Locked On Raptors

In Episode 1522, Sean Woodley goes solo to recap the Toronto Raptors' 1-1 weekend against the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. Off the top, Sean digs into where things went wrong for the Raptors against the Cavaliers in the second half and in particular down the stretch as Scottie Barnes struggled to contain the dribble penetration of the wildly dynamic Darius Garland. Next, Sean digs into his overarching takeaway from the weekend that the Raptors, while still straddling the .500 line, are starting coalesce into a team capable of playing some pretty good basketball as they figure out the best ways to deploy each of their most important players. Plus, are the Raptors carving out an identity as a team that lives at the rim? Lastly, Sean digs into the Good (Gary Trent Jr. settling in) the Bad (free-throws, omg) and the Hmmm (a fleeting glimpse of an interesting lineup) to round out the show.Join us on the Discord server! https://discord.gg/pGez24q9Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts

In Episode 1521, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (DIME, Basketball Feelings) to chat about what we've learned about the Toronto Raptors so far through 15 games, whether we've gotten closer to knowing what sort of resolution we're heading towards with the Pascal Siakam contract situation, and why this team feels much different from last year's in tone and tenor despite the Raptors' still being a 500ish team. Off the top, they chat about what we've learned so far, and the unfortunate truth that Jakob Poeltl's long-term fit on this team might not be super tenable if Siakam, Scottie Barnes and O.G. Anunoby are retained long term. Next, they chat about whether Pascal Siakam's start to the season has given us any more clarity on what the Raptors might be planning to do with their long-time star player. Has he done enough to answer the questions Masai Ujiri posed about him at Media Day? Plus, some thoughts on what a joy Siakam still is to watch, even if there's a chance his time in Toronto is winding down. Ap

In Episode 1520, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic) to react to the Toronto Raptors wildly entertaining 132-131 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night as Pascal Siakam scored 36 points and Scottie Barnes' threw down a massive game-tilting dunk late in the game. Off the top, Sean and Jamar dig into how the Raptors were able to keep pace with the league's best offense, and take advantage of Indiana's utter lack of defensive integrity while doing just enough on defense to get by. Pascal Siakam was incredible, O.G. Anunoby did all he could to make Tyrese Halburton work for his 33 & 16 line, and Dennis Schroder bailed the offense out just enough times to get the Raptors over the finish line. Next, they chat about the impressive performance by Malachi Flynn, who scored 14 points on 6/8 shooting and chipped in a handful of critical plays. Is Flynn becoming a real player? And what does his long-term outlook next to Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam look like? It's pretty clear that th

In Episode 1519, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Yahoo Sports) react to the Toronto Raptors' 126-107 loss to the Orlando Magic in In-Season Tournament action on Tuesday night. Off the top, Sean and Vivek dig into their biggest takeaways from the game, including some thoughts on an extremely poor defensive performance by Toronto that saw Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and the rest of the Magic parade to the rim throughout the night. Next, they take stock of where the Raptors and Magic differ from one another in terms of their team build and trajectory. Lastly, they run through the Good, the Bad & the Hmmmmm from the disappointing loss to round out the show.Sean is coaching for Team Media at this Saturday's Sports vs Media Charity Basketball Game at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Get your tickets here: https://linktr.ee/sportvsmediaLink for the Discord: https://discord.gg/NTvAcVmTSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in th

In Episode 1518, Sean Woodley is joined by Esfandiar Baraheni (SDPN) to talk about the strong performances of Scottie Barnes, Dennis Schröder and Malachi Flynn over the first 13 games of the season and try to determine whether their starts are legit harbingers of more good to come, or 13-game blips that will be forgotten to history much like Andrea Bargnani's All-Star level start to the 2011-12 NBA season. Off the top, they dig into Scottie Barnes, who for the most part seems to be putting up pretty sustainable numbers outside of his incredible 39% clip from outside. Will that hold up? And if it doesn't, could Barnes' efficiency still maintain at or above where it is right now with some upticks in two-point and free-throw shooting? Next, they chat about the starts of Schröder and Flynn, both of whom are surpassing expectations through 13 games. Are their performances al dente aka going to stick? Or are they a little undercooked and not going to hold up against the Bargs test? Lastly, they take a look at an es

In Episode 1517, Sean Woodley goes solo to react to the Toronto Raptors' 1-1 weekend that featured a narrow In-Season Tournament loss to the Boston Celtics and an absolute spanking of the very bad Detroit Pistons. Off the top, Sean digs into the most important takeaway from the weekend, which is that Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam seem to be figure out how to work in tandem without infringing upon the areas of the floor in which they can each do damage. As Barnes has leveled up as a shooter and pick-and-roll operate, Siakam is settling in nicely to his niche as a post-up wizard, all the while the Raptors' leading trio of Barnes, Siakam and O.G. Anunoby continue to post super impressive on-off metrics. Next, Sean outlines a really nice weekend from Jakob Poeltl, whose shooting at the rim has been lights out despite a seemingly rocky start to the year. He's an imperfect fit, but this weekend showed off why the Raptors are clearly better with him on the roster than without. Plus, some quick thoughts on nice we

In Episode 1516, 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?' as they run through three either-or scenarios related to the current state of the team. Off the top, they discuss whether it's more likely that the Raptors finish the season with the league's worst offense, or that they finish in the Top-20 on that end of the floor. Next, they chat about the In-Season Tournament ahead of the Raptors' tourney debut against the Boston Celtics on Friday night, and whether it's more likely that the Raptors make it to the Vegas-hosted semi-finals of the tournament, or go 0-4 in the group stage and wash out quickly. Lastly, they discuss whether it's more likely that the Raptors make zero in-season trades this season, or go wild and make at least three in-season trades.Come and join our growing listener community over on Discord! https://discord.gg/A28HTYpJSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterhelpThis e

In Episode 1515, Sean Woodley goes solo to break down the Toronto Raptors' no good 128-112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, in which Damian Lillard went off in Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence, while Scottie Barnes was among the only bright spots for Toronto. Off the top, Sean digs into how the absences of O.G. Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. were absolutely devastating to the team's offense once again, as the Raptors were severely outgunned by the shooting of Lillard and Malik Beasley. Next, Sean offers an update on the fun bits -- Scottie Barnes' 29-9-7 night on 11/19 shooting and 3/3 from downtown, and Gradey Dick getting immersed in many NBA lessons as a 19-year-old. Lastly, Sean run through the Good (Jalen McDaniels finally showing some life), the Bad (dreadful point guard play) and the Hmmmmm (Some interesting rotation decisions by Darko Rajakovic).Come and be a part of our listener community over on Discord, for free! https://discord.gg/3vdaSFDzSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterhelpT

In Episode 1514, Sean Woodley is joined by Dan Devine (Yahoo! Sports, Devine Intervention) to talk about a great many Toronto Raptors-related topics after the first 10 games of the NBA season. Off the top, Sean and Dan chat about what has brough Dan joy about his time spent watching the Raptors this season, and whether it is possible for a team that is bad on offense and dependent on defense and transition to be a League Pass darling among the broader NBA fandom. Next, Sean taps into Dan's skills as a basketbal self-help non-professional for a discussion of Pascal Siakam, his uncertain future in Toronto, and why the encroaching potential end of a beloved player's tenure with your team is one of the more challenging things for any fan to grapple with, complete with examples from Dan's own New York Knicks fandom. Lastly, they chat about the In-Season Tournament ahead of the Raptors' first tourney game this Friday against Boston, and why it is time for the Raptors to fully embrace their roots and rebrand the tea

In Episode 1514, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob (Sportsnet, Yahoo Sports Canada) react to and break down the Toronto Raptors' wild 111-107 win over the dreadful Washington Wizards, powered by Pascal Siakam's incredible 39-11-7 performance and a 22-1 run to close the game in the final moments. Off the top, Sean and Vivek discuss Siakam's masterpiece, what made it so impressive, and why it's fitting that he nailed the game-winning shot in the clutch to cap it all off. Next, they attempt to answer the question: Was this a good or bad game for the Toronto Raptors? Plus, some thoughts on Scottie Barnes' late surge after a pretty lifeless start to the game. Lastly, Sean and Vivek run through The Good (Gradey Dick, Chris Boucher), the Bad (Otto Porter Jr., the perimeter defense) and The Hmmmm (Scottie racking up steals, whether or not the Wizards are doing this on purpose) to round out the show.Come join our listener community on Discord! It's the place to be on nights when the Raptors are a roller coaster of emotion

In Episode 1512, Sean Woodley goes solo to recap the Toronto Raptors' 117-94 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night in which Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown got loose to create all kinds of havoc against the Raptors' perimeter defenders. Off the top, Sean digs into how the Celtics picked apart the Raptors defense by playing the exact style of basketball the Raptors clearly want to be playing, but simply don't have the personnel to do. Next, Sean looks at where things went wrong for the Raptors on offense, Scottie Barnes' taking nine threes, the transition attack getting neutralized by the Celtics, and how Jakob Poeltl's spacing troubles were very much pronounced in this game. Lastly, Sean runs through the Good (Malachi Flynn), the Bad (Pascal Siakam's three-point slump) and the Hmmm (Jayson Tatum looking comfortable against the Raptors for the first time in years) to round out the show.Become part of our Locked On Raptors listener community by joining at this link, for free! https://discord.gg/wM4ckZM9Sup

In Episode 1511, Sean Woodley is joined by Joe Wolfond (The Score, Pound the Rock) to chat about some of the biggest key storylines surrounding the Toronto Raptors with 10% of the schedule now in the books, with discussions on Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, Dennis Schröder and more. Off the top, Sean and Joe chat about whether anything the team's 4-4 start to the year has altered their thinking compared to their preseason expectations, and examine how Scottie Barnes' leap has changed the entire context of the team. Next, they chat about the concept of fitting Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes together in a complementary way, whether it's achievable, and how Siakam's dominance in the post can be an avenue to them achieving some form of on-court symobiosis. Plus, could the Raptors stand to have Siakam run more pick-and-roll, especially in smaller looks with Scottie at the five? Lastly, Sean and Joe do a deep dive on Dennis Schröder's impressive start to the season, what they've liked the most about his game, whe

In Episode 1510, Sean Woodley is joined by Jamar Hinds (Raptors Republic) to break down the Toronto Raptors' 127-116 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes and O.G. Anunoby were all extremely studly. Off the top, they dig into how the Raptors' leading trio complimented one another the way to bothering Luka Doncic on the defensive end, while marauding their way to the rim all night long against a Mavs team without its best rim protector in the lineup. Score this one as a data point in favour of the Raptors' big three's long-term viability. Next, they dig into a strong showing from the Raptors bench, including notes on Malachi Flynn, Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher and Otto Porter Jr., all of whom contributed to the victory. Lastly, Sean and Jamar run through the Good, the Bad & the Hmmmm, with an emphasis on the Good and the Hmmm because outside of Ben Taylor being a walking ref show, there wasn't much to complain about from this game!Join our Discord server! It's a

In Episode 1509, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (DIME, Basketball Feelings) to answer some Toronto Raptors mailbag questions from you, the listeners! Off the top, Sean and Katie dig into the generally joyful experience that has been watching Scottie Barnes play basketball season, and discuss what it might take for Barnes to take one more leap on top of what he's done between years two and three of his career. Next, they dig into some rapid fire questions on which Raptors could stand to have a Victor Wembanyama-like wingspan, whether Ron Harper Jr. or Javon Freeman-Liberty should get some run off the bench and more before rounding out the show with a discussion about how the Toronto Raptprs have handled the ongoing Pascal Siakam situation, whether they run the risk of Siakam forcing their hand and asking for a trade if his role remains suppressed, and whether or not they expect his slow start to the season to continue.Come join our Locked On Raptors community on Discord! It's the only way to get your m

In Episode 1508, Sean Woodley goes solo to discuss the state of the Toronto Raptors' bench through the first seven games of the 2023-24 NBA season, and discuss whether there should be some optimism about the team's struggling reserves turning the tide. Off the top, Sean details why he's general encouraged by Darko Rajakovic's usage of his bench players, even though the team ranks 27th in the league in nightly bench scoring and 28th in bench three-point shooting percentage. The nice thing is that the the Raptors' head coach is deplying groups in a way that doesn' ask too much from his bench pieces. Will some positive regression to the mean from deep start seeing some of the team's core transitional lineups take off? And what can be made of the Dennis Schroder-Pascal Siakam-Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes-O.G. Anunoby duo that seemingly comprise the backbone of most of the team's reserve-heavy looks? Next, Sean runs through his tiers of trust when it comes to the Raptors' bench players. Otto Porter Jr. is as ad

In Episode 1507, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob (Yahoo!, Sportsnet) break down the Toronot Raptors' 123-116 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night that saw Scottie Barnes turn in the best performance of his breakout season to power a 19-point second half comeback for the Raptors. Off the top, Sean and Vivek gush about the unmistakable leap Barnes has taken after he posted a 30-11-6-3-3 line on 9/20 shooting and 5/10 from deep to power a massive second half comeback, what his steps forward mean for the franchise, and play another round of "Sounds We Made When Scottie Barnes Did Stuff." Next, Sean and Vivek chat about an awesome game from O.G. Anunoby, a poor performance by Pascal Siakam, and the uncertain dynamics at play as the team reorients its hierarchy around Scottie's new normal. Lastly, they run through the Good (Anunoby on Wemby, Jakob Poeltl hitting bunnies), the Bad (transition play, Jalen McDaniels) and the Hmmm (Otto Porter Jr.'s insertion into some core units, Darko Rajakovic's sub

In Episode 1506, Sean Woodley recaps the Toronto Raptors' 114-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night on the second night of a back-to-back. Off the top, Sean digs into why this felt like a scheduled loss for the Raptors playing their sixth game in nine nights to start the season, and why the matchup with the Sixers is a particularly tough one to have run into twice in the first six games as the team adjust to its new normal with Scottie Barnes ascending as the team's number one option ahead of Pascal Siakam. Next, Sean debuts the new segment that'll run after every Raptors loss: What Did Scottie & Gradey Do? Because talking about Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick is fun no matter the result. Lastly, Sean runs throug The Good (the starters), The Bad (not being the team that flummoxes Joel Embiid anymore) and The Hmmm (looking ahead to the Raptors' first tilt with Victor Wembanyama) to round out the show.Come and join our very fun and very friendly listener community over on Discord! https://disco

In Episode 1505, Sean Woodley goes solo to react to the Toronto Raptors' 130-11 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night to move to 2-3 on the season. Off the top, Sean digs into how positive regression to the mean helped the Raptors finally break through with by far their best half court offensive performance of the season, which was buoyed further by an outstanding offensive rebounding effort and a killer night in transition. Next, Sean gushes about Scottie Barnes continuing his breakout season with a 21-10-5-1-2 line on 8/16 shooting and 4/6 from deep, all the while continuing his impressive leveling up on the defensive end. Lastly, Sean runs through the Good (Otto Porter Jr.!) the Bad (Gradey Dick missing threes while being awesome at everything else) and the Hmmm (a decent looking core lineup?) to round out the show. On to Philly.Join the Locked On Raptors Discord to be among sickos just like you! https://discord.gg/TeNVqsUmSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Parkview AdvanceFor more than 25 yea

In Episode 1504, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (DIME, Basketball Feelings) to chat about some of the good elements of the Toronto Raptors' first four games, which have been less than what you want. Off the top, Sean makes an impassioned plea for people to care about defense, which the Raptors are currently exception at -- to a degree where it isn't going to take much improvement on the offensive end to start turning some of these narrow losses into victories, which Katie argues still has plenty of time to take place. Next, Katie details why she's been encouraged by the Raptors seemingly returning to their pesky nature, and not lying down in games that might have seen last year's version of the team fold up and concede. Plus, they discuss just how darn fun the Scottie Barnes leap has been so far. Lastly, Sean and Katie take a look ahead at tonight's game against Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on the first half of a back-to-back that will finish with a game in Philadelphi

In Episode 1503, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob react to an ugly, 99-91 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Off the top, they chat about the offense reaching a new low, scoring just 91 points against what was the 29th-ranked defense in the NBA coming into the game, and hitting just 4-of-29 threes on the night. Is there any hope for this offense turning things around? And does its overall badness threaten to undo the defense, which so far is one thing this team actually does ar an elite level? Next, Sean and Vivek discuss whether losses like this threaten to undo all the good vibes groundwork that was laid in the preseason, and what the emergence of Scottie Barnes could do to keep the good times rolling even in the face of tough losses like Monday's. Lastly, they run through The Good (Gradey Dick, Scottie Barnes), The Bad (Gary Trent Jr.) and The Hmmmm (Will Darko Rajakovic have to revert some old Raptors schemes that have worked for this group in the past? Can the Raptors trade for Malcolm Brogd