Toronto Raptors Summer League Availability | Postgame vs. Denver Nuggets – July 14, 2024

Toronto Raptors Summer League Availability | Postgame vs. Denver Nuggets – July 14, 2024

so tie game and summer league ball in your heads I mean it’s it’s not nothing H uh what what did you see happen down the stretch there um I feel like as a leader one of the older guys out there on the floor um I had to just bring my team together and just tell let them know everything was going to be okay um let’s start executing um and I feel like we did what we did and we came out with the win you’re obviously playing with a you just alluded to it a lot a lot of younger guys uh from the time you’ve played with jacobe what have you sort of felt is the Str of this game right now um a big a big shot maker um he’s definitely getting comfortable and getting into his Groove um but he’s a great player uh on and off the floor you’ve shown flashes especially on the offensive side that you belong in this league what’s kind of the calling card or the mission for you here what have the teams kind of told you is the next step for Javon to get to that level um just continue to um be me uh play aggressive on defense pick up 94 ft um I feel like if I can do that uh I be good sort of alluded to that leadership role but sort of you know is that something you you know looking forward to being able to do coming into the summer league experience um yeah definitely like you said just coming into the summer league experience this is my third one so I feel like I’m one of the older guys out there and I can use my voice um but yeah it it was fun how um you’re a veteran of the Raptors organization now with a couple different stretches under your belt uh is this a similar philosophy or have things changed under Jamma with Coach dark or is this something that’s kind of been consistent the way they expect you guys to play since you’ve gotten here um definitely consistent um not too much changing uh maybe a um telling us to be a little bit more aggressive on the defensive end but nothing’s changes the same we were sort of talking to Grady about this yesterday but you know a lot of the veteran guys kind of showed up they’ve been here you know in Vegas with you guys for the week um you know have you got any feedback from some of those guys after the first game uh yeah all the time uh those are guys we talk every day uh we had a group chat that we always talk to but um those guys are great teammates they’re always talk talking to us and we always learning from them was there a noticeable difference in your comfort level from game one to game two uh yeah for sure um yesterday I was trying to just find the pace of the game um you know obviously professional it’s way quicker um bigger bodies everybody stronger so I think uh just having that first experience helped me out in the second one has it slowed down at all between the two games oh yeah for sure um I think I was making better reads um I think I was more comfortable just being on the court playing defense and offense uh Jama was out here talking about the importance of you spacing to the NBA level uh you know amateurs like us were just like you go beyond the arc what what’s really involved in sort of that like as you make the adjustment yeah um the spacing uh courts way bigger so you know uh as a shooter like me um me being spaced out can help our better players like you know Scotty quick um and like today uh there was driving Lanes just cuz I was faced out so I think um me being a great shooter Me Knocking him down is going to help us in the long run you used uh there were two consecutive possessions you used your pump fake one you hit a three the other you got to the you took a you got fouled how comfortable are you with that part of your game it certainly seemed like it got you got it got you free a few times yeah um me being a shooter everybody’s going to close out hard on me uh I think if I just raise the ball up they going to go for it um me attacking um Can collapse the defense um and like you said I got fouled and I can knock down free throw so yeah I’m definitely comfortable with that type of my game what’s what’s the biggest advice maybe you received coming into the summer league or just after the game one game two in terms of just like maybe staying present or what’s the biggest advice you probably received just the experience uh yeah just be confident uh that’s what it’s been just be confident um everybody knows what I’m capable of doing uh they don’t want to see me hesitate out there so just playing confident uh being myself and then um just being competitive there’s a lot of vs on hand in Vegas obviously sort of taking your games they’ve been at practice um you know have you heard from them sort of after the first game who uh just the Vets like oh oh yeah yeah yeah um yeah they just been telling me to relax uh they like they were saying that first game I just kind was too sped up out there um really didn’t know what I was doing uh but the vestors told me to relax play my own game and then uh everything will come come to me did you feel as how you’re more relaxed this time around yeah for sure for sure what you thoughts on Jamal shed his defensive IQ seems to be a step ahead obviously he played four years in college just from playing with him on the court now what have you seen just for him maybe as being a step ahead of guys uh great point point guard a great point guard he’s a leader um he’s going to make sure we in the right position and then uh his intensity on defense uh we got to pick it up along with along with him so when we see him playing great defense like he always does uh we got to pick it up as well all right coach first and foremost health is important right so any updates on your guys a couple guys exited the game yeah Jonathan back contusion we’ll kind of reeval him tomorrow see where he’s at after that um and then Grady at ankle sprain again reevaluate tomorrow we’ll see kind of get an evaluation after a day off tomorrow okay well then jaob healthy played you give me your assessment of how he played today in game two yeah I think Jacob’s really sort of finding a bit of a rhythm here I think a big three down the stretch which really kind of put the game Out Of Reach there for a second I thought that was really valuable um I think his composure his solidness his ability to just make the right decisions and his length are really coming out so it’s been really uh happy to see him play well javon’s a guy who’s been around the organization for a while what does he need to do in order to make that next step as a player for Javon I think he’s a proven scorer we know he can score he’s proved it at the g- league level the question for him is what did he do with the NBA level in terms of scoring so this summer league is really great for him to see what kind of packages we can put together for him and how he can score and then of course how he defends the focus for the Raptors continues to be our on ball defense our ball pressure our activity and I think Javon needs to be part of that as well with jacobi’s offense given that you know the nature of shots going in going out uh what are you looking for in terms of his the process with his offense yeah one is his spacing I think figuring out how does he get spaced first of all uh and if he gets good spacing and can kind of get separation from his Defender then we want him to catch and shoot and again if the ball goes in or out that’s kind of immaterial at the moment it’s about does he can he generate NBA shots and that’s what we’re starting to see he’s able to space that extra inch or two that gets him the NBA shot it seemed like he really knows how to use a pump fake early on there were two consecutive possessions have you noticed that outside of the game or is that just something you’re finding out like the rest of us yeah I was learning as well I think with with jacobe I think that one the pump fake is a valuable tool but also the catch and shoot is more valuable so we almost want him to catch and shoot first and then if he needs to pump fig then we’ll go with that yeah what’s your impressions of Jamal as defensive IQ I know you kind of talked about it before but like where does he rank in terms of guys out of college that maybe you’ve coached and and you’ve had whether it’s summer league or before yeah Jamal’s history uh I think in terms of his collegiate career obviously at Houston is is is renowned we know how good a Defender he was at that level the question is what will he be at our level and I think what we’ve seen in two games so far is a real determination and willingness to be an on ball Defender and to give up his body I think that’s something that many young players don’t want to do anymore uh you look at early Fred Van vet in summer league very similarities in terms of giving up his body and being physical and I think Jamal brings that to the table each and every possession he’s out there how much do you look to him as like a leader potentially speaking to guys on the core I saw him talking to Alish after possession where he threw it Alish didn’t know was coming what are you looking for him just in terms of those type of qualities yeah definitely to be sort of the second coach out there for me uh me and him have a lot of dialogue sort of behind the scenes uh in practice time watching film and kind of getting on the same page so he can be the one that can articulate a lot of the messages to the players and be that sort of point guard coach role leader role and he can grow into it he has maturity he has the disposition and I think he’s starting to become an effective leader for this team thought show some nice defensive flashes in this game what what are your impressions he had a nice block I think near the end what do you is that kind of the the flashes that you see in potential that that he could be defensive Force Ur I think really finds a way to uh impose his activity and his will and his in his size you can tell he’s a type of player that just jumps out of the basketball a lot we need to probably get him dropping a little bit more so we can guard two for a second but I’d way rather a player that’s more aggressive and assertive than one who’s sort of timid so he’s he shows an assertiveness and aggressiveness and that’s what we want and we can we can coach the details after that

Players and Coach speak with the media following the Raptors’ 84-81 victory over the Denver Nuggets in NBA Summer League on Sunday.

0:00 Javon Freeman-Liberty
2:03 Ja’Kobe Walter
4:43 Jama Mahlalela

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