Locked On Raptors

The Toronto Raptors fell big to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night in a game that made your brave host think all about the 2025 NBA Draft. In Episode 1789, Sean Woodley goes solo to talk about Scottie Barnes' struggles against the Bucks in the team's 130-112 loss on Friday, make his first swing at a Top-5 prospect ranking ahead of a the 2025 NBA Draft, and run through some other stray notes from the Raptors' 32nd loss in 42 games. Off the top, Sean talks about Scottie Barnes' struggles from three-point range, why no Immanuel Quickley means more Scottie threes for better or (usually) worse, Barnes still finding ways to be effective even in a 4-of-16 outing, and why without IQ there really isn't much left to learn about this team. Next, Sean ranks his five favourite potential prospects for the Raptors atop the 2025 NBA Draft, with thoughts on Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Asa Newell and Kasparas Jakucionus. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Kelly Olynyk!), The Bad (the matchup with the Bucks) and T

Halfway through the Toronto Raptors season, the team sits 10-31 and near the bottom of the standings -- but that doesn't mean there haven't been bright spots to get excited about! In Episode 1788, Sean Woodley and Katie Heindl (Basketball Feeling, Locked On NBA Newsletter) connect for another round of Toxic Positivity Friday and run through the brightest spots of the first half of the Raptors' season. Recency bias is about as they highlight this past week of Raptors hoop, which as been genuinely one of the high points of the year, capped off by a win over the Boston Celtics on  Wednesday. They also chat about the feat that has been maintaining a connected locker room vibe even through so much losing. Next, they chat about the improvement of Scottie Barnes, who has certainly had his ups and downs, but has made serious strides on defense and in the mid-range that could portend great things to come. Plus, they get into Gradey Dick, whose recent struggles shouldn't cloud a fantastic second season for the Raptors'

The Toronto Raptors took down the defending champion Boston Celtics 110-97 on Wednesday to secure their second-straight win and their best win of the entire season to close out the first half of their schedule. In Episode 1787, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the win over Boston, talk about Scottie Barnes' killer two-way performance, and shout out Jakob Poeltl and the team's defense for their roles in the win. Next, Sean gets into RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick returning to form with big games of their own and why some similar performances in the coming weeks will go a long way toward cementing their place within the team long term. Lastly, Sean digs into The Good (Davion Mitchell), The Bad (Bruce Brown) and The Hmm (10 wins from the first half of the season and what to expect in back half of the schedule) to round out the show. Discord: https://discord.gg/hpVCdFeeNewsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptorsYour favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and leag

The Toronto Raptors are terrible in clutch situations! Why is that? And is it something the Raptors' have the capacity to fix in house? In Episode 1786, Sean Woodley goes solo to field a bunch of mailbag questions from you, the listeners! Topics covered include what makes Chris Boucher so fun and his future with the franchise, the Raptors' struggles in clutch time and whether any fixes for their issues exist on the roster as constructed, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey's theoretical fits with the Raptors if they end up in Toronto on draft night, whether the team will finally rebrand back to purple full-time next year, and the future of Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster. Discord: https://discord.gg/hpVCdFeeNewsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptorsYour favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and league coverage delivered right to your in box. Sign up for free now, at lockedondaily.com.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!OpenPhoneThe #1 business phone system designed

You cannot stop Chris Boucher, you can only hope to contain him -- which the Golden State Warriors very much failed to do as the Toronto Raptors took down Steph Curry's squad 104-101 on Monday day thanks to a 17-point, 7-of-9 fourth quarter effort from the longest serving Raptors player. In Episode 1785, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob to recap the Toronto Raptors' 104-101 win over the Golden State Warriors, bask in the glow of Chris Boucher's white hot week -- maybe the best of his Raptors career to date -- and talk about the other stuff that worked well for the Raptors as they picked up just their ninth victory of the season. Off the top, Sean ad Vivek chat about Boucher's 17-point fourth quarter, his 25/33 run of shooting over his last four games, why the things that make the least sense are the most fun, and whether there's anything Boucher's doing differently of late to facilitate this heater. Next, Sean and Vivek chat about solid outings by Scottie Barnes and Ochai Agbaji, and Vivek does a victory

The Toronto Raptors fell 123-114 to the Detroit Pistons in a very competitive and entertaining game on Saturday, but concerns about the team's starting five of Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl are growing after another rough outing. In Episode 1784, Sean Woodley goes solo to dissect what was a pretty bizarre game that featured plenty to  like and dislike from the Raptors end of the things, what happens if the starting lineup is no good, the need for information and Chris Boucher with another ridiculous heater. Off the top, Sean gets into the good and bad of this game, from Immanuel Quickley launching threes and getting to the line while playing an overall pretty imbalanced game, RJ Barrett's two-way struggles,  and the bench giving the team life. Next, Sean digs into the starters' early struggles in their first week together, the -19.7 NET Rating they've posted so far, what happens if the starters are terrible over a longer sample, and why information is the single m

The Toronto Raptors looked like the Fun Bad team we grew to love in the first month of the season with a hard-fought 132-126 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. In Episode 1783, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the loss to Cleveland, detail what set this loss apart from most of the Raptors' recent Ls, check in on how the starting lineup fared in their third game together, and sing the praises of Chris Boucher and Jamal Shead's efforts off the bench. It wasn't a perfect performance by the Raptors, especially on the the defensive end, but this one featured all kinds of things to get stoked on -- including Scottie Barnes going toe-to-toe with Evan Mobley, and a much sharper offensive attack than we've seen in recent games. That's a loss you can live with. Join us on the Discord: https://discord.gg/x3gwEszpLocked On Raptors Newsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptorsYour favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and league coverage delivered right

The Toronto Raptors fell to the New York Knicks 112-98 on Wendesday night to fall to 8-29, but their starting lineup of Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl showed some signs of genuine promise, particularly in a defensively stout first half. In Episode 1782, Sean Woodley runs through his takeaways from yet another loss, why the starters were truly encouraging despite the game's final result, the struggles of the second unit and more. Off the top he chats about the Raptors winning the minutes with their starters on the floor, and what looked different about the defense through three quarters. Next, Sean examines the profound struggles of the second unit, including Jamal Shead's -21 in 16 minutes, Ja'Kobe Walters' 0-for-5 night, and the painful play of bench vets Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Immanuel Quickley), The Bad (Ochai Agbaji getting hurt) and The Hmm (the quest for sensible transitional lineups) to round out the show. Join us o

The Toronto Raptors visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday night looking to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the Bucks on Monday, and Gavin Schall from Locked On Knicks is along for a preview of the game and a check-in on RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and OG Anunoby a year and a week after the Raptors franchise-shifting trade with New York. In Episode 1781, Sean Woodley and Gavin Schall talk about RJ Barrett, still an enigma, and whether his defense has any hope of getting back to the heights it reached in Barrett's second season with the Knicks, Immanuel Quickley's progression as a playmaker, OG Anunoby's recent slump and whether there's anything for Knicks fans to be concerned about with his performance, and whether the struggling Raptors can take advantage of the Knicks' porous rim protection and pick up an upset victory against a New York team that may be without Karl-Anthony Towns, and that has dropped three games in a row. Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/x3gwE

The Toronto Raptors saw their core trio of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett reunited for the first time since March 1st, and subsequently got demolished by the Milwaukee Bucks. In Episode 1780, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet) to talk about the Raptors' 128-104 loss to the Bucks, their first impressions of the BBQ trio and the starting five, the miserable defensive effort put in by the Raptors, and more. Off the top, they chat about the offensive and defensive struggles of the starting five, how the BBQ trio looked playing off of one another, the Scottie-IQ connection and the need for reps and continuity before we can really judge what this team's got. Next, Sean and Vivek get into the defensive egg laid by the Raptors, the disconnectedness of the team's rotations, the lack of ideas and defensive creativity and why this is the single biggest thing that will need to show some marked improvement over the next stretch to instill any kind of hope that this thing is m

The Toronto Raptors dropped a game they probably should have won against the injured Orlando Magic on Friday, but is an RJ Barrett return about the lift the spirits around the team? In Episode 1779, Sean Woodley goes solo to talk about what went wrong for the Raptors in Friday's 106-97 loss to the Magic that saw the Raptors fall victim to youthful mistakes, poor defensive execution, ridiculous three-point variance and an offense that very much looked like it was still ironing out some kinks. Next, Sean talks about Barrett's impending return from illness as early as Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, and why the most important stretch of the Raptors' year of info gathering begins in earnest once Barrett draws in. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Darko Rajakovic's fourth quarter rotations against Orlando), The Bad (Gradey Dick's issues on both ends) and The Hmmm (Scottie and IQ trading off the creation duties) to wrap up the show. Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord! https://discord.gg/5WzNRG3WSu

The Toronto Raptors head into 2025 healthy, and looking to put the hell year 2024 behind them. In Episode 1778, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (Locked On NBA Newsletters, Basketball Feelings) to ring in the new year with a round of Toxic Positivity Friday, where they chat about the joy of watching Immanuel Quickley back with the team, optimism for the upcoming NBA Draft, and all the things that give them hope for the year that lies ahead. Off the top, they chat about Quickley's return freeing up the rest of the team to be itself, and the prospect of a roster being fully healthy for Friday's game for the first time in ages. Next, they get Katie's early impression of Bruce Brown's return, and Sean details his most toxically positive item going into the season: draft optimism! Lastly, Sean and Katie run through some rapid fire things they're excited for in 2025, including Darko Rajakovic finally getting a chance to coach the team as intended, a full year of Hot Take Heindl and more! Join us on the Discor

The Toronto Raptors welcomed back point guard Immanuel Quickley and took down the Brooklyn Nets 130-113 as Scottie Barnes posted 33 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in the victory. In Episode 1777, Sean Woodley goes solo to react to the Raptors' first win since December 3rd, discuss the impact of Quickley's point guard skills being back in the Raptors lineup, how Scottie Barnes benefits from IQ's return as much as anyone, the rotation going forward once RJ Barrett and Bruce Brown return to the lineup and much more! Off the top, Sean sings the praises of Quickley's table-setting and outlines why he is more of a point guard than the scoring combo guard some folks seem to be projecting him to be. Plus, how Quickley helped unleash Scottie Barnes as the power wing he's meant to be. Next, Sean outlines his vision for the healthy Raptors rotation, who's on the outside looking in, and the question of what the starting five should be once the team is fully healthy -- potentially as soon as Friday against the Magic. L

The year 2024 was not kind to the Toronto Raptors, who revamped their roster and lost a whole lot of games along the way. In Episode 1776, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet, Sportscasting) review the year that was in Raptors hoops and run through their biggest takeaways, best and worst things, and their biggest surprises and disappointments from the last 12 months. Off the top, they get this year being one of transformation for the Raptors, how they executed their retooling around Scottie Barnes, and how they got back to their roots as a development-first franchise. Next, they run through the best and worst things from the year, with talk of Vince Carter night, Day 2 of the NBA Draft, untimely injuries and having to watch Jordan Nwora and Malik Williams play basketball. Lastly, they close out with their biggest surprises and disappointments from the year, including the Pascal Siakam trade return not looking terrible, RJ Barrett's transformation into an efficient scorer, the way things ende

The Toronto Raptors got Bruce Brown, Jakob Poeltl and Ja'Kobe Walter back in the lineup on Sunday, but got absolutely punked by the Atlanta Hawks 136-107 at home to push their league-worst losing streak to 10 games. In Episode 1775, Sean Woodley goes solo to dissect all that went wrong for the Raptors in a game that might represent absolute rock bottom, the porous defense and foolish turnovers that did the team in, the validity of various excuses and explanations, the psychology of losing 10-straight games, Bruce Brown's return, Scottie Barnes' midrange shooting, awful wing defense, Jonathan Mogbo falling out of the rotation and more. It's been awful lately, but that doesn't mean it'll stay this awful. Join us on the Discord! https://discord.gg/5WzNRG3WSubscribe FOR FREE to the Locked On Raptors Newsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptors Your favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and league coverage delivered right to your in box. Sign up for free now, at l

The Toronto Raptors gave up a season worst 155 points to the Memphis Grizzlies and dropped their ninth-straight game on Boxing Day to fall to 7-24. In Episode 1774, Sean Woodley goes solo to recap the loss which didn't really offer a ton in the way of fascinating Xs and Os, the absence of Jakob Poeltl being felt big time, why a miserable 2024 should give way to a much more intriguing 2025 and the Good, Bad and Hmm from the loss to the Grizz. Off the top, Sean digs into how and why this Raptors team has lost the flame that had the good times rolling even through the losses early in the season, and why not having Jakob Poeltl available it the biggest culprit in that regard. Next, the final Toxic Positivity Friday of 2024 features some hopeful words about what 2025 should hold for the Raptors after a very tough 2024. Lastly, Sean runs through The Good (Kelly Olynyk's offense looking sharp), The Bad (stolen Vancouver valour) and The Hmmm (is RJ Barrett's defense gonna be a dealbreaker?) to round out the show. Dis

The Toronto Raptors fell 139-125 to the New York Knicks on Monday night for their eighth consecutive loss. In Episode 1773, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet) to talk about the Raptors dropping their eighth in a row to the Knicks, whether bad habits are starting to set in for the Raptors as they continue to wait for healthy reinforcements, Scottie Barnes with something of a bounce back game, offensive rebounding woes and much more! Off the top, they get into the rough defensive effort by the Raptors and the toll of losing as many games as they have so far. Next, Scottie Barnes put up 24-3-8 in a bit of a bounce back effort following a pair of duds upon returning from injury. How exciting is his the development of his midrange game? What still needs refining? And can he tap more into the transition success he found on Monday? Lastly, they run through The Good (Chris Boucher, Ja'Kobe Walter), The Bad (offensive rebounding, Ochai Agbaji) and The Hmmm (Vince Carter: shooting coach?, G

Scottie Barnes struggled again in his second game back from injury and the Toronto Raptors fell 114-110 to the Houston Rockets despite Ja'Kobe Walter going off for a career-best 27 points. In Episode 1772, Sean Woodley is back from some time on the shelf to talk about the loss to Houston, Scottie Barnes mostly explainable struggles, the fan base losing its patience for no reason, the rookies, Gradey Dick's handle and much more. Off the top, Sean gets into Barnes' struggles against both the Nets and Rockets since returning, and why it's absurd to call Barnes' validity as a leading man into question after two not so great outings within a poor team context. Next, Sean digs into the Raptors' rookies performances, Ja'Kobe Walter's 27-points  and his tantalizing flashes, Jamal Shead's reemergence, Jamison Battle banging threes, and Jonathan Mogbo's struggles. Lastly, Sean  runs through The Good (another Chris Boucher heater), The Bad (Gradey Dick's handle against physicality) and The Hmmm (are the Raptors losing e

The Toronto Raptors fell short in an attempted comeback against the Chicago Bulls and lost 122-121 on Monday while, while starting center Jakob Poeltl left the game with a groin injury. In Episode 1771, Sean Woodley is joined by Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet) to talk about the Raptors best efforts to come back without Poeltl in the fourth quarter, why the game offered a preview of what life without Poeltl will probably look like, the overall listlessness of the Raptors throughout the first three quarters, Jamal Shead's big fourth quarter and much more. Off the top, Sean and Vivek chat about the attempted comeback in the fourth quarter, where the limitations of not having Jakob Poeltl burned them, Gradey Dick lightning the nets on fire, and what the injury to Poeltl means going forward. Next, they chat about a sleep first three quarters, and whether the atrophy of losing is starting to set in for the Raptors. Lastly, they run through The Good (Jamal Shead), The Bad (RJ Barrett's late-game decision-makin

With the December 15th milestone now behind is, it's officially TRADE SEASON in the NBA, and for the first time in a while, the Raptors don't figure to be super involved in the action -- which is a major relief! In Episode 1770, Sean Woodley is joined by Joseph Casciaro (the Score) to talk about the Toronto Raptors in the lead-up to the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, why they don't figure to be major players, which guys could get moved, and whether we could get caught off guard by any surprises between now and February. Off the top, Sean and Cash rejoice at the Raptors not being the main characters of this deadline, and discuss why a Jakob Poeltl trade would make very little sense for the team at this juncture. Next, they get into the team's expiring players: Davion Mitchell, Chris Boucher and Bruce Brown Jr., and whether the Raptors will get much return if any for the three pending free agents. Lastly, Sean and Cash finish up with a chat about some farfetched pre-deadline scenarios. Could the Raptors get eager and