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Hello and welcome.I'm your host William Lou.This is the reaction podcast presented by Betway for all your sports gambling needs.Please hit the QR code to my side and go with Betway who have supported this program since its inauguration.
So Raptors wrap up their time in L.A. with another loss dropping them to 2-9 on the season and 0-6 on the road.Raptors lose 1-23 to 1-03 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
I would say, you know, to borrow Darko's phrase, it was sort of a tale of two halves.First half, the Raptors actually played
pretty well, what you've known from them all season, which is the ball movement, which is multiple guys stepping up, young players playing well, being unselfish, sharing the ball, things were good.
I also thought that the Lakers, just quite frankly, just weren't really as much into the game.I mean, AD was certainly impactful, and he carried the Lakers in the first half, who were down only three by halftime.
Thanks to a huge three by D'Angelo Russell to beat the buzzer, but 80 was playing well Everyone else just kind of wasn't there just yet LeBron only had five at halftime and in general the Lakers weren't shooting the three that well but you know that like the Lakers have another gear in them and the Lakers are a veteran team and you know, this is they're playing at home and They're probably gonna turn it on.
I mean, it's LeBron like, you know, LeBron's not gonna finish with five points and So Lakers started on the second half.Raptors really struggled against it.Raptors held on at certain moments.They're able to extend the lead.
A couple of big plays by Ocha Abadji, a couple of big plays by Chris Boucher.Those two have had really good weekends here in L.A., just like us, me, Jerome and Alex, and the Hello and Welcome podcast out here in L.A.But like, Yeah, it was.
That's not going to be enough.I mean, let's be honest, right?Like even though you had what Chris was doing and what you had, Ochai was doing.But the issue was the main guys for the Raptors just weren't firing RJ, IQ and Grady.
Those three are the ones that are generating the most of the offense right now.But they just weren't able to get going for various reasons, which I wanted to sort of share and discuss about as well.
But in general, I thought the Lakers was just really impressive.I mean, LeBron
Just being lebron and and playing bully ball and getting into the paint and making a lot of great plays But what I thought really killed the raptors today was also ad who had I mean He's just been one of the best players in the league to start the season He already is one of the best players in the league.
But I mean he's playing like a top five top ten level um to start this season and yeah, I mean if it wasn't for him leaving the game due to injury because uh, he hurt his eye on a play at the rim involving yakup hurdle and He was dominating.
Those 26 minutes that he played, he had 22 points, went to the foul line 10 times.But it was also the fact that he dunked around the entire Raptors at one point and twice.
He had just huge statement blocks at the rim, including one where Jakub had the ball in good position, took it strong, as strong as he could, loaded up two hands, and then AD just sat him down.
It was honestly like, it got the crowd going in such a great way, especially having experienced both the Clipper game and the Laker game back to back now.
There's a clear difference in terms of just like, you know, which fan base is like, has more longevity and is stronger.The Lakers actually do have a strong atmosphere.They got a lot of like, loud fans and they're really engaged and into it.
And of course the house is full.I think the amenities for the Clippers are much nicer, but again, the fan base just isn't there.You know, Maybe, I don't know, maybe the starting games were there, but there was a clear difference.
My point is, AD really riled up the crowd, and then even when AD got hurt and left the game, I thought, okay, there's an opening there for the Raptors to sort of take it ahead and potentially do what they're doing, which is to carry a lead into the fourth quarter and then pretend like they're going to come with a huge win, but ultimately collapse against a veteran team.
But they didn't even get the chance to do that because Austin Reeves just carved the Raptors apart.I mean, he just got into the paint over and over and over again.
A number of highlight plays, including one where he dropped behind the back pass to Cam Reddish off a nice drive where he hesitated, spun against a closeout, got into the lane, and then threw it behind his back.Just, I mean, come on, that's sick.
And he was hitting the three, and he was getting into the lane and finishing.He was back cutting guys, setting guys up.And of course, the rest of the Lakers just played off of that, I thought.
You know, Jackson Hayes got a bunch of lob dunks and, you know, got a lot of offensive rebounds.The Raptors really today were just a mess defensively in the second half.But of course, this is not about the Lakers.It's about the Raptors.
We know the Lakers are better than the Raptors.That's not breaking news.Let's talk about what the team did today.I wanted to start with IQ and RJ who Both struggled, but for different reasons, I thought.
RJ, I thought, actually played pretty well in the first half, but the second half, I felt like the Lakers did a much better job of containing him on the drive, sort of limiting his transition opportunities.
And I know that RJ has been more efficient this season to start, but the last couple of games have really come down.
And I think that, you know, this is something that I've talked with Darko about the last couple of days, before the game, after the game, just, you know, being around the team on the road trip here in LA.
About the idea of RJ and and I shared the fact that Darko's told me that you know One of the things with RJ and Grady is that they're moving up to scouting report and his message was congratulations This is what you wanted now You got to take it to the next level and sort of you know play off of that because again, this is what happens You're never gonna play, you know, not a player cook you the exact same way for the whole 48 minutes, right?
not against good teams and So there's adjustments needed to be made by RJ and I think RJ is taking on more of the playmaking role.
It feels like a lot of the pick and rolls, but you know, first off, it doesn't feel like they've been running as many between him and Jakob and even the ones that are running, they're doing a better job of
you know, staying attached to him or sometimes blitzing or sometimes switching, just finding ways to neutralize RJ on those picking roles.And RJ is still finding ways to get to the basket and he did a decent job of that today.
But also in the important moments, I felt like there were a lot of times where he was pressing.
And I think that's something that me and Darko, you know, we talked about before the game today was just the idea that RJ needs to find a little bit more patience too in terms of like making the right reads and sort of when to go.
And I think that's pretty prominent.There are moments where RJ is left sort of having to create something out of nothing, sort of taking on a bigger role.You know, I'm not saying he's playing hero ball because I don't think that like,
The hero ball implies there's some sort of bad intentions that there's like a a malice of a player saying I'm more important than the team I I don't mean that at all.
What I mean is like at moments where he's sensing that the team is in danger I got to make something happen Those are the moments where the team is starting to get in trouble because that's not really how the team gets into leads in the first place This team gets in the leads by playing it on the fast break and then playing off a movement and sharing the ball and being quick decisive and attacking with force
Getting is the paint something RJ does really well but when it's on a standstill Five six seven eight seconds on the clock and he's trying to get down or like he's trying to break down his man Those times I think that like there's probably chances where he's sort of just like, you know Not being able to create as much offense for you now, of course like that becomes lessened if you had IQ who could really come in here and
and sort of step up his offensive play.
But at the same time, I think it's going to take IQ just a little bit of time to sort of find his rhythm again, having sat for the last two weeks due to a hip issue that, you know, I'm sure was quite painful and, you know, getting into a good rhythm with the team.
Don't forget that in training camp, he also was unable to play.I forget what the injury was listed as.Maybe the left thumb that continues to be wrapped up.That's all I'm holding at one point in this game.
But in any case, he hasn't necessarily hit the ground running with any of this.And I thought maybe the Clipper game, the first half I thought he was struggling, second half I thought he was good.
This one I thought neither half was particularly good for IQ.I think a lot of moments he's trying to line it up and trying to find his opportunities to sort of play.
I think there's a lot of dependable things that you can expect from IQ when certain reads are there made for him.
You know, when he gets downhill against the guy trying to close out and they're trying to catch up, the guy at the rim, he's good with the floaters.
We saw him make one over Jackson Hayes in the second half, where he's obviously very good at catching shoot threes, especially when he can set his feet.He has a very pronounced one-two pattern with his footing.
And as long as he gets his foot down, basically, he's actually really accurate with the threes.But he didn't get a lot of chances to do that today.And the Lakers did a good job of running him off the line and then also providing help at the rim.
Now, granted, this is just the Lakers, the fact that they have two athletic seven-footers who are changing a lot of shots going to the hoop.
But there were also moments where IQ was trying to drive one-on-one against the Lakers' smaller guys, whether that was Reeves or Russell or Gabe Vincent.
or Cam Reddish, these type of opportunities, and he just wasn't quite able to sort of get around them.Maybe the quickness wasn't fully there, or maybe even the approach.
I think this is one of those things where you look back on the film and sort of approach it just a little bit differently, because it felt like a lot of the times IQ was having to pick up his dribble, and then pivot, and then pivot, and no one's really quite there, and then sometimes take a bad shot.
I just think that like between those two guys, not enough offense was generated.And that might be okay because you still have Grady as sort of like your third offensive generator.
Remember the last couple of weeks, we've just been seeing like Grady by himself or like Grady and Scottie or Grady and RJ.Now you have three guys ideally can create it for you.
But I think the interesting with Grady creating the offense is that that's very dependent on the team being able to sort of execute well around him. We already know sort of how much focus Grady's getting from the other teams now.
He's making it onto the scouting reports, right?One thing that was really cool was hearing from J.J.Redick, the Lakers head coach, before the game in regard to Grady Dick.It was a credit to Savannah Hamilton for asking the question.
And not only did I want JJ's opinion on sort of how great he's doing because he's an NBA head coach, but literally he's one of the most successful off-ball shooters of all time, right?And especially getting his approach.
Now, of course, JJ played it off to the side.It's not fair to compare us just because we're both white, kind of like a passing comment. He wasn't totally serious about that.
But he also then went on to say so many good things about Grady, how he's so much more aggressive and he's so much better at playing off the catch.And he's so much, you know, it's beautiful seeing a player with an ultimate green light.
And he just was very, very thorough in his praise for what Grady has done, which I think is totally fair.Grady started the season really well.
But as the game went on, you could certainly see like, OK, there were moments where Grady was able to get in and the chances that he got, I thought he was quite efficient with those.5 of 10 from the field today, 2 of 3 from three.
But this isn't quite the type of game that we've seen from Grady in previous weeks where he's had 15, 20, 25 shots.You know what I mean?Like this is 10 shots in 33 minutes. And so for me, that was a bit curious.
He did have two threes to start the third quarter at the beginning of it.But outside of that, it felt like he just wasn't involved.Didn't even look like he had one chance to score in the fourth quarter.
And granted, I think defensively, he was actually a huge component of why Austin Reeves got off.I mean, he was really just torching Grady quite a bit and hitting him with a variety of scenarios where he was getting the best of Grady defensively.
What I was really curious about, and I talked to Darko about this after the game, was just like, is there a way to get what happened with Grady in terms of just, you know, him not being as involved?
And Darko mentioned that, you know, there were like at least four or five times where Grady made a great cut in the second half, but guys weren't just able to make the pass or see the run, so to speak, in soccer. and play the through ball.
You just didn't see that with Grady a lot in the second half.And Darko's point was, this is not a player who's going to run 20 pick and rolls.It's not a player who's going to run a bunch of isolations.
So it's on the team as a whole to get him the ball.And this is where I know that RJ is sort of like,
you know, feels the responsibility of the team and wants to sort of generate offense for the team when they're stuck, especially in the third quarter when the Lakers are turning it on.He wants to sort of match that intensity by stepping up his game.
And then IQ is a naturally aggressive scorer, but also he wants to be somebody who is also like working through some of the, you know, the rest or whatever.
You know like those guys are gonna generate offense, but they can't forget about Grady and then the chances where he is making those cuts That's on Davion.That's on the other point guards.
It's on Jakob I thought Jakob was a little guilty of this of being too gun-shy while throwing the passes to the Grady that needs to be prioritized.
I don't think I'm not even just developmental purposes like we got to force feed him to sort of get more reps.I mean, that's a nice offshoot.
The other thing is this team badly needs Grady's shooting and his scoring and the sort of effect that he has on the defense and to see him almost be forgotten about for basically the entire second half was to me like not encouraging.
I don't think it's productive both developmentally nor for competitive reasons. Right.So, I mean, aside from that, I thought the Raptors role players continue to, you know, show you things that are encouraging, like I mentioned, against the Clippers.
Ochai Abadji has been playing really well.I thought Ochai, especially in third quarters where teams have stepped up, you know, the Raptors have generally played first quarters, first halves pretty well.
They usually take leads going into the second half.But these teams like Sacramento or Denver or the Lakers, who they've all played twice already now,
They've all stepped up their intensity in the second half and they made adjustments and things like this.And that's forced the main guys to sort of have to go to the secondary players.
And that's where I think Ochai has actually developed quite a good knack for making some tough shots or important shots, you know, in those moments to sort of stop those runs and give the Raptors just a little bit chance to sort of catch their breath.
You know, him and Chris Boucher today, I thought, were the only ones who really stepped up in that third quarter where
You know, there just wasn't a lot of offense created, and Ochai was able to, you know, knock down a three on the wing, another three where the pass was deflected going to him and had to sort of change the shot, but he was still able to go up and knock it down from the corner.
That was nice.Chris Boucher hitting a turnaround jumper. out of the post on the baseline.It was the type of shot that you would say Kobe when shooting it, but he made it.You know what I mean?That was really impressive.
Chris Boucher with a lucky putback around the basket.Chris Boucher with a three.I thought these little moments really kind of like stopped runs for the Lakers, at least temporarily, and gave the Raptors a chance to breathe.
So I want to show those guys a lot of respect.Plus, Ochiai had the toughest job of the night, having to guard LeBron James.
And I wouldn't say that he like stopped LeBron by any means, but I wouldn't say LeBron was also getting the best of Ochiai either. I thought Ochai obviously did a good job keeping a lid on LeBron in the first half.
And in the second half, yes, there were moments where LeBron got off, but I don't think Ochai was making bad plays.I think it's literally the greatest player of all time, arguably, making greatest player of all time type of moves.
But Ochai has been really solid.And today, I mean, he didn't get as much in transition, although in the moments he did, he took a strong.But he had 16 points.He knocked down four threes. and six rebounds and an assist.
And I just overall like his demeanor so much, you know, in a very strange way.I think it does remind me a little bit of Norm.Norm was a late bloomer for the Raptors.
He came in on the second round, you know, he started, he went down in the G League, you know, obviously I tease this sort of potential project we were doing with Norm.
And so that'll come out sort of, you know, whenever, but in preparation for that, I went down the memory hole and just like looked up a lot of Norm's career and his moments with the Raptors.
And what I realized the theme was just like, you know, there was a lot of ups and downs with Norm until he got to the point where it was honestly only 2020 season, which was his second last one as a Raptor, where he started becoming more consistent and was getting minutes and was like, you know, efficient and knew his game that took like.
five years of his career to get to that point.And it's been so rewarding to see him ever since stay at that point and be, you know, just one of the best six men or, you know, now with the Clippers is a second option.
But with Norm, like there were these ups and downs, but what I liked about it was number one, You can always see the athletic build, a player who could physically sort of compete in this league.And number two, the work ethic.
I mean, Norm's whole thing was understand the grind.And I see a lot of that with Ochai.I think, you know, they come from very different backgrounds and things like this.Ochai is maybe a little bit more nerdy.Norm's a little bit more...
so to speak, cool, you know what I mean?
But at the same time, like both really, really solid professionals who work really hard in their game, who have taken lumps, who don't necessarily have guaranteed minutes, who've seen their production fluctuate.
And I think eventually the process is going to win out.And I think the process is winning out with Ochai.
Like I mentioned against the Clippers game, there was a moment I loved seeing from him where he cut for the ball and he didn't get it immediately.And that
slowness of the pass and the lack of awareness to sort of deliver it in time actually screwed up the opportunity and allowed his defender to recover and deflect it out of bounds.
And in that sequence, he went over to Davion Mitchell and he clapped his hands.He was like, give me the ball. keep me the ball and then of course they'd like the high five and they're cool.
I'm not saying that like this is an issue, but I like that aggressiveness from Ochai and that sort of maturity and that awareness.We didn't see that last year.He was more of a wallflower.This year you're starting to see him grow in confidence.
You can't say that his transition finishes are not you know, aggressive.And in fact, those are probably the ones that remind me the most of Norm.Norm is obviously much more of a scorer.Ochai is much more of a defender.
But I do see some vibe similarities with those two.I'm not even saying he's going to become like Norm with the 20 points per game.But I do feel like Ochai is a guy I really believe in, especially based on what he's done to start the season.
And then Chris, Chris is just Chris, you know what I mean?Like, you know, Chris, you know, in a strange way, because I've gotten to know Chris a little bit, too. Chris is both very chaotic, but also has a lot of, has a very zen perspective.
And what I mean by that is like, obviously on the court, like there's plays where you don't necessarily know if he's going to make it or not.Like a Kobe baseline jumper turn around, fading away and he knocks that down.
Or like, you know, the threes can sometimes go in and out.Although right now he is on a really good streak from three.Today he was two of four from three and six and nine from the field overall.
But there is sort of that like wildness and stuff like that it comes with it We know what Chris you're not getting a polished product right at the same time though I think it's even hearing Chris talk about it now his perspective having gone through his whole career today Which was you know, he started playing basketball at 17 Before that he was his parents like threw him on out on the street, you know I mean and and he was like worked as a dishwasher at st.
Hubert and the chicken joint in Montreal.
And him coming to basketball late and having to go through, I believe he went to Juco for a while, and then he went to Oregon, and then he was a really good player at Oregon, was certainly gonna get drafted, but then he tore his ACL, then he had to go undrafted, go different organizations, come back to Toronto, play in a team that was, quite frankly, so stacked.
I mean, there was no way Chris was gonna play over JV or Serge or Mark eventually, right?
But seeing him eventually grow into minutes, earn a second contract, earn a third contract, and every year come into it like, I don't know what my role is going to be, I don't know what my minutes are going to be, but I'm going to fight for it each time and have to manage the ups and downs with that, even the changes in coaches between Nick and Darko.
Obviously, last year with Darko, he didn't initially, you know, see a value in Chris's game and he barely played.And then this year he's playing a lot more.
But I think in the process of all those ups and downs, Chris has really developed a really zen like mindset.And I think that maturity is actually a really beautiful thing to track with athletes.
Not everything with athletes, it's about what they go through in terms of like they are, you know, this rookie and then they become this like big star and then we love them. That's not what resonates.
I mean, that's what we'd like to see is winning basketball and good players.But with Chris, what you're seeing and what's so rewarding about following his career is he's never going to be a starter for this team.
He might even see his minutes come up and down, depending on how the team goes.We might even see the team move him at some points.You just never know.He's obviously in an expiring year.We don't know.This could be his last with the Raptors.
But I think over this time in his career, he's really grown to be much more patient, much more able to sort of understand and process the emotions that come with playing this game and seeing him now.
And I asked him about this because I realized that. while watching the game today, like, okay, Jonathan Mobo and Jamal Shedd, first couple of weeks, we've seen him play a ton, right?
We've seen Jamal Shedd like play half the game as 24 minutes a game as a backup point guard because IQ has been out.And we've seen Jonathan Mobo, you know, play a ton.Did he even start a game?I think he might've even started a game, right?
Like he's obviously been very prominent.He was actually a really important piece of when the Raptors had their first win of the season against Philadelphia.
To see them in this road trip, I realized I barely saw Jamal Shedd, I barely saw Jonathan Mobo.Those guys didn't play as much.
And I'm thinking about the emotions of what they might be going through and also sort of adapting to, okay, fine, not putting aside the emotions, how do I basketball player-wise Adjust my production in this new context.
And so when Chris came to the podium to talk postgame I asked Chris about like especially because he plays in the second game with these guys like do you talked with them about the fact that you know, Your minutes are gonna come up and down and how you handle that and that's where I was really really encouraging to hear Chris talk about he's literally talking with them all the time.
He's those two guys Mobo and Jamal Shedd are guys that
Chris really resonates really strongly with and he's been able to sort of share that perspective with them And it's like yes, you've caught minutes But you also know how to know the perspective the standing that you are in the team and obviously IQ comes back That means someone's got to lose minutes at point guard.
It's not gonna be Davion It's gotta be Jamal Shedd and you know what second unit Jonathan mobile not necessarily playing that well right now again he's starting to sort of fade a little bit and
All of a sudden, they've had some bigger matchups against AD, against Zubac.They're playing the bigger player with Bruno Fernando coming in.That's going to cut out some of your minutes.
But even adapting to that and just knowing that they have somebody like Chris who has gone through those exact same experiences, I thought was just really cool.
Actually, it was just a great chance to be around the team and sort of learn a little bit more about how the game went.Obviously, they're not equipped to beat the Lakers right now.They're not even equipped to really be in the game.
Even last time when they were playing the Lakers, if you remember at home, they got down like 20, 30 points right away and then they clawed back, but whatever.I felt like the Lakers just kind of realized, hey, we're up 20 or 30.
Let's take the gas off the foot, foot off the gas pedal.But ultimately, yeah, you know, they're not at that point.But that's why I like watching these games.
That's why I love covering this team is like getting to know the little interpersonal dynamics, getting to sort of understand sort of like what Darko was thinking tactically with some of these guys, what he's seeing and being able to have that exchange with them.
I know there's a big discussion, you know, on Reddit right now about like, you know, me and Darko.I just want to put on the record, like, I think Darko has actually done a really good job in the overall this season.
The main thing is improving and developing players.
If you remember going back to two seasons ago when I was doing the Raptors show and the Raptors let go of Nick Nurse and they were going through this very long head coaching search, my main thing was the Raptors need to find somebody who can develop players.
And that was what the Raptors organization got away from.I thought Nick was very good. And obviously delivering good results.I mean, look, the man literally won a championship and then the year after won coach of the year.
But like I thought a lot of the developmental pipeline had dried up.Granted, I don't think the rapper's front office did him that many favors by drafting him can't miss prospects.
But clearly, if you're going to play your main guys 40, 45 minutes, which sometimes really did happen for months at a time. you're never gonna get the chance to even get young guys into the game where they can use the minutes to grow and develop.
And I thought that more than anything else, you needed a coach that was able to develop and introduce a style of play.And I think on those fronts, Darko's done a great job.
I think Darko deserves lots of credit for seeing the growth and faith in Grady, even setting up the personal development training between him and Ivo Simonic, right?Seeing the value in Ochai.
He told us back in Summer League how much that, you know, Ochai is gonna come to Summer League as a third year player to reinvent his game. And at the time, we're looking at Summer League, and we're like, well, he's even struggling here.
Can this work?And some doubt creeping in.But clearly, there was a process in mind, in terms of what, and a vision for what he could be.And then coming into training camp and preseason, and of course, a huge credit.
I mean, the number one credit is the players.But still, like, the vision of the coach to have this developmental strategy, you're seeing that with Ochai.You're seeing that with Grady.You're seeing that, obviously, with Scottie.
You know, like, that's sort of the main thing. that Darko was here to do was raise Scottie into a star, make him into a star.
And, you know, IQ and RJ, those guys have already had success, but level their success from bench players to main solid players who can do well.He's done a great job on that.So, like, on the big picture, he's actually doing a great job.
I know a lot of people want the tank.You know what?Clearly, this is not hurting the tanking efforts when they're 2-9 and have the worst record in the league. or the second worst record, one of those two.
And I also think that like style of play wise, he's clearly implemented on the offensive end, a team that really shares the ball, a team that really is accountable to sort of playing a very little iso ball, very little, you know, just isolation hero ball, something that even hearing Darko say the word hero ball,
post-game was such a jarring reminder of like how little the Raptors always play in this style.Those are all good things that we all see.And on a personal level, I really enjoy my interactions with Darko.
You know, whenever Darko and I get a chance to see each other pre-game, we have a short little conversation.He's a very, very, very, very nice man, genuinely very nice man.And, you know, we're able to sort of communicate on that front.
You know, when I asked him post-game questions, I find him to be very thoughtful.He doesn't duck questions, right?
To take you really deep inside baseball, quote-unquote, against the Clipper game, because there was a chance to speak with Norm, clearly I prioritized doing that versus going into the Raptors' locker room
and getting a chance to sort of ask about a situation like, hey, how come the inbounds went to Jakub?Right.And obviously, you know, the Clippers seeing that and taking advantage by intentionally fouling.We don't need to go over all that.Right.
So I wasn't able to go in the locker room for that because I can't be in two places at once.But today, going into pregame, when the coach speaks every time, it was actually Michael Grange who asked the question.
Darko actually took accountability, which is also something I think is really refreshing, because what he said about the play involving Jakob, that obviously has incited this big reaction.
And honestly, maybe I'll take responsibility for that myself in terms of, as a communicator, I needed to communicate my feelings and thoughts around the emotions.
of the game and of the play, and not have it come across as something that's super negative.I don't think that this was an indictment on his career.I just thought it was a baffling decision.
But when asked about it today to reflect on it, Darko did say this, quote, the play that I envisioned last night was a need three play.
So as in you need to get a three, obviously, because they're down, as you remember, 105 to 102 at that point with the shot clock turn off.Problem was we did not have a second timeout.
In those situations, I would have run something different and used Yak as more of a screener, not as a guy who would catch their pass on the inbound and then go screen.So that one's on me and I need to do a better job.
That's what Darko said about that play.And he said those words.That one's on me and I need to do a better job.And he took you through the process of what happened.And that's all I really wanted to talk about.
Again, there is not a personal thing that I don't like against Darko.I actually really enjoy my time Talking to Darko and I appreciate what he's done with the organization.
I just want to put that on the record as for everything else I do take responsibility for if you do find that like it's too emotional or whatever I can't necessarily change that but at the same time I appreciate that I hear the feedback, but I do want to put clarity on this Okay, and it's not like you know get rid of Darko to somebody indictment on dark.
I don't feel that I feel like it's just tactically this is It's interesting.It's not, I need to win either, but whatever.This is not about me.This is actually about the rapper's reaction podcast.
And I'm going to take a quick break right here, just to recollect my thoughts before I get to the three stars.And in the meantime, let's hear from our beloved sponsor.
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Big thanks to Coors Light for being a sponsor of Hello and Welcome.I also wanted to get to the Tangerine Q&A fan inbox.And I will remind you that Tangerine is the official bank of the Toronto Raptors, the foundational partner of WNBA and NBA Canada.
And of course, they're not just fans. of basketball.
They're fans of fans of basketball, and they're fans of the fans who have nicknames for, you know, each guy in the starting five or guys who stand five inches from the TV as they watch, which honestly, I'm a little bit guilty of that myself, or fans who can recreate every player's layout package, which I certainly cannot do.
So if you are hearing this, there's no doubt your commitment, because look, the Raptors got blown out by the Lakers last night.
fans like you are at the heart of what makes this game great so for the raptors 30th anniversary tangerine is turning the spotlight from the court to the stands and featuring fans like yourself so i want to ask you guys to continue to ask questions when we do live streams and obviously we haven't done them in the west coast um
But one question that did receive was in regards to, is Emmanuel Quigley hurting Grady Dick's production since Quigley's return?Because Grady's had a couple quiet games and Quigley's also obviously coincided with him returning to the lineup.
Think on the long run and my long run I mean like the next even two weeks in the month ahead as long as both guys are healthy Quickly, it's gonna be a guy who gets Grady shots.
Not the other way around obviously with quickly coming back in the lineup He's a more aggressive point guard then Davion Mitchell then Jamal shed But that's a good thing even with the Raptors scoring with Grady in the lineup They still needed more and that's why a lot of the crunch time offense is
broke down.When quickly he's ready and when he's fully up to speed, and again, I can't stress this enough, he's been out for all of training camp and the majority of the season to date.
After playing a back-to-back in a very difficult environment, it's going to take him a little bit of time, but IQ's ability to get into the paint, spray it out to Grady, but also the stuff that Davion and Jamal was doing for Grady, I'm not going to lie to you.
Emmanuel Quigley can do the exact same thing in terms of waiting for a place to be set up, in terms of screening for the ball, in terms of delivering the passes.I think they'll be fine.This is a very, very temporary problem.
And I think that you'll see lots of those guys involved offensively.So that was your Tangerine Q&A fan segment. And once again, I want to say thank you to Tangerine for also sponsoring Hello and Welcome as the program.
Wrap up your three stars from tonight's game.Your first star, I'm going to give that to Chris Boucher.I thought Chris just, again, provided a lot of stability for that second lineup, for that second unit in general.
I think the scoring is going to come up and down a little bit.But generally speaking, he's certainly the guy which with the Raptors bench as of the moment is going to be the guy who can do that for you.And he had 18 points.
in 20 minutes off the bench, six and nine shooting from the field, four rebounds for Chris.
You know, Jakub also gave him a little bit of credit for sort of being able to sort of help from the defensively and sort of protect the rim a little bit, but mostly you're really needing Chris's offense right now.You're really needing a scoring.
And I thought especially, look, I'm never going to need, I never think Chris was going to like hold the fort down against LeBron.But at the same time, in some of those moments, I thought the Raptors could have rolled over in the third quarter.
And they didn't because I think of some of the big plays that Chris was able to make.So he's your first star, your second star.I'm going to give that to. I'm gonna go to Ochaibaji.He had the hardest job in the night having to guard LeBron.
He still got 16 points, five or seven from the field, four or five from three.The three-point shot is just really encouraging.Again, this is a guy who's really serious and really works hard with his craft.
And I know we like to, you know, pretend like everybody in the NBA is gonna work everything off, you know, to just sort of stay and be good.But I think there's times where you really notice certain players who
are particularly serious about their craft and I think Ochai is such a responsible person just in general.
I think that this is just a case of hard work really paying off and also seeing a good opportunity that Darko sort of put him in here and also executing with that and being fearless.
So I thought Ochai did a really good job and the one thing is you do notice as a defensive specialist he's a little bit smaller
And so when he's rotating on the back line, for example, having a challenge for a shot, a lot of the times he is getting overwhelmed.
Or it's hard totally for him to guard LeBron, because if LeBron took him all the way to the basket, it's not like he can contest it too well.But still, Ochai fights really hard every game, and I think he's been really good.
Your third star, I'm not even sure who can even qualify as a third star in a game like this.There wasn't a lot of other great performances.I'm probably going to give it to Grady in general.
I think the second unit just didn't really have a lot of good contributors.I'll give it to Grady.Grady had some really good moments.
You know, I was sitting with someone who covered the Lakers and we were chatting a lot about just sort of how the two teams were going.I was giving a lot of perspective on Toronto.He was giving a lot of perspective on the Lakers.
Like, for example, why is Cam Reddish starting?Or why is Gabe Vincent in the rotation?What happened with JJ and D'Lo?You know, all sorts of stuff.But he was asking me the most questions about Grady.
Because it's very noticeable, even to someone who wasn't watching the Raptors for a lot of the season, how impactful Grady is and how much he's able to be aggressive and get his game off.
And yeah, like what Darko told the press after the game, there were times where he made four or five really good cuts and he just didn't get the pass.
And I think for the Raptors, they have to stay in the mindset of, yes, other guys are coming back to the lineup, but Grady has the potential to be just as impactful as any of those guys, especially as an off-ball option.
And they just got to keep running through those plays rather than breaking them and trying to go into opportunities where they can sort of take more control. So those are your three stars.
Your Gerald Henderson award winner, that's going to go to Austin Reeves.I thought this guy just cooked the Raptors.
This is where Jerome Chang could potentially put up the triumvirate that we've discussed in previous episodes with Samson Folk about that type.So Austin Reeves was killing us, 27 points.I think that's where Grady could do a lot better.
One point that Darko made, because I also asked him about Grady's defense, what sort of Grady can do a little bit better in terms of anticipating closeouts, you know, just nailing the details.
Because, you know, Grady doesn't have a big margin for error defensively.It's not like he has a huge recovery or, you know, gigantic wingspan or anything like that.Like, he's not particularly strong right now either.
So, you know, when he is in a position where he's reacting rather than anticipating and knowing and hitting his marks,
Against a really crafty player like Reeves who's able to put it on the off the dribble But also shoot it from three and be very crafty with how he finishes, but also how he passes You know, you're gonna have to really really nail the details and I thought the second half also Reeves really really took it strong to Grady dick
Finally, your most important guy.This is going to be very obscure.And I can already see Jerome embracing a little bit because how obscure is this?
The most important guy, which again I have to remind you is actually brought to you by another one of our sponsors, Greta, which is at 590 King Street West.We actually are going to be doing a live watch party at Greta.
to close out the Raptors road trip.We're gonna fly home from L.A.and then host a live watch party.
It's actually already sold out, so I don't know why necessarily I'm plugging it again, but to people who are gonna be there, I'm actually really excited to see all of you.It's very humbling to have an event like this sold out.
But Raptors are gonna be playing the Milwaukee Bucks at Greta, and Greta is a great place to go pre-game, post-game, during the game, to watch Raptor games.
It's very convenient, obviously it's located pretty close to the arena itself, also in the heart of downtown.
And of course, you know, if the Raptors get into a game where it's 123 to 103, you could also bail out in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and start playing, you know, Barcade games, Papa shot, the classics, you know, the more the newer ones, Mario Kart, etc, etc.
So shouts to Greta.But the most important guy, and this is so obscure. There was a moment in the fourth quarter where the Lakers were pulling away, and the Raptors were waiting for, I think, Jackson Hayes to shoot some free throws.
And LeBron was lined up on the other side of the court, like all the way away from the rest of the action, which was on the other side. And that was the sort of baseline seats that I was sitting at on the media section for the Lakers.
And I saw one fan stand up in a brawny jersey and a camel hat and yell to LeBron, hey Bron, you need one more rebound to get the triple double.And he yelled it so loud that LeBron literally turned around and gave him a thumbs up, right?
And on the ensuing play, the Raptors came back up the floor where LeBron was, RJ shot a three, missed it, and LeBron collected the rebound,
The rest of the section behind that fan started standing up and cheering, and LeBron literally went and turned around, and even though he had the ball and had a chance to break, he actually turned around to the fans and literally said one of these, like, you know, thank you.
And then got his triple-double, went the other way, I think he set up somebody for like another basket, and then he came out the game, getting his triple-double.
that was awesome and that honestly probably made that Laker fans entire night and I know that these little tiny moments are just like whatever to LeBron but even just like giving someone that memory that guy's gonna be dining out that story for years that he literally convinced LeBron reminded LeBron to get one more rebound for the triple double and it worked out
and he actually acknowledged him.That was actually really cool.So shout out Laker fan in a Bronny jersey.There was also lots of we want Bronny, we want Bronny chants.Bronny once again checked in against the Raptors, just like the first game.
I mean, it's a little sad to see Bronny twice, but just in general, Bronny just did not impress.I mean, it's hard for him to impress in like a minute, basically, but Jonathan Moble did take him for an and one at one point.
You know, Bronny's just got to, you know, get his through the G League and just like obviously work his way back up to the roster.But regardless, Bronny's a thing.
And then last thing I would say, just a couple of scene notes from like being at the arena and watching the game.Number one, the Raptors sideline is just hilarious these days.
Bruce Brown, once again, dressed in a full cowboy outfit, you know, looking very dapper, looking very fly. Scotty Barnes dressed very much like the look like a, you know, like a boy band member, like an NSYNC member, you know what I mean?
Like Backstreet Boys, like kind of that style, leather jacket, you know, track pants, you know, like just that style.I thought very much a rockstar look.Garrett Temple dressed like a lawyer the whole entire time.
It was actually funny seeing Garrett Temple and then Kelly Olenek, who is just full white sweats, you know, head to toe and then a snapback hat, like just, you know, total bro.
But during timeouts, I actually liked Garrett and Kelly going over to Tony Brothers and actually starting a rapport and talking with them.
And I don't know if they were just catching up or they were just trying to argue for some calls or whatever, but I thought those guys were actually really involved.
And even watching the game, there were a lot of moments where Scottie was standing up the whole time and calling out possessions, especially when the Raptors were playing defensively in front of their own bench in the first half.
I thought Scottie did a great job of just like being engaged, even though he's not playing, but he's like really, really trying to engage with the team.So these are the small observations that I wanted to bring you.
You know, every time Grady came off the floor, like, you know, Garrett and Kelly will be in his ear.I know that this is like, you know, window dressing, so to speak, after a 20 point loss, but I thought that that was a cool thing to see.
And yeah, you know, just trying to share with you what I see from these games.So thanks everyone for listening.Big thanks to all our sponsors once again.
And to wrap up for the final time from Los Angeles, this has been the Hell and Welcome podcast presented by Betway.
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