier of um the things people don’t see and that’s just how we’re all together it’s not like you know the Vets are somewhere else working out and we’re somewhere else it’s you know all you know kind of family aspect so that’s exciting do you get kind of feedback from them after the games we’ll see I mean I’ll see but no I feel like I’m GNA get a probably a call from Garrett in a few with my vet um so it’ be good to sit down and talk to him um I think I think I was about like 205 after the season after a long season and last week I was like 214 so it’s probably the heaviest I’ve been so I mean I feel good I feel great yeah I feel good to play I guess I’ll start with the draft picks and what you saw from your young guys they are not the biggest numbers but obviously something for you to walk away with and looking on film yeah really impressive I think all of our young guys did a good job on the basketball our defense has been what we’ve been focused on our on ball defense and really having extreme ball pressure I thought jacobe did a wonderful job Jamal the same thing and then oi obviously as our veteran leader sort of doing the same thing so watching those guys play was really fun uh to see us disrupting what that other team was trying to run from my eye it looked like there were some opportunities for oai to be a little bit more assertive with his body in contact what are your thoughts on him when he was driving in the lane and kind of getting in some situations there really impressed with his defense I think oi really is sort of putting the the the focus and the onus on the defensive side and that’s wonderful I think offensively he’s moving well I think a few sort of missed opportunities but not by lack of effort he’s doing the right thing just missed the actual opportunity so I think he continues to grow we’ll watch his film and learn a few things but really impressed with his first outing wasn’t the best shooting game for GR but is that the sort of assertiveness and all-around impact that you’re looking for from him yeah I think R we’re kind of really figuring out is he that all-around player can he do some stuff defensively and offensively can he be on the ball can he do knockdown shooting and I thought we saw touches of everything today I think sometimes his his choices of which shots he’s shooting he’s got to continue to work on those uh but he’s a shot maker he’s a big game player and I think it’s fun for him to get out there and be able to make some shots in summer league a really short time with Brandon Carlson but what have you learned about him person playerwise Brandon I think is a really good rim protector I think you didn’t realize that when we first got him how efficient he is at The Rim in altering shots and blocking shots that’s been exciting for us to see that development uh you think a sort of Slender frame you don’t think he’s going to be sort of that that Presence at The Rim but his Rim protection has been great so I think continuing to mold that obviously pick and pop three ability uh is really good uh but the defense has been has been great Jamal’s defensive resume speaks for itself what allows him to defend the way he does despite being you know six foot something so Jamal really plays with Force but he plays slowly which is strange to think about for someone who sort of is so active on the ball he’s slow enough that he can move his feet and just stay with the with the guy on offense and I think that ability to be slow and move side to side east west allows him to be good on ball Defender uh with that sort of girth and St and strength that he has is when you say slowly is that like he doesn’t get off balance because he’s moving he’s too hery almost the old thing of he doesn’t get sped up right but it’s on the defensive side where he doesn’t really get sped up defensively he’s never out of position he always kind of keeps the ball right in front of him um directing Ur sham quite a bit on both ends of the floor um what kind of messages are you trying to get across to him and sort of how do you assess this first performance here yeah so excited for him I think for him to play some NBA basketball and get out there you saw the smile on his face and the enjoyment he plays with and the talent he he brings to the table too so I think really fun for him and you know as a coach it’s fun to be able to move him around a little bit put him in the right places uh but him as a screener uh that that play had at the end of the quarter where we set a scream and Jamal got the bucket really good for him he kind of was on the board watching what we needed to do so uh proud of him

Players and Coach speak with the media following the Raptors 94-69 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Summer League on Saturday.

0:00 Branden Carlson
2:27 Jamal Shead
5:14 Gradey Dick
10:40 Jama Mahlalela

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