Toronto Raptors Media Availability | Postgame vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | February 10, 2024

Toronto Raptors Media Availability | Postgame vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | February 10, 2024

What was it like to play for a team that You’ only you know you never had to practice with never really had to shoot around with what were your expect expectations going in yeah I mean you kind of don’t know what to expect um just trying to assimilate the best you can obviously

It’s really tough uh you don’t know really what’s what’s going on on both ends of the floor um you know I think that was probably pretty evident in the first half um the second half we kind of found a little bit of rhythms found like a few simple sets that you know

Everybody kind of knew um you know got got better that way um yeah I mean it’s pretty much sums it up say had that lineup in the second half and it was uh you with Scotty and quickly and you know a lot of spacing on the floor and you’re were able to kind

Of get into some of your you know some of the place you’re kind of known for yeah see some of the potential there yeah definitely um no Grady was out there spacing the floor um RJ as well um yeah I mean that’s there’s a lot of potential with that um you know Scotty

Can do a lot of things so you know he’s really easy to play off play with then when you have those Shooters and slashers and you have quick out there um you know we could definitely catch a rhythm with that group the moment where you check in and get the Ovation I’m

Sure You’ imagin that a few times did it live up to your expectations yeah yeah definitely um know it just gives you chills um you know special special moment um you know having the support and love of this whole country um and it was evident is there any promising things

You take tell you saw a couple things that worked and can you just go through what you might see possibilities with these guys yeah I mean there’s a lot of stuff that you know you can take from it um you know keep building

On um you know we have a lot of guys who are really talented can do a lot of different things um you know like like he said just spacing the floor um playing like kind of that 5l ball movement you know where know you’re passing cutting moving sitting screen

Slipping out um you know if they switch you can you can dive roll post um you know kind of similar to know what Scotty’s been doing um just helping him get to you know a little more actions on the the weak side you know once they

Move it and uh just you know making sure that Ball’s popping around anything you’ve learned about Scotty past 24 hours maybe you didn’t know yeah I mean he’s a very very good passer you know he’s definitely a way better passer than know I knew or imagined or figured

Whatever the verbage you want to use but you know he could really pass the ball he sees he sees the floor really well and his IQ is really high um know he’s coming up to me telling me things that know I see and I and I know but know

He’s telling me them you know before I no I tell him to them really you know what I mean so it’s really it’s really fun to to see that and you know see him continue to develop and grow and um know continue to be vocal Scotty anything about your new teammates that kind

Jumped out you got a good run of minutes with C and O O and anything that you were able to pick up uh I really like those guys um you know they bring some good character to our team but on the floor um oi defensive presence way he’s

Talking out there on the floor uh you know it was new uh s sned him um the way we play uh from the way Utah plays uh and the defensive principles and things like that but you know you just got to learn that and adjust uh so you know

It’s just going to take time from there um Kelly he’s real smart player on the floor um playing through him at the elbows how the key just being able to make those decisions and seeing what we got out there on the floor you know he can stretch the floor out uh and you

Know he’s the communicator as well so you know as things blend uh with us you know we’re just going to keep getting better uh but great fiz for us it’s early yet but can you see the potential for yourself of playing in a lineup with a stretch five and some of the other

Shooting you can put on the floor and what it could mean for you for sure uh like I said um those guys are communicators uh good Defenders and you know just getting it getting it getting better you know it’s going to take some time but you know we’re just going to

Keep getting better uh both of them can shoot the ball really well so you know get spacing out there on the floor and they’re smart uh so you know you can trust the ball when they’re it’s in their hands and make reads and you know

Find the guys as well too uh Kelly smart he’s been doing that uh when he was in Utah you know he was a orchestrator at the top of the key uh finding those cuts um being able to go to handoffs dhos just finding so many different things uh

So you know smart player Scotty uh looked like you were being specially vocal tonight on the bench of directing defense and everything is that something with time now in your third year that you’re getting more and more comfortable doing kind of being that vocal leader um something I should definitely I

Should really be doing more U you know we’re locked in tonight in the zone um you know we really needed it um just trying to tell them be squore on the ball um just trying to help our defense you know I feel like there was getting a lot of easy pick and rolls

Where was easy slip outs to dunks getting easy Lanes cating so just being able have being that communicated on the floor I feel like it really helped us uh when we was down in that down uh really bad um so I feel like it helped us UND

Do the fist Man U we need that more from everybody uh you know we just got to take those steps in a setting in which like Emanuel and RJ are practically Raptors veterans now is that more important for you to embrace that role and sort of be that one of the consistent

Voices know we just all got to be have a voice on the team um you know they’ve been very talkative as well but you know we all just got have that voice if we really want to win um got to talk out there on defensive man and play hard and

Protect the paint um that’s what we got to do to win specifically with Kelly as a three-point shooter how do you think it’ll change the way defenses sort of defend the P paint against you U you know they got to be worried about him at

The out on the outside um so you know it opens up more driving Lanes more kick outs uh defense collaps you know kick out to one more uh you know they just got to be able to watch those him at the perimeter uh it just gives more space

In gives more flow to our offense and you know we can play out of that as well uh they close out keep driving and kicking swinging it uh you know it helps us we had a we saw a lot of that a little bit of that today but you know

It’s just going to keep getting better as time goes right go ahead um is there a bit of a relief now being past the deadline and just kind of knowing that this is the group that you’re going to have for the next few months and be able

To go forward with and Build Together uh I guess after the first one happened you know it was just whatever from there uh you know things was going to happen but you know we got our team you know I feel like everybody can stay focused uh have

Their mindset straight you know we just got to stay together um to the end of the year and try to win I feel like that’s the main thing uh everybody just got to stay focused and lock in shouldn’t worry about anything else but other than trying to win certainly seemed like a difference

Between a team that’s played together for a long time and one that really doesn’t know each other that well see that feel out with your guys tonight definitely it felt uh felt like that uh um I thought that they opened the game pretty well with our starters uh we were

We knew what we wanted to accomplish I thought that they showed a lot of fight and toughness to start the game also offensive it was good good execution um first half Scotty was was out outstanding the way he was creating for himself and for his teammates um but um to be expected once

We start subbing and with new guys it was hard for them to to know what we’re running and what we want to do defensively there was a a lot of uh breakdowns but that’s to be expected and uh now we’re going to have a shoot around actually ability to to do a

Little bit uh of work uh in preparation for San Antonio and to build on that are you seeing uh an evolution in Scotty’s game the direction you wanted to go and then how quickly are you see him becoming what you want him to become uh

Yes I I seeing a lot of uh Improvement there like uh I think that he’s doing much better job uh picking uh moments on the court where he just needs to go and be aggressive and find his teammates in those situations uh also on the post stops he does really good job of

Scanning the the court and finding uh who is open and where is the opportunity to score um I thought that probably this was his best uh posttop game he had this season in in a regard of finding the balance when to attack and score and when actually to to find his teammates

He had a couple of outstanding passes like that one post up he had he zi the ball with the left hand on the on on the opposite side corner two to Gary was a high high level player play and uh he’s more on the ball as you can see he’s

Handling more more in P roles he’s finding way how to score but also how to connect with teammates he also seems more demonstrative more taking a more of a vocal leadership role that’s what you kind of encouraging him to do right absolutely absolutely he he was so vocal

On the court he was so vocal tonight on the bench uh he was uh talking about you know helping guys what they need to do he’s also trying to orchestrate things on the court and help put guys in certain spots on the court I think he’s

He’s really taking the next next step as a leader of this team and I I’m really proud of his contributions tonight that was my question all right the Cavaliers have won nine games in a row what makes them so hard to play against not just for the Raptors but for

Everyone I mean you could see tonight that I thought that we played really hard and they played really hard plus um I think they have continuity with this team a lot of players that were there they added couple pieces during the summer they have such a such a good

Balance of uh really good Shooters couple of players that can really create of the dribble they have amazing size in uh in starters in Allen and and mobl mo is continuing to develop as a player that they have just a lot of tools there and continuity with the coach and with

The team that over the course of time they just continue to get better I I think they’re right now they’re playing uh really high level basketball and a lot of respect for for them and Coach coach JB and what he’s doing with the team did you see a few things from Kelly

Where you could see how he could connect with some of your guys that you had a few plays as a screener a few plays running screening roll some dribble handoff plays for sure um Kelly we know what Kelly brings to the table there and

Uh I was glad that that uh Kelly and oai they could see how hard our guys play and how hard Scotty plays and that kind of rubbed off of them tonight and they they they those two guys especially I thought that they did much better job in

The second half there and that’s that has to be a standard for us how hard we play how we’re together we play and then along the way we need to Fig figure out our chemistry and combinations and dhos and Keepers and all all of that but definitely uh Kelly did good job of

Blending in with those guys tonight as the shots are starting to fall for GR it seems like he’s having an easier time attacking um off the dribble on the close outs as well is that the defense kind of closing out harder or is it just simply a matter of confidence and seeing

A few shots fall uh it is a lot of things confidence comes from work more than anything else and he’s been doing outstanding job um you know working every single day and uh putting a lot of into his development uh shooting on the balance how to create shots how to

Relocate how to cut how to finish and all of that is is slowly coming to to um you know to for for us to see the fruits of that work um and uh the other thing for sure when you making couple of shots defense is more alert and uh being more

Aggressive uh so that’s opening out other stuff for him thanks for watching the Toronto rappers YouTube channel check out our latest video And subscribe for more in a wide open here come the that was great

Players and coach speak with the media following the Raptors’ 119-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

0:00 Kelly Olynyk
2:56 Scottie Barnes
7:34 Darko Rajakovic

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