Locked On Raptors

In Episode 1588, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Raptors in 7) to chat about the Toronto Raptors weekend split against the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets and the loss of Scottie Barnes to a fractured third metacarpal in his left hand that could spell the end of his breakout season. Off the top, Sean and Vivek chat about what a bummer the Barnes injury is, especially considering the identity the team seemed to be finding with Barnes as the clear leading man coming out of the All-Star break. Should the loss of Barnes affect the Raptors' approach to the last stretch of the season as it related to keeping their draft pick? And is there anything left for Raptors fan to excited about night to night over the next month and a half? Next, Sean and Vivek chat about Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett now becoming the engines of the Raptors, the strides they've each made since coming to Toronto, and their efforts in a 111-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Lastly, they run through The Good (

In Episode 1587, Sean Woodley goes solo to discuss the ways in which the Toronto Raptors new-look roster shares some commonalities with tonight's opponent, the Golden State Warriors -- and more specifically the early Steph-Klay-Draymond Warriors who took the league by storm back in 2014-15. Off the top, Sean digs into the ways in which the Raptors current roster and skillsets resemble those of the early stage dynastic Warriors, with Immanuel Quickley's shooting gravity, Gradey Dick's shooting and off-ball movement and Scottie Barnes' playmaking from the forward position somewhat mirroring the dynamic between Curry, Thompson and Green, while Jakob Poeltl and RJ Barrett in their own ways resemble what Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes brought to the table. Of course, the Raptors are not the Warriors, and will almost certaintly never be the Warriors, but considering where Darko Rajakovic has drawn influence from, and the players the Raptors now have, why not try to replicate them stylistically? Next, Sean dives i

In Episode 1586, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic) to chat about a 136-125 loss to Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks in which the Raptors fell short, but absolutely looked the part of a modern NBA team capable of hanging with the best offenses in the league. Off the top, they chat about how the Raptors' offense helped them keep pace despite a 30-11-16 triple-double by Dončić, and how their recent run of offensive performances has them finally fitting into the league's offensive revolution after years of feeling like they were behind the curve. Plus, some thoughts on how the Raptors' varied defensive looks gave Luka some trouble early, only for the dam to burst in the second half as the MVP candidate settled into a groove. Next, Sean and Jamar chat about an excellent night for Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. To close out the show, they run through The Good (Quickley, Jakob Poeltl's rim protection), The Bad (Bruce Brown's weird fit, the Raptors' Scottie + bench lineup

In Episode 1585, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (DIME, Basketball Feelings) to play a round of everyone's favourite Toronto Raptors parlour game: What's More Likely?!, with questions about Scottie Barnes' shooting, Gradey Dick's job in 2024-25  and the Raptors' push for the NBA Play-in Tournament. Off the top, Sean and Katie chat about whether it's more likely that Barnes shoots better than 38% from three for the rest of the season, or worse than 25%. Next, they discuss whether it's more likely that Gradey Dick starts every game in his second season, or comes off the bench for the entire season.  Lastly, they look at whether a run through the Play-in and into the NBA Playoffs is  more likely for the Raptors than falling back down in the bottom-6 of the NBA standings. Join us over on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/ZtkQ34YMSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Stitch FixStyle that makes you feel as good as you look—get started today at StitchFix.com/LOCKEDONGrammarlyWhen it com

In Episode 1584, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet) to chat about the Toronto Raptors securing their first 3-game winning streak of the season with a 130-122 victory on the road over Pascal Siakam's Indiana Pacers, powered by Scottie Barnes' fourth triple-double of the season. Off the top, they chat about how the Raptors' roster is now conducive to Scottie Barnes becoming the best version of himself, and how that was put on display in the win over Indy, as every key member of the rotation flashed the ways in which they compliment the 22-year-old All-Star. Next, they give some flowers to Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who like Barnes, now has a roster suited to what he wants to do. Lastly, they run through The Good (Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick), The Bad (Bruce Brown, Jakob Poeltl tweaking his ankle) and The Mmmmmmmm (favourite pizza toppings) to round out the show! Join our Locked On Raptors listener community over on Discord! https://discord.gg/9JCxeG9jSupport Us By Supporting

In Episode 1583, Sean Woodley breaks down the Toronto Raptors 123-121 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in which the Raptors' bench looked as good as it has in years. Off the top, Sean digs into the excellent play of the Scottie Barnes / Gradey Dick / Ochai Agbaji / Bruce Brown / Kelly Olynyk lineup that was a +11 in its minutes, and why the complimentary skillsets of the players involved should portend good things as they get more time together. Next, Sean chats about what a wonderful thing it is to have 48 minutes of center play, as both Jakob Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk flashed the ways in which they can help the Raptors sustain positive play over the course of full games with their similar and yet very different skillets. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Immanuel Quickley's audaciousness), The Bad (Jordan Nwora) and The Hmmm (Trae Young's injury and its impact on the play-in race) to round out the show. Join us over on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/uyWNvB7kSupport Us By

In Episode 1582, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the Toronto Raptors' 121-93 blowout win over the flailing Brooklyn Nets in their first game back from the All-Star break. Off the top, Sean digs into why this game was as good a tone-setter for the Raptors as they embark on the final third of the season, and why even though making the play-in is a little bit farfetched, the carrot of getting back into the race can be very valuable for a team looking to lay a foundation for next season. A win against the Hawks tonight, and the play-in race gets a little more interesting. Sean digs into Scottie Barnes' out-of-the-gate energy and powerful transition scoring, the Raptors getting back to their roots by demolishing the Nets in the open court, and the defense showing some signs of connectivity at long last. Of course, it's just the Nets, so let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Next, Sean talks about Immanuel Quickley and Gary Trent Jr. combining for 49 points on efficient shooting and their different stations wi

In Episode 1581, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (DIME, Basketball Feelings) fresh off her trip to Indianapolis for All-Star Weekend to answer listener questions about your Toronto Raptors. Off the top, Sean and Katie chat about All-Star Weekend, whether it can or should be fixed in any way, and why we should all probably adjust our expectations for an event that doesn't carry the same weight as it did in the past for a bunch of pretty understandable reasons. Next, they chat about whether Pascal Siakam will get his #43 retired by the Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter and Kyle Lowry's own number retirement cases and more. Plus, which three Raptors games should time-strapped fans prioritize down the stretch? To wrap, Sean and Katie answer questions about Immanuel Quickley and what they'd like to see from him down the stretch, RJ Barrett's puzzlingly poor defense, and whether Sean will ever hit the end-of-podcast over-the-shoulder shot that he so far as been skunked on.Get your mailbag questions answered on f

In Episode 1580, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Raptors in 7) to break down their hopes and dreams for the Toronto Raptors down the stretch of the season. Off the top, they discuss what they'd like to see from the Raptors as it pertains to their philosophy surrounding their Top-6 protected pick owed to the San Antonio Spurs. Should the Raptors make every effort to tank to a place where they're guaranteed to hang onto the pick and draft in the Top-6, or with the lottery odds and standings stacked against them, should they make every effort to play out the season competitively, perhaps even climb the standings by a spot or two, and attempt to convey the pick and clean the slate going forward. Next, Vivek pitches Sean on why he'd like to see a platoon at center between Jakob Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk, with both big men working in a time share and getting starts dependent on matchups. Lastly, Sean makes a plea for the Raptors to find an identity on defense over the final 27 games, Vivek advocates

In Episode 1579, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Raptors in 7) to chat about the things they're hoping to see out of the Toronto Raptors during the stretch run of their season. Off the top, they take a second to talk about Jaylen Brown's gloriously embarrassing dunk contest performance before shouting out Scottie Barnes for an admirable and very fun All-Star debut. Next, Sean and Vivek dig into the Immanuel Quickley & Scottie Barnes duo and why the massaging of their fit with one another needs to be the Raptors' highest priority down the stretch, as well as some of the types of actions they're most eager to see them link up for. Lastly, they get into Gradey Dick, and why they'd like to see him play more minutes with the Raptors core four players than he has so far (0) and the reasons for and against moving him into the starting lineup in place of Gary Trent Jr. Part 2 comes tomorrow!Join the Locked On Raptors Discord: https://discord.gg/pvqQBzZTSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Gramm

In Episode 1578, Sean Woodley is joined by Joey Devine (RoundBall Rock) to talk about Scottie Barnes' overall quality as an All-Star player before a way-too-in-depth preview of the All-Star Skills Challenge on Saturday night. Off the top, Sean and Joey discuss where Scottie Barnes slots in on the continuum of All-Stars ranging from Devin Harris to Shaq, and where Barnes' game lines up compared to Raptors All-Stars of the past. Next, Sean and Joey dig into the new format for this year's Skills Challenge, which is a good event, no matter what you say. Lastly, they make their predictions for the Skills Challenge; will Scottie Barnes lead Team All-Star to a victory? Or will Victor Wembanyama's Team Top Picks or Tyrese Halibuton's Team Pacers come away with All-Star Saturday's ultimate prize?! Plus, some quick picks on the less important All-Star events.Join us over on the show's Discord! https://discord.gg/tP6PUtgtSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!NissanOur friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the ca

In Episode 1577, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic) to talk about the Toronto Raptors' narrow 127-125 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Pascal Siakam's emotional return to Toronto. Off the top, Sean and Jamar chat about Scottie Barnes' huge bounce back performance after Monday's dud against the Spurs that ended with him leaving the bench early. They get into how Barnes pushing the pace unlocks the best version of himself, and why they're glad he didn't receive a suspension for what happened on Monday. Watching him put up 29-12-8 to head into the All-Star break was much preferable. Next, Sean and Jamar talk about the Raptors' late-game offense, which featured some good and some bad, including some decently drawn up late looks on the heels of some pretty sloppy possessions in the preceding few minutes. Plus, some thoughts on the value of the reps the Raptors are getting in clutch time of late. Lastly, they run through The Good (the absolutely perfect Pascal Siakam tribute, Chris Boucher), The

In Episode 1576, Sean Woodley goes solo with some thoughts on the ways in which the Toronto Raptors are currently missing Pascal Siakam as he gets set a make his return to Toronto tonight before diving into some listener questions. Off the top, Sean chats about the ways in which the departure of Siakam has hurt the Raptors on the court -- all things that were to be expected, but all things that have made it harder for the Raptors to play productive, competitive basketball around Scottie Barnes as the new clearly defined number one option. Plus, some thoughts on how woefilly ill-equipped to handle Siakam the Raptors' defense figures to be tonight. Next, Sean sorts through some listener questions from the show's Discord server about the challenges of having a first-year coach and a player getting his first taste of number one status at the same time, the insanity of Raptors fans online, Gary Trent Jr.'s standing among shooting guards in the league, star players the Raptors could target in trade over the next fe

In Episode 1575, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet) to about a very bad Toronto Raptors basketball game in which they got demolished by the San Antonio Spurs' star rookie Victor Wembanyama, who posted a triple double with points, rebounds and blocks. Off the top, Sean and Vivek talk about what a disappointing effort it was by a Raptors team comprised of guys who almost all have something meaningful to play for, and yet apart from Gradey Dick and Kelly Olynyk, no one really showed up. Next, inspired by Wemby's brilliance, they attempt to grade the Raptors players on the Wemby Fear Index, a loosely created criteria of how much each Raptor looked spooked by the rookie phenom as though he were an alien from outer space. Lastly, they run through The Good (Gradey Dick, one fleeting stretch of nice bench play with Immanuel Quickley at the helm), The Bad (Scottie Barnes' performance) and The Hmmm (Time for a change to the starting lineup?) to round out the show.Join us over on the Locked On Raptors Dis

In Episode 1574, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the Toronto Raptors' 1-1 weekend split against the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Off the top, Sean digs into the Raptors' starters looking fantastic against Houston, in particular Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl, and digs into some of the increasingly encouraging numbers on the Raptors' core four and starting lineup featuring Gary Trent Jr. Next, Sean digs into a 119-95 loss to the absolute buzzsaw that is this Cavs team, assess the lack of cohesion that hurt the second unit, and marvel at an outstanding Scottie Barnes game. Lastly, Sean runs the The Good (Gradey Dick's last 11 games), The Bad (the degree to which the Raptors can't afford an off night from Jakob Poeltl) and The Hmmmm (where Ochai Agbaji fits into the Raptors' mix going forward) to round out the show.Join us in the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/z8EEbxx4Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!NissanOur friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the capab

In Episode 1573, Sean Woodley is joined by Zulfi Sheikh (Sportsnet, Raptors Republic) to take a 10,000 foot view of all the moves the Toronto Raptors have made over the course of the last six weeks to try and determine whether they're better set up moving forward than they were when the season began. Off the top, Sean and Zulfi get into the overall takeaways from a trade season that was full of large-scale change both in the complexion of the roster, and the overall direction of the franchise. Is the direction now clear? And are the Raptors in a better spot now than they were before they kicked off the transaction period by trading O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam? Next, Sean and Zulfi chat about the Raptors' targeting Canadian-born players and whether that might become a core principle of their talent accrual strategy going forward, the benefits of trying to identify Canadian players who can help the team, and the limits of that strategy as it relates to landing the very top end players from north of the borde

In Episode 1572, Sean Woodley goes solo for a live reaction episode to break down the Toronto Raptors' moves at the NBA Trade Deadline, as they acquired Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji from the Utah Jazz for Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr. and the worst of their first-round picks in this 2024 draft, moved Dennis Schröder and Thad Young to the Nets for Spencer Dinwiddie in a cost-saving measure, and held on to Bruce Brown despite plenty of rumours that he'd be moved on Thursday. Off the top, Sean digs into the many reasons why the Olynyk/Agbaji trade was a nice bit of business for the Raptors, from the potential to retain Olynyk beyond the expiry of his current contract at season's end, to Agbaji being a better bet than a very late first round selection to become a rotation piece in the next couple years. Next, Sean details the strange Schröder trade, and why it's not as damaging as it could have been considering the addition of Olynyk and the retention of Brown to serve as their backup point guard. This one's a

The Toronto Raptors traded for Kelly Olynyk & Ochai Agbaji. What is Masai Ujiri doing and is this worth a 1st Round Pick? DO THE RAPTORS ONLY WANT CANADIANS?! Then the Raptors traded Dennis Schroder for Spencer Dinwiddie. What does this do for Toronto and what's the plan going forward? Sean Woodley joins Tenitra Batiste to discuss the Kelly Olynyk & Ochai Agbaji trade for the Toronto Raptors and trading Dennis Schroder for Spencer Dinwiddie. Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More

In Episode 1571, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the Toronto Raptors trade at the exact moment the Toronto Raptors acquired Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji from the Utah Jazz for Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr. and one of the bad picks they got from Indiana in the Pascal Siakam trade -- of which there will be more coverage to come this afternoon at 4pm ET live on the YouTube Channel! Off the top, Sean digs into how awful the Raptors' defense was for most of the Hornets game, and why the Raptors most important players were the biggest culprits until some lock down work to close the game out. Next, Sean chats about the genuinely promising signs from Toronto on the offensive end, and the early returns on the Scottie Barnes-RJ Barrett-Immanuel Quickley-Jakob Poeltl quartet when they share the floor together. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Dennis Schroder's performance), The Bad (the Raptor's lack of defensive talent) and The Hmmmm (the end of the pre-deadline fog excuse for disjointed play) to round out t

In Episode 1570, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (DIME, Basketball Feelings) to chat about Scottie Barnes being named an NBA All-Star injury replacement alongside Trae Young, the adjustment to rooting for a team that isn't winning basketball games, and their final predictions ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. Off the top, Sean and Katie react to Barnes earning his first All-Star nod, their favourite elements of his All-Star leap season, and what they're looking for out of Scottie down the stretch of the season. Next, 50 games into the season, this feels like it's been a barren year as far as things to get excited about in Toronto. Has this been a lost season from the fan perspective? Sean and Katie discuss, while digging into the adjustment of expectations and motivations that has to happen when you go from rooting for a competitive team to a retooling one, and what excites them about what lies ahead over the final 32 games once the Trade Deadline dust settles. Plus, what are their predictions ahead of