What is krack Lack and hardwood Knocks listeners, I am dam Pavalley coming at
you once more without my fantaguloust co host Adam Cromwell. We're gonna continue plowing
through our look Ahead podcast. The Toronto Raptors are next up on our docket.
I am super excited as always to be joined by Yasmin Dale, who
covers the NBA for the Dishes and Dimes podcast. She also writes for Yahoo
Sports and The Toronto Star. She had a newsletter, the Neon Playbook,
which was where she has a newsletter. It's fantastic. She said she's gonna
try and reboot it up during the regular season. Follow her work at Carmelo
Drama at c R M E l O d R A M A. She's
a great writer, great follow on Twitter, so go check her out.
Before we get started, though, just the usual housekeeping notes. Please continue
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Knox. With all of those notes now out of the way, let's dig
deep into the Toronto Raptors with Yasmin Dally. Yasmin, thank you so much
for coming back on the Hardwood NOx podcast to talk more Toronto Raptors with me,
who are one of my sirens songs and during the season. I just
for the past few years, I haven't been able to quit them. But
first and foremost, how the hell are you doing? I'm well, thanks
for having me. I'm always down to talk raptors. Yeah, and there's
a lot of talk about with the Raptors and I kind of just wanted to
start do you have any just you know, heading into the regular season.
Are you thinking about any themes thoughts, just anything from the Raptors off season,
maybe even you know, go on Drag. It's just anything at all
as we head into the regular season that still stands out to you. I'm
actually quite positive about going on Like obviously he uh, I think he touched
at something traumatic for Raptors fans when he made those comments about not really wanting
to be here or you know, I feel like I want to just believe
that it was caught up in translation or something, because I'm pretty sure it
was non English. But I actually loved the idea of him, you know,
being that veteran for the second unit, which is like very youthful this
year for the Raptors. Usually their second units tend to be more seasoned,
have a couple of years of G League play under their belt, but they
have guys like Scotty and Delano and Precious, just guys who have maybe not
had enough, who haven't really had significant NBA playing time yet. So having
a guy like Dragic with playoff experience, who's you know, great traditional point
guard, you know. He I think what separates him from Larry's that he
may not have the defensive capabilities, but offensively, the gap isn't that huge
between them in my opinion. But you know, I actually I am positive
about Dragic. I'm really excited to see Scotty how he translates into the NBA.
And I think that the most exciting theme for a lot of people has
been Og finally having you know, this space to use what he's accumulated over
the years, all the skills that he's been quietly building and working on.
I think that with Pascal healing from his surgery, his shoulder surgery, Og
will have just a prime opportunity to kind of eat up a little bit of
usage and get used to the lead role because in order for the Raptors to
be successful this year, he's going to have to be the lead scorer alongside
Pascal. So I think that would be the most exciting theme for the first
month or so the season before Sam gets back. Yeah, you were the
one that I think believe retweeted into my timeline a video that the Raptors posted
and I had to fan myself after watching Og hit turn Around, step back
Jumper. And so is that like the type of self discovery we can expect
to see from Og? And at obion offense and just two listeners who might
not realize this from last season, Like he did drawd in his offensive game
last year, just when you're looking at him putting up the ball on the
floor, it seemed like there were more just directionality to his drives, even
quicker decisions as a passer. But if he's going to test out stuff like
that, I might end up watching like eighty two Raptors games this year.
Yeah, and it might seem like like a shocking lead some people, But
Og has just been quietly working and perfecting just like his base level skills for
so long now, for a few years now, just working on his shooting.
He's become just a really solid catching shooter already. He's he's already an
excellent defender. He started to the last two years, I'd say he was
working on his self creation. So the natural progression for him was just to
improve his handle. And once he does that, it kind of just acts
as the blue to kind of bring cohesiveness to all the skills that he already
has been kind of working on. So, you know, Raptor's friends have
been saying for a while that, like, you know, Pascal needs that
that wing creator who can just kind of self create to act as kind of
like a release valve when things are working. Norman Powell satisfied that to like
a degree, But I think that Og being you know, his size,
the versatility in a skill set, and you know, just other aspects that
he brings, can be an even more ideal partner to that offensive duo.
So I'm just really excited to see him kind of just have the opportunity to
just finally do it. Because once Normal was traded, I think he went
on to average nineteen points per game or around that, So I think he
has like the capability. So just to see it in action in a normal
setting for a season in Toronto will be really exciting for Frads. I still
don't and I'm not one that's just going to root for players being on bargain
contracts, But I don't know how they got him seventy two million dollars.
I don't. It still doesn't compute to me that is going to end up
being one of the most team friendliest deals in the NBA, I think over
the next oh yeah, your years. So is there a timeline for Siakam's
return from his left shoulder injury? Surgery, and while this isn't scientific,
I think one, well, this is scientific. People clearly underrated the year
he had last year. Even though it wasn't great by his standards, like
his aside from Justin if you look at the perimeter shooting like there was still
a lot to like about his game and a lot of the efficiency rebounded.
The non scientific part of this for me is that the vibes around him just
seem better this season. And so between that and the Raptors playing again in
Toronto once he is healthy, do you expect this to be sort of a
I don't want to say bounced back year, but more of a universally appreciated
year from Pascal Siakum. Yeah, I think so. I think that the
expectation for the upcoming season is different. Like you know, if you if
you look at the expectations that have been put on him from you know,
being the second lead scorer alongside Kawhi Leonard on a championship like aspiring team,
then the next season is the championship defense, and then you know, the
next season after that is like trying to pick up the pieces after you know,
that bubble run against the Celtics. So you know, it's just a
series of really high pressure moments for a guy who's just trying to, I
think, find his identity as a as a lead or co league scorer on
a team. So I think people are just excited to se him in a
in a more normal environment on a younger team that might be more cater to
what a twenty seven year old you know, you know, former All Stars
should be expected to accomplish on a team. You know, those championship aspirations
can be in the future. Right now, I think that he should be
allowed to develop as a leader, all of the all of the other things
that we kind of give grace to other All Stars to accomplish. I think
fans are like kind of just willing to extend that to him now. And
I think he spoke a little bit about how his lingering shoulder injury was just
kind of hindering him the last season and affecting his left handed dribble. It
affected how he was able to move on the court, and you know,
I wouldn't be surprised if it had a bit of an impact on his shooting.
So I can't wait to see him play at full health, and I'm
really excited to see how he how he does as a You know, now
he's among the veterans on the team, one of the among the older players
on the team. I seek only Dragic would be older than him or Kem.
Rather Kem and Dragic the only older players were, whereas he was always
the baby of the team. So it's going to be a very interesting dynamic
now and I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to see how
him and Fred fill out that roles. Yeah, and so we mentioned you
met, You already mentioned how Og will have to definitely pick up offensive slack.
When you're looking at Siakam's injury and then Drag, I think you were
right. He naturally replaced a lot of what Kyle Lowry does on offense.
You really you won't feel it to get on defense. But Fred Van and
Fleet early on, I'm assuming is just going to have to be like the
most important offensive player for him. And while I would be more inclined to
pick Og as a most improved candidate, I feel like Fred Van Fleet's name
gets floated in that conversation and oh yeah, every year, what what does
he need to do better to be the number one option in Siakam's absence effectively
and too to actually actualize this most improved player. Chatter that again, he
is always garnering at least over like the past three years or whatever it's been.
Yeah, Friend, Like it's interesting because he does have his limitations that
we you know, we acknowledge. You know, he's finishing his size,
Like these are things that he has to work to overcome. But like,
the thing about Friend is that he somehow always finds a way. He always
finds a way, like he will have like I'm pretty sure he had like
a fifty point game before, and you know, he always finds a way
to become whatever the team needs at any given moment, which is like a
very Larry esque trait. So I can't wait to see how he figures out
what he's needed to be on this team for next season and how he becomes
that, because weirdly enough, I don't doubt that he'll figure it out somehow
and he'll figure out how to keep the team afloat wild things line up for
them. So I think it's just going to be a matter of him being
more of a shooting guard than a point guard. I wouldn't be surprised if
the playmaking burden was kind of more evenly distributed throughout the team, and that
Fred was just asked to be a score because I think that he is a
better score than he is a peer point guard. So I think that's the
reason why people were kind of confused as to why Nick Nurse I mentioned that
Dragic could possibly be starting alongside Fred, and I would not be surprised if
that happens in the beginning of the season, so that Dragic can be the
point guard and Fred can be the shooting guard, which is like a really
good dynamic that was between him and Larry. I don't know how Fred will
take it, because I know that he thinks himself as a point guard,
but I think they're gonna they're really going to need him to score, which
he's one hundred percent capable of doing doing and which would honestly end up helping
his most improved player. You know the chatter around that because his surface level
points per game and all that would be more it would be bolstered by him
taking on that role. Is when you watch him, do you see hope
for him to become like a better finisher as someone who shot thirty eight percent
on drives last year and has always been kind of just iffy in that area
of the game. I think it ultimately comes down to him figuring out how
to navigate the pick and roll as a ball handler and honestly as a pocket
pass a little better. I find that his game on the perimeter is really
good, Like I think that some of a friend's most iconic plays is coming
off the screen on the perimeter. He just has his ability to just square
himself to the basket really quickly and get off a shot without having it,
you know, blocked or contested in anyway. But something about him getting to
the basket is just a lot of a lot of you can see the gears
moving in his head. I think he overthinks it, and I think that
when it comes to Fred, he doesn't really have I always mentioned that he
doesn't have the athleticism. I think that he's a little more injury prone in
that sense. But for Fred, I think it will come down to how
he navigated, how his relationship with the big in that scenario, and also
his ability to absorb contact, because I don't think he's going to get the
lift that Lowry does at that you know, I don't think he'll get the
the the the shake or the ability to create distance or space between him and
the trailing defender like a kyrie or something. But I think that if Fred
becomes a guy who can just take a hit and somehow finish it, he'll
he'll have a little more success as a finisher. But I think that his
future is just honestly improving his mid range, which I think was causing a
lot of the issue with the finishing. He really did improve that aspect of
his game, but people would not respect his shot as a mid ring shooter,
not because he couldn't make it, but because he wouldn't take that shot,
so the defender will be lingering under the basket, which you know was
just ultimately asking for a block. So I think that improving his ability to
withstand the blows around the basket and also to take those mid range shots will
ease it up. And I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see the
work that he did the last season in improving his mid ring shot show up
on scouting reports and allow him to create a little bit of distance on his
way to the basket as well. Yeah, he did, and he looked
like he just improved his off the dribble shooting game in general last year,
which I think that's this team needs that, especially with I don't that's like
Draggage can do that, but he definitely And I know Kyle Lowry had it
down year last year, but I still think Lowry was more of a threat
to do stuff like that. I feel like I buried the lead to start
this podcast. Though the Raptors offseason was weird in some I ended up just
because of higher on the roster in general, the fact that they kept MASSI
I just defaulted too. You know what, that's fine. I didn't love
how the Kyle Lowry chain events played out from the trade deadline on, but
you kept MASSI that's huge. However, the Scottie Barnes over jail and Sugs
selection, how did you feel about that? And I know he's endeared himself
to the fan base since he seems like, yeah, a lot of best
personalities to come out of the draft. But I think Nick Nurse mentioned that
they're going to give him as many minutes as possible, So do you actually
think that he's going to get, you know, real license to make mistakes
and a ton of leeway with this team in year one, I don't know
if they have any other choice. Out of necessity, he will be getting
those minutes. And one thing I noticed about Scotty is that he's a He's
a type of guy who's who's going to be doing whatever it takes to just
simply win. I don't he's concerned about how he'll look as a rookie,
about first Team All Rookie, about Rookie of the Year sort of things.
I think he's just concerned about winning as a team. It's just a common
thing he's always mentioning. He has not once mentioned those other aspirations like we've
heard Jalen Green talk about his Rookie of the Year aspirations, Like Scottie is
just simply concerned with having this team win basketball games, which I think is
so important in a rookie. And I honestly I take some credit for the
huge turnaround like the one eighty that the fan base did after drafting, because
me and Sean Woodley immediately recorded on Lockdown Raptors and we were just kind of
I was talking him off the cliff and just telling the fan base that I
think that they're going to end up loving this pick, and it sort of
does make sense for the direction that the team has been discussing in terms of
just filling their roster with versatile wings and versatile small fowards. I think it's
the Raptors are just hoarding those type of players who can just kind of play
all positions, do a little bit of everything, and if they can't shoot,
they can't shoot. If there's one thing that the Retronto Raptors can do
is turn somebody into a decent shooter, Like they have a pretty good resume
at that sort of thing. So if you have a player like Scotty,
who is has an amazing personality, which is so important in terms of a
lottery pick who's expected to lead a roster in the future. When you talk
about his defensive capabilities, his ability as a playmaker at his sides, a
ball handler at his size, the shooting thing kind of just seems like a
drop in the bucket. And judging by what him and Nick Nurse have said,
it's something that they've already begun tweaking over the offseason, and I'm excited
to see how it looks in comparison to his in comparison to his film in
college, and uh, you know, it's funny because I didn't hear I
was covering in March Badness, and I didn't hear much Scotty Barnes talk until
quite close to the draft. That's when I think the word was Scotty Barnes.
And it's no surprise because he was going to these workouts and the draft
combine and to whatnot, and scouts were seeing this guy and how just because
he had this contagious personality, he had this endless source of energy, and
people just wanted him on their team. So it's no surprise to me that
the Raptors ended up going with him. And I'm just really excited to see
how he translates into NBA basketball because this guy was nineteen not a couple of
weeks ago, and he's bigger than oge On and Obe, so it's I
just want to see how he gets around. And like, I remember how
awkward it was for og being young, being like six seven or run I
for like two thirty or something, So I just want to see if we
have like that same baby deer effect or if something more used to it.
Yeah, he I didn't watch really any film from him in college, and
so in summer League, I was. It took me aback at how fluint
he seemed comfortable working off the dribble and changing directions and I could see dudes
bouncing off of him if he ever. Yeah, that was a surprising thing.
I went to summer League and I was just shocked by how this guy
would just put his head down and dribble straight to the basket, which is
kind of something that you know, a six nine guy would kind of avoid
just because of how high the dribble is, and you kind of get nervous
about that sort of thing. But his ability to just use his speed,
his size and be willing to use it to his advantage off the rip was
just really impressive. Do you still view I mean, the Raptors are crarly
trying to set a record for the house the most players between sixty seven and
six nine on their team. Do you still last year and in something as
someone who just loves smaller lineups, I never would have I didn't think the
need for a center was as drastic, But the constant refrain was, Oh,
they need a true center, they need to get bigger, and they
proceeded this offseason to not acquire a true center or get really bigger. And
so do you still view that as a weakness on this team? Was it
an overblown weakness to begin with? I think I think it's both. It's
a weakness, but I think it's overblown as well. I think that when
you talk about the need for a true center, like you're talking about Embiid,
you're talking about your Kitch. You're talking about the top centers in the
NBA that you'll have to watch out for. And I think that the Raptors
have shown that they can deal with those guys with their six seven to six
nine players. You know O Gianobi, I think he's among the best Yo
Kich defenders in the NBA right now. I think that they they believe that
if they're willing to minimize the other four threats on the court, it'll kind
of, you know, make it kind of increase the difficulty for the center,
especially the ones that rely on passing like Yokich. The one thing about
the Yo Kitch game, but I think it's the last game that the Raptors
played against the Nuggets, was that Yo Ki would roll because Yokich had og
on him. He would rely on kicking out the ball like he try and
draw the attention to kick it out, but he just had so many guys
on the court with like seven two wingspans that they're just passing lane steals every
other possession. So I think that there's no perfect defense, you know what
I mean, Like there's always going to be the Achilles Heel for every defensive
scheme, for every defensive lineup that you throw out there, Like if there's
a big on the court, he can be exposed by a picking world dominant
point guard or a point guard that can really work the perimeter. If you
put like, there's just so many there were weaknesses, there's weaknesses his own
defense. You leave yourself exposed in certain areas of the course. So I
think that they really they I think they've concluded that this is the one with
the least amount of you know, kings and the armor. Do you is
this like a I mean, you know how I feel about Chris Bouche.
Obviously you haven't been on this podcast before. Is there a chance that he
ends up sort of playing a smaller role to Kem Birch if he doesn't get
more disciplined on the defensive end. And I think Nick Nurse kind of talked
about they want him to be less, you know, chaotic on that side
of the floor, or is he this team's you know for I don't want
to. I don't want to describe positions to anyone on this team or it
or is Chris Bouche just their best option at center. I think they've shown
like a willingness to play him at power four, so I'm gonna I think
it all ends up relying on how Scotty is used. So how Scotty's used
is going to have a bit of a dominant fact about the depth at the
four for the Raptors, So I think that depending on that, if they're
thin at the four, then I'd think that we're going to see Bouchet play,
perhaps alongside Kim for some lineups. So I don't think anyone is promised
minutes on this team to an extent. I don't think there are any lineup
promises. I think that Nick dars will truly spend the whole season just figuring
out what looks best, so you know, we're going to see the I
think they broke records the last season for the amount of lineup versatility that they
threw out there. Obviously out of necessity towards the end of the season.
But yeah, I don't. I don't think anyone is promised minutes. And
I think that with Chris Bouchet, I honestly thought he was going to be
traded in the off season just because he's outperformed his value so much and that
I think that they could have gotten a great return for him. So I
don't think that they're going to be compromising that increase in value they've gone from
Chris Bouchet. So I think just added that they're gonna put him on the
court shoot to you know, you get catapult soles threes into the hoops.
So I think that he's just gonna he's still donna have to be a major
player heading into next season. Yeah, and it really might not matter who
plays, you know, center for the Rappers, because Og just might end
up guarding the fives anyway, as happened so much less season. So I
understand that you mentioned no one's guaranteed minutes, though, do you expect Precious
that you were to get a crack at the rotation or is he just very
much kind of potentially an afterthought on this team. I think I just ran
a quote just before we started recording that where Nick Nurse said that he'll be
in the thick of things immediately. And that's no surprise because when I was
watching those summer league games, Precious is people don't talk about it. He
might have had, like I think, the lack of opportunity playing on the
heat and perhaps maybe they weren't asking of him what he was capable of doing.
But I think on his team, he'll just be allowed to be himself,
and that is a guy who can really fill in the gaps on the
offense, which is like such an underrated skill. I think it's how Pascal
Siak I'm kind of showed up on the radar in that early twenty eighteen season,
where as just just a guy who takes advantage of people looking at the
other names on the court, you know what I mean. So I think
that he showed just an ability to catch and stretch head straight for the hoop
while the other team is still mentally adjusting to what is happening right now.
So I think that Nick Nurse sees value in that. So I'm I can't
wait to see Precious. I feel like he's going to be a fan favorite
very quickly. What type of role could we expect now a kind going to
play in year two? Hm, I think that he's going to have a
big role, especially if Dragic ends up starting alongside Fred and Gary Trent Junior
comes off the bench. Malakai is going to be leading a second unit in
that case, and I think that you know, he still has I think
he still needs to improve his shooting, but he's I rarely see Malaki make
the wrong pass. He's someone who can really be molded into like a traditional
point where I see like a very solid, dependable six man and like as
his future. So I think that they're going to really lean into that and
allow him to take a bit of a leadership role with the bench. Even
if Dragic ends up coming off the bench, I think that Malaki would be
a major player regardless, And so you view him as someone who has like
the playmaking chops to lead potentially second units as the primary ball handler. Yeah,
I do, actually, yeah, I feel like if he does end
up leading the bench units, it would be in the playmaking burden would be
heavier than the scoring burden for him. So I do think that he's capable,
especially alongside someone like Scotty, someone like Prussia's even Utah, Like,
he's going to be alongside guys who have varying degrees of playmaking ability, but
none of them are minus on that end. So I feel like when you
have a dynamic like that, it can be a more egalitarian second unit and
that he can be allowed to thrive in that sort of situation because the pressure
will be not as heavy, but it would still be there to allow him
to develop in that sense. Dude, you don't want to do enough last
year, show enough last year to kind of be viewed as like a regular
member of this rotation to not be looped into you know the question I sent
you like, oh, who has better longer term impact or is more intriguing
for this team when you look at she Mkai, Luke, freddie G,
etc. Yeah. I think that Utah's very He's very defensively disciplined, which
I think is something that coaches love. You could tell just to chat about
him from coaching from other players. They adore Utah. He's very dependable on
the court, and I think that his skill set. I believe he's a
decent or a reliable corner three shooter. He is a high IQ defender,
he makes the correct me He's just like a great win to have as like
an eph man on the court, And I think that he's he's like the
vital type of player that I think that a lot of developing rosters need.
You just need that solid wing piece because you don't want to have to have
holes on those aspects of the roster, especially when you're trying to develop a
lottery pick or develop someone like Malachai or you know. I just I feel
like it would have without having Utah, it would have added holes to the
roster that would have been they just would have spent the whole season trying to
rearrange and supplement. And I think that he eases a lot of those worries
he and I know he's six nine, but he seems to just defend bigger
than that too. Like when he's on the primitive presence just feels so huge,
and he does feel like he keeps the ball moving on offense as well.
So I like him a bunch. When you look at sort of the
either fringe rotation or fringe roster guys, is there anyone specifically that intrigues you
looking at the Freddie Geezisac Bongas Fie McKay, Lukes, etc. Yeah.
I think I'm gonna say Delano Benton, who they drafted in the second round
this off season, not only because he's from my childhood neighborhood, but it's
nice having a hometown sit on the team. But also the fact that he's
a six nine point guard is very intriguing. I sawn play at summer league
and he is. You know, sometimes when someone is say nine, they're
calling you a point guard. I'm going to say, you know, there
is there's the definition of the term is obviously being used loosely, but no,
this guy's like literally a point guard on the court. And I think
that he's going to get a lot of run with the Raptors nine oh five.
So I'm really excited to see how he developed in that system. I'm
gonna have to catch a couple of nine oh five games to see how that
goes. But yeah, like if it works out, that is a very
very interesting player archetype to have on the roster. Yeah, and they seem
to really believe in him. I know there are questions about his jump urges
based off how he shot from three in college and at the foul line,
but they gave him a partial guarantee in year two, which I don't know
if that's like super rare for someone who was drafted forty was forty six forty
seven around. Yeah, I think he was a yeah towards the end there,
but that it didn't stun me because hey, he's six nine and the
Raptors are just collecting those guys. You're in. If you're six nine,
you're in. So what's so both interesting and maddening out this team is I
don't want to frame it as what's the direction, but what makes them so
hard to project is they don't feel like a team that's going to settle for
the middle this year, whereas if it just looks like they're not a top
four team in the East, you could see them sort of steering out of
any real postseason positioning. Is is that the energy around the team. Are
they just committed to this is a hey, not a rebuilding year, but
we're more concerned with the bigger picture and player development that we aren't even making
the playoffs. Or do you think that they're entering with the mindset of we
want to see what we have here because we do think that we have the
potential to finish closer to the top of the East than a lot of people
expect. I think it's a bit of both. I think that they think
that the potential of this current roster is far more than what people are expecting.
And I also think that they are looking at the bigger picture, so
perhaps they can crack the top you know five or so the Eastern Conference.
You know, playing in Toronto, I think will boost them more than people
can imagine. I don't think people realize how impactful playing in Tampa was,
not just from the no fans aspect, but you know, you're not in
your training facility, You're not you're not used to the amenities that you were,
you know, in the exactly and you know what we expect of road
games, like, you know, so the team loses, You're like,
oh, but they were on the road, so you know. I think
that people are underestimating the impact that would have on them for the season.
But also I think that the bigger picture is something that Massi was really emphasizing
as at his press press conference. He really believes in the core of this
roster, and I think that he even compared it to like twenty fourteen Raptors,
where this is a team whose direction was in question and he kind of
just let Larry and DeRos and Cook see what kind of culture they could develop.
I think that Massi is going to take a bit of a handsoff approach
in the season. I'm not expecting major trades, is what I mean.
So I think he's gonna see, like, can these guys find those personalities,
to find that spark build that new culture that they're going to need,
because you know, the WEA the North era has kind of lined down with
the absence of Lowry now, so I think it's going to allow them to
just find their own identity for a bit and take it from there, maybe
heading into the season after the next. So yeah, I'm not expecting any
major changes. I'm not expecting any major pressure. I'm not expecting any huge
pivot it's a tanking again or anything like that. You know, if they're
out of the playoffs, don't think they're going to make a concerted effort to
lose every game after that. What is the when you look at this roster,
what stands out to you is sort of their biggest functional weakness right now,
whether it's if you're looking at a specific position, or if it's just
you know, a player archetype type deal, you know, maybe a Kyle
Lowry type. You know, if they could, if they could, like
nap a twenty eight year old Kyle Loari, that would have been Yeah,
I would have had this team penciled in for the finals. But yeah,
I think that the weakness would perhaps be that seasoned, Yeah, that seasoned
All Star caliber player, which you know, Pasvel can very well become that
in the next couple of years. But I think as it stands right now,
if they just had another guy alongside him, this is a team that
I would have had, you know, as Eastern Conference finals. That would
have been like their aspiration in my opinion, if they have just a player
who was perhaps at the two guard position, who could just act as that
offensive release valve, be someone that can just bring some dynamic, dynamic spacing
to the court. So I think that that's what they're missing right now.
I think that the the issue heading into next season, or the concern for
Nick Nurse will be, is this, how can we make how can we
maximize the offensive tools we have here without relying every night on having the opposition
score seventy, you know, because that's not sustainable at today's NBA. Yeah,
and it's like, I don't even know if it would need to be
like a star guy. Just feels like they're like a little shot creator short
of being c. J. McCollum would have just been adequate. I think,
you know, like nothing crazy. Yeah, I mean like maybe Gary
Trent Junior or Scottie Barnes iven or get to Nobi kind of surprises you in
that regard, But I think they're that type of player short you mentioned you
don't expect any major trades, which I actually think makes it easier to project
their over under when we get there. But if you had to pick a
player right now that's most likely to be dealt to, would it be I'd
say if Gary Trent has a great run heading into the trade deadline, I
think that he's a candidate as well as because I feel like Gary trent contract
I forgot what it was. I think it was like a three year or
fifty million or something like that. I think it's because Clutch very good at
negotiating contracts. I think that if he beat like he came guns blazing when
he was traded to the Raptors. He was literally breaking plus minus records like
he was like people were like, did we just trade for like Zach Lavine
or something. I think that if he has a run where he's just it's
zac shot is going down where he is figuring out how to finish and he
just looks really good, I think that he's going to be a major candidate
to be traded. I think that Chris Bouche is my number one though,
just because he's he's just outperformed his contracts so much, and I think that
he's a type player that a lot of teams would just love to have,
like a you know, almost seven footer who can shoot the ball. Like
I think now we can call Cris Bouche a shooter. I gave it a
couple of years, but I think that he's just like a great shooter,
like the unique form and everything, and I feel like he has a lot
of use on a bunch of rosters. Yeah. Look, among all Raptors
players last year who played at least five hundred minutes, Chris Bouchet led the
Raptors in effective field goal percentage on pull up jumpers. That's my Chris Bouche
surprising that passes the eye test too. He was not missing. So what
do you think should be there go to crunch time lineup in close games?
Mhmm. I think there are a lot of variables that can affect this,
like how how like who they're playing against, how Scotty looks like. There
are a lot, but I think that I think my ideal of just as
it stands, closing lineup would be at full health would be Og, Pascal,
Dragic, Freddie and I'm gonna say Scotty because I want him to get
those reps. But I think that's a light up that kind of gives you
a little bit of everything. I think that all the players on the court
are intelligent enough and quick, quick on their feet enough to make up for
any defensive leakages on part of like Dragic. I think Dragic will also bring
some offensive stability on the core. He can you know, rump pick and
roll with Og, with Pascal, like, there's a lot of variations possible
there. I think that, Yeah, I think that that would be my
idea. And I think that the reps for a Spotty would be great too.
So I think that there's ample shooting defense and just brain on the court.
Yeah, that's and it's definitely matchup based. I will The question I
really had is how many of those tight crunch time units will Scotty Barnes be
involved in, which also just might be tell tale of how invested they are
in the bigger picture over just winning games. Let's say you're a nick nurse,
what is the lineup that you need to roll out? The quirkiest out
of left field wongy lineup you can think of. H I wouldn't be surprised
if we see like a three point guard lineup. This year we've seen the
two point guard ones. I wouldn't be surprised if there was perhaps a time
against the smaller team, maybe maybe against I want to say, like the
Bulls. I feel like the Bulls have a lot of guards. I think
like I wouldn't be surprised if they fielded lineups of like Lonzo DeRozan and Lavigne
at once or something. Yeahs end up playing some power forward for them probably
perhaps, Yeah, Yeah, I think that against the correct type of team,
I wouldn't be surprised if he saw Freddy Drogic and Malachi or Freddy Drogic
and Gary Trent on the court with like another two forwards. Mine would be
and I think it's maybe it's partly more of a curiosity, but I feel
like they almost have to try this to at some point. Would you need
to go with like the the all six nine? Oh yeah, yeah,
Prescha Utah have o g on there and then Scottie like Daddy. I don't
know what that offense looks like. Yeah, I need to see that lineup
has everything they have, playmaking defense being like that, that could be very,
very fascinating. So as of when we're recording this, they're win total
over under a set at thirty six point five? Are you would you take
the over under on that? And where do you see them largely stacking up
relative to the rest of the East. Hmm. I'm gonna take a look
right now on what last seasons record was because I feel like that will influence.
You could tell I was not paying attention last season to the exact win
loss record. Yeah, I mean towards the down the stretch of the season
for them, it got pretty rough and the thirty six point five super low
for them to me, like this would be one of my best bets.
But I feel like, I'm too high on the Raptors because of how easy
it is for me to smash that over. Okay, yeah, so I
think the last season, Okay, so twenty seven forty five shortened season,
seventy two games season. It was a struggle. It was a struggle.
It was they somehow won twenty seven games last season playing you know, some
of the worst basketball I've ever seen, like with the with the top players
on the rotation just absent for the last month or two. Yeah, they
weren't, and still we're at a thirty one win pace overall. Yeah,
So I think I would not I honestly, I'd give the over under.
I would say that my prediction would be for an eighty two game season.
I don't see them losing. I don't see them winning any less than forty
in my opinion, plus win team. I think it's funny that I guess
I'm higher on the Raptors than you are at this point. Are you thinking
they're like seven to eight in the East at this point? Then? Yeah?
I think what complicates it is how the absence of Siam affects them in
the beginning, how much they experiment as well all how you know, you
know, do they just pivot to let the young guns like do whatever they
want on the court. We'll get their feet wet for the season. Like,
I don't know what their philosophical approach will be to the season, which
can impact it. But you know, the Raptors, you always bet the
over on the Raptors always, like the last what eight years, you bet
the over. I have not gone through like my official wind totals yet for
the podcast that we record here, but as of right now when I was
doing like the cursory to put it together, I have the Raptors in fourth
or fifth in the East for me this year, I think because the Siakam
injury, maybe I'm not waiting, like waiting it heavily enough because is there.
I don't like even know what he's expected to return, But based off
the way that they can play defense on paper anyway, it feels like they're
built to really overachieved during the regular season. You know, what happens offensively
in the postseason is a different story altogether. But when you look at this
roster, if they get relatively good health, I feel like it's one that
wins a lot more games than people are projecting. Those are my favorite kind
of seasons, the overachieving. You know, the no no national TV games
and overachieving is my favorite combination. But I have a question, what is
your win loss projection for like the or I guess what's your seeding projection for
the Knicks? Oh? For the Knicks. So I have the Knicks right
now in play in territory, I really I don't see how the defensive success
holds when they I do. Okay, I respect what they did leaning into
shock creation, but you lost your most important primiter defender in Reggie Bullock.
You leaned very heavily into shock creation to now where RJ. Barrett is probably
gonna have to guard the opposition's best wing or we're talking Evan Fournier Alec Burke's
at that point, which will be probably a disaster. They got super lucky
on opponent three point shooting last year, and you know, maybe the base
defense around the rim should still be good, especially and Mitch gets healthy.
But I don't know. There's Julius Randall was so good last year, and
you have to think even with more room, I would expect his efficiency to
fall because of right now, the teams I have in front of them are
the Raptors, the Celtics, the Nets, and the Bucks obviously the Sixers,
and they say the Hawks. Yet so I have six or seven teams
in front of them at the moment. Oh okay, so not even the
Bulls are in that realm too. I am so unbelievably low on the Bulls.
I tend to think DeMar Derozen is underappreciated now and I could not envision
a worse fit for him at the moment. Yah goo. Yeah, It's
gonna be interesting to see how a lot of the overachievers of last year translate
into the upcommunity, because I always say, for every every projection you have,
there's going to be like three teams that just it doesn't work. Like
there's always something, you know, there's always that one or two I'm want
to say one or two teams on three teams, but one or two teams
that every and expected to just amaze end up falling completely flat. It happens
every season. So I'm interested to see which teams those are this year.
And there's in the East specifically, when you look at kind of Boston,
Washington, Indiana, Charlotte, and I think you definitely throw Toronto in there,
and then you can throw Chicago because they have a bunch of really good
players. Like a couple of those teams are are going to pop if they
get When you look at the Celtics, Washington and Indiana Toronto specifically better health
than they did last year. And so it just feels like the middle of
the Eastern Conference is so I think aside from Brooklyn and Milwaukee. You could
tell me unless it's you know, unless you told me it was Detroit,
Cleveland or Orlando, any other team finishes third, and I would probably believe
you. Yeah, Yeah, that's what it's looking like. Yeah, is
there anyone or anything related to this Raptors squad that I did not ask you
about? The thing needs to be covered. I think we discussed literally every
aspect of the organization. Not a lot of Gary Trent junior talk. I
guess. Oh yeah, I mentioned this contract, but that's about it.
Yeah. I like Gary Gary, Gary's great. He I actually love Gary
Trench. I'm just curious to see how good he like. Is there any
more layers to his through his offensive game than yeah read please, go ahead,
go ahead. I was just gonna say I think he's underrated. Defensively
too, and the contract amount didn't you know, I didn't fat and eyelash
at it. I'm just like, you know, you really only have two
years of him now, because if he plays up to par in this contract,
that puts you in a weird position. And I think you know,
your point about maybe he plays his way onto the trade block is especially sealing
it now when you just look at that contract structure. Oh yeah, And
I think that his age helps, Like he's just he's just kind of built
to be a tradeable contract right now. But yeah, I like I like
Gary. I'm interested to see if he makes any effort to improve with his
finishing. That was one of the critiques people had with the upcoming season,
like is he gonna, you know, rely on the Flashet baseline turnaround theataway
or something but or or is he going to use the opportunity to, you
know, get to the rims? So the Raptors just meet as many players
as possible attempting to get to the rim. So I'm interested to see if
he takes on that responsibility. He is the rare players you mentioned that's younger
than expected. I think there's a lot of players you look at and you
forget how old they actually are and then it's like, oh, he's twenty
two. His biggest flaw to me though, is that he's not six nine,
so only change that. Gary Yasmin, Can you please let our listeners
know where they can follow you on social media and check out your work.
Yeah, at Carmelo Drama on Twitter. I think the upcoming season I'm going
to be covering a lot more Raptors. I think it was more wider MBA
for the last season, but heading into next season, I'm going to be
covering the Raptors regularly in a column for you in Sports Canada, so be
sure to check that out. And yeah, Dishes and Dimes as well every
Monday morning. That's a great podcast. And seriously, juice that follower account
at Carmelo Drama because you're I mean, we're the same, fantastic follow But
that's just a that's a social media tragedy. Tragedy that it was permanently suspended.
So as hello Drama spelled exactly as it sound. Yeahsman, as always,
thank you so much for coming on and indulging my raptors questions and I'm
sure, as you know now, I will be pestering you again in the
future. Of course, thanks for having me