Locked On Raptors

In Episode 1690, Sean Woodley goes solo to assess the state of the Toronto Raptors' centre position and who stands the best chance of being the backup to Jakob Poeltl in 2024-25, with recent signing Bruno Fernando likely figuring heavily into that competition. Off the top, Sean digs into the Raptors' extreme level of dependence on Poeltl, his undeniable positive impact when he's on the floor, and why it may be hard for the Raptors to survive the minutes he doesn't play this season -- let alone a sustained injury absence. Next, Sean talks about recent signing Bruno Fernando, his limited offensive game, the interesting work he's done as a defender and driver of strong defensive rebounding numbers, and why he is probably the best candidate to be Poeltl's backup this season if he makes the team out of camp, which he probably should. Lastly, Sean runs through the reasons why Kelly Olynyk should be almost exclusively playing minutes at the four for the Raptors, Jonathan Mogbo's potential as a small-ball, creative f

In Episode 1689, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the Canadian men's national team losing 82-73 to host nation France in the quarterfinals of the Olympic men's basketball tournament in Paris on Tuesday. Off the top, Sean shares some of his broader thoughts on the loss, Canada's miserable start and the officiating before digging into why the Achilles heel of this roster came around to bite Canada and end their medal hopes against the bruising French frontline, with Mathias Lessort and Guerschon Yabusele leading the charge against and overmatched Canadian front court. Next, Sean digs into the poor performance of Jamal Murray, who was supposed to give this Canadian team the best guard play in the tournament in concert with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but who went just 3/13 in the loss to France to put a capper on a rough tournament for the Denver Nuggets star. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (the second half effort), The Bad (the international field only getting stronger from here) and The Hmmm (was this tou

In Episode 1688, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob react to the Canadian men's basketball team hanging on to beat Spain 88-85 on Friday to move them to a perfect 3-0 in the Group of Death at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with a likely quarterfinal date with the host nation France awaiting them on Tuesday. Off the top, Sean and Vivek dig into their biggest takeaways from Canada's win over Spain, including RJ Barrett's monumental late-game dagger from the left corner, Andrew Nembhard's outstanding performance, and why Canada taking care of business in three tight games should provide plenty of hope for Canada's ability to navigate the knockout rounds, even though Jamal Murray really needs to get himself right if a surprise gold medal run is to be a serious possibility. Next, Sean and Vivek examine the potential matchup with Victor Wembanyama and France in the quarterfinals, which is the most likely outcome for Canada barring a South Sudan upset over Serbia on Saturday. Lastly, Sean and Vivek run through The Good, The Bad

In Episode 1687, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob and Sahal Abdi for the conclusion of their 7th annual Toronto Raptors over/unders and props contest covering their predictions for the 2023-24 season, which of course did not go to plan for the Raptors. Join Sean, Vivek and Sahal as their revisit their pre-season takes about the Raptors that at the time employed Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and more, and watch the drama unfold as a winner is crowned not just among the three on the show, but in the listener competition as well! We revisit our preseason picks for individual player stats, as well as some team-level predictions, most of which went horribly wrong. Will preseason pessimism be rewarded? Tune in to find out! Join us over on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/HA37zQJ8Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’

In Episode 1686, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic) to talk about the Canadian men's national team taking down Australia to improve to 2-0 in Group A action at Paris 2024, with Toronto Raptors wing RJ Barrett's 24-7-5 effort leading the way. Off the top, Sean and Jamar gush about Barrett's continued run of excellent play for the national team, how his offense helped steady Canada after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander picked up two early fouls against the Aussies, and whether or not he's the best player to ever live. Plus, some thoughts on another tough outing for both Jamal Murray and Kelly Olynyk, and how they might be able to help one another find some consistency in this tournament as the medal rounds loom large. Next, Sean and Jamar chat about the defensive adjustments made by Jordi Fernandez going into the second half, Canada's nasty perimeter defense, and the shortened rotation that Fernandez rode down the stretch. Lastly, they run through The Good, The Bad & The Hmmmm from Canada's se

In Episode 1685, Sean Woodley goes solo to react to the Canadian men's and women's national team's tournament openers against Greece and France on Saturday and Monday respectively. Off the top, Sean reacts to Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett's excellent 23-point outing as one of the two-best players on the floor for Canada in their 86-79 win over Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greek side on Saturday, and digs into why with every steady performance by Barrett, the belief that his second half in Toronto last year was completely legit only grows. Next, Sean runs through some of his biggest takeaways from the rest of the Canadian men's team in their win over Greece, with the wonder that is watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play for your team at the top of mind. Lastly, Sean digs into the women's team's 75-54 loss to France that was marred by a 23-2 second quarter in the French's favour -- a stretch that illuminated some of the biggest challenges this women's team is going to face if they want to try and overachieve and

In Episode 1684, Sean Woodley is joined by Oren Weisfeld (author of an upcoming book on Canada Basketball for the ECW Press) to chat about the Canadian men's and women's national teams as they get set to push for medals in basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Off the top, Sean and Oren assess the overall level of expectation for both the men's and women's squads. The men, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enter the Paris games as one of the favourites to medal, and with the second-best Vegas odds to win the whole thing behind the United States. The women, meanwhile, while certainly part of a group of teams that could all realistically medal in Paris, are perhaps going into these Olympics with an eye on building a foundation for 2024, when the team's talented young core will be far more ready to compete at the tip-top of the international field. Next, Sean and Oren detail the men's team's pathway through a challenging Group A featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece, the always competitive Sp

In Episode 1683, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic, TSN) to answer a bunch of mailbag questions about a great many Toronto Raptors topics, including goals for the 2024-25 season, key role players on this year's squad, and an interesting either/or What If debate. Off the top, Sean and Jamar chat about whether they would rather the Raptors have another season from hell but be guaranteed Cooper Flagg at the top of next year's draft OR have a surprisingly good season and make it all the way to Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs, with Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley very much looking the part of foundational pillars. Next, they tackle questions about which Raptors player outside of their core four of Barnes, Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl will have the best on/off metrics next season, and where Bruce Brown might be best deployed. Lastly, they dig into a question about three-point improvement: would it be better for Scottie Barnes to take a 5% jump on catch-and-shoot threes

In Episode 1682, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (Basketball Feelings) to run through her notes from 10 days spent in Las Vegas covering the Toronto Raptors at Summer League. Off the top, Sean and Katie chat about the palpably good vibes around this year's Summer League squad, and Gradey Dick looking very much ready for a bigger role in Year 2 after a strong-but-abbreviated run with the summer Raps. Next, they run through Katie's impressions of the Raptors' rookies, from Jamal Shead's steadiness, to the intriguing flashes shown by Ulrich Chomche, and Jonathan Mogbo's big time promise. Lastly, they discuss Ochai Agbaji's struggles, the weirdest stuff Katie encountered during 10 days in the desert, and the news that the Raptors are going to make their preseason home in Malaga, Spain as of mid-August. All that, and a major meteorological interupption! Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/akgUYU87Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and

In Episode 1681, Sean Woodley goes solo to react to the news that the Toronto Raptors and forward Sasha Vezenkov have parted ways in a move that will see the former EuroLeague MVP return to Europe while leaving about $6.7 million on the table, opening up some new offseason possibilities for the Raptors if they'd like to explore them. Off the top, Sean digs into the nuts and bolts of the Vezenkov departure, why it paints the trade with the Sacramento Kings on Day 2 of the Draft even more favourably than it already looked, and the waiving of Javon Freeman-Liberty. Next, Sean digs into his number one target with the Raptors' $11-ish million left under the tax: former Grizzlies and Wizards point guard Tyus Jones, who could help stabilize the Raptors' second unit while being a nice trade chip to head into the deadline with if the Raptors were to sign him. Lastly, Sean runs through some of the candidates to bring in on a minimum contract to fill the final roster spot while preserving some salary flexibility for pot

In Episode 1680, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Raptors in 7) to chat about their biggest overall takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' tour at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas before hitting on Gary Trent Jr. signing with the Milwaukee Bucks and former Raptors second-rounder Christian Koloko reportedly working towards being cleared by the NBA to return to the floor. Off the top, Sean and Vivek dig into their shared overall takeaway from Summer League, which is that the Raptors have young and interesting two-way prospects again, who just might be able to help build up the depth of roster talent that we saw the Raptors excelled at having during their wildly successful run from 2013 through 2020; Ja'Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead and Gradey Dick all flashed plenty of upside, with Jonathan Mogbo and Ulrich Chomche clearly both having plenty left to show off as they move into their rookie seasons as well. Next, Sean and Vivek run through The Good (DJ Carton, Ja'Kobe Walter's cutting), The Bad (Ochai Agba

In Episode 1677, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl for a Toronto Raptors mailbag featuring questions about the Canadian men's national team, Chris Boucher's place within the Raptors and new second-round draft pick Jamal Shead. The bulk of the show is spent entertaining an excellent question from one listener about how well the Raptors would stack up if you replaced their roster with the Team Canada Olympic roster. Of course, because this is Adam Silver's NBA, we first need to determine whether or not the books would be salary cap compliant. Once that's out of the way, Sean and Katie are free to debate and discuss how a roster led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray in the back court, with a ton of guard and wing depth and some notable front court concerns would fare in the Eastern Confernce. Is Team Canada getting home court in the playoffs? Lastly, Sean and Katie answer a couple questions about Chris Boucher and where he figures into the teams plans in the final year, and whether Jamal Shead has

In Episode 1678, Sean Woodley is joined by Locked On Coogs host Parker Ainsworth to talk about Toronto Raptors incoming rookie guard Jamal Shead, who's been one of the stand outs from the early going in Vegas Summer League. Off the top, Sean gets Parker to dig into the tales of Shead being an exemplary dude from his time as one of the leaders of the Houston Cougars, before they dig into what makes Shead such a special defensive player despite his 6'1 stature, what he brings to the table as a playmaker, and whether or not Shead's three-point stands a chance of improving from his 31% clip over his alst two college seasons as he enters the NBA. Join us over on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Elig

In Episode 1678, Sean Woodley reacts to the Toronto Raptors' encouraging 2-0 start at Las Vegas Summer League with quick hitters thoughts on Gradey Dick, Jamal Shead, Ja'Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Ulrich Chomche and more! Off the top, Sean digs into Dick, who in his first game of Summer League showed all he needed to show, showing out as the best player on the floor despite some trouble from beyond the arc. Even if the ankle injury sustained in Sunday's win over Denver rules him out for the rest of Summer League, Dick is firmly in the conversation to start for the Raptors in his sophomore season. Next, Sean digs into the play of the Raptors' four picks from the 2024 NBA Draft, with some thoughts on the all-around solidness of Jamal Shead, Ja'Kobe Walter looking very much like a 19-year old, Jonathan Mogbo doing all kinds of interesting things and Ulrich Chomche's undeniably raw but tantalizing package of skills. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Branden Carlson, DJ Carton), The Bad (Ochai Agbaji) and The

In Episode 1676, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet) to talk about the Toronto Raptors offseason moves, whether or not the roster is improved at all, and whether the team has a shot to improve on either offense or defense in 2024-25. Off the top, they chat about the final tally of guys coming in and guys going out, why the loss of Gary Trent Jr. might make the roster look less talented in the immediate future but in the grand scheme, they upside of the roster probably leaves them in better shape than last season in which the team rolled out 30 different players. Next, Sean and Vivek discuss the offensive side of the ball, whether the sound process of last season might start leading to better results, or if the lack of high end shot making talent will still leave the Raptors toiling near the bottom six or seven in the offensive charts. Lastly, they take a look at the defense, which was completely hopeless last season, and will still be in tough in 2024-25; but will the collecting gi

In Episode 1675, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic) to chat about the Toronto Raptors' crowded depth chart and which players at key positions will end up playing more minutes in the 2024-25 season. Will Bruce Brown get more run as the starting two guard than Gradey Dick? Will Jonathan Mogbo or Ja'Kobe Walter lead the team in minutes played by a rookie? Will Chris Boucher or Sasha Vezenkov find themselves in the rotation? Who will get the most run at backup center between Kelly Olynyk, Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Mogbo? Will Davion Mitchell get the lion's share of minutes at backup point guard? And who will play the fifth-most crunch time minutes behind Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl? We discuss it all on today's show! Join us in the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/VzfzwZVcSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNB

In Episode 1674, Sean Woodley goes solo to run through all kinds of news and notes about the Toronto Raptors and the Canadian men's national team, including Michael Grange's latest reporting on the Raptors' parting ways with Gary Trent Jr., second-round pick Ulrich Chomche signing a two-way deal with the Raptors, and the announcement of the Canadian men's Olympic team's 12-man roster for this summer's tournament in Paris. Off the top, Sean digs into the reporting by Grange around the Raptors decision to ultimately not offer Gary Trent Jr. a new contract to stay in Toronto, and why it will be probably end up a good decision in the long run even if they miss GTJ this coming season before talking about the Raptors signing Ulrich Chomche to a two-way contract. Next, Sean shares his initial impressions of Canada's official men's Olympic roster, sorts through how they stack up in a loaded field and absolutely gauntlet of a Group A along with Australia, Greece and Spain, and why Trey Lyles could sneakily be one of t

In Episode 1673, Sean Woodley is joined by Louis Zatzman (Raptors Republic) to talk about the Toronto Raptors' press conference announcing the new deals for Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, why it seems like they're done making roster moves for the summer, and just how bad the Raptors want to be in 2024-25. Off the top, Sean and Louis dig into the Raptors declaration that the future starts now, and discuss how much belief they each have in the Raptors getting rewarded for their belief in their leading duo, and their different levels in belief that Quickley can be the starring lead guard the Raptors are hoping he can be. Next, they chat about the implication that the Raptors are done making moves for the summer, whether that leaves the roster too imbalanced, and the team's handling of the Bruce Brown situation. Lastly, they discuss how bad they thing the Raptors will and/or want to be next season, the value of playing competent and competitive ball vs. tanking into the upper reaches of the lottery and mor

In Episode 1672, Sean Woodley digs into why the Toronto Raptors decision to pick up Bruce Brown's option in the interest of trading him gets a little bit worse every day they aren't able to swing a deal involving him, and whether the Los Angeles Lakers could be a team that saves the Raptors from Brown-related purgatory. Off the top, Sean digs into the ongoing quietness around Brown, and why the alternative routes the Raptors could have taken with their salary cap flexibility this summer are looking pretty interesting as Brown remains unmoved on a roster that is way too stacked with guards and undersized wings. Next, based on some reporting for Anthony Irwin of Lakers Daily indicated the Lakers have in fact checked in on Bruce Brown, Sean details the situation the Lakers find themselves in financially, who they have to trade, and why a small wrinkle in LeBron James' contract could decide whether or not they and the Raptors could possibly connect on a deal for the former NBA champion Brown. Lastly, Sean sorts t

In Episode 1671, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (Basketball Feelings) to talk about their excitement to watch Toronto Raptors rookies Ja'Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead and (maybe?) at Las Vegas Summer League, and examine whether or not Gradey Dick should be joining the Raptors' recent draft picks in Vegas this month. Off the top, they chat about why this is shaping up to be a much more exciting Summer League roster for the Raptors than we've seen in recent years, and what about the games of Shead, Mogbo and Walter they're looking forward to see on display. Next, they chat about second-year Raptors Gradey Dick and why they think he should absolutely be with the Summer League squad before taking a look at whether or not Dick will be a starter for the Raptors come October. Lastly, they take a temperature on the ongoing silence about Bruce Brown, chat about Caleb Martin as a potential free agent or sign-and-trade target and more! Join us on the Discord! https://discord.gg/jtX2c3gRSupport Us By S