Ja’Kobe Walter POPS OFF in Toronto Raptors’ 3rd Straight Win At Summer League

Ja’Kobe Walter POPS OFF in Toronto Raptors’ 3rd Straight Win At Summer League

It was the Jacobe Walter show Tuesday night. Your Raptors are still undefeated in Vegas, baby. [Music] You are Locked On Raptors, your daily Toronto Raptors podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. It’s your favorite part of the day. Thanks for making Lockdown Raptors your first listen every day. I’m Vec Jacob. I’ve been covering the Toronto Raptors for eight seasons across several outlets. You can follow Lockdown Raptors on X, Instagram, and YouTube. And be sure to check out the Lockdown Raptors Discord where you can talk all things basketball, but especially the Raptors. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. It is Tuesday, July the 15th. Another recap, another solo episode as the Toronto Raptors have defeated the Denver Nuggets 10197. Uh quick game recap. So, slow start again. Uh Nuggets took the first quarter 2521. Unlike the previous two games, things did not change a whole lot in the second quarter. The half court offense was a struggle. Uh Denver was doing a really good job with their transition defense. Even though the Raptors forced 11 turnovers in the first half, the Raptors only had four points off those turnovers. And so being unable to score off the turnovers, uh the half court offense couldn’t really come through and so uh that kind of dictated the first half. I thought Don Holmes had a really good first half for the Nuggets. Uh and then uh EJ Liddell, we will talk more about him uh bit further down. He was heavily involved till he wasn’t. We we’ll put it that way. Third quarter, that’s where the Raptors popped off. Uh 190 run. They go on uh to take a 6048 lead that they uh didn’t look back from Jacobe. I mean, we talk about popping off. That man popped off. We are going to get to him in a second. Uh fourth quarter, Raptors looked in control. Everything seemed settled. But after, you know, what was uh an altercation leading to uh the EJ Liddell ejection, uh Denver makes a run. They make a bunch of threes. They go small uh and make a bunch of threes to make it a one-point game at one point. Uh but the Raptors were able to make enough free throws, get over the line, and hey, summer league standings, they improved to three and 0. Uh in Vegas, they have the best point differential. So they are currently ranked number one. Remember the top four go to the semifinals right now. That is uh Toronto, San Antonio, OKC, and Sacramento. So beat the Warriors Thursday night and you are in good shape. Let’s get to the main event. Uh Jacobe Walter 26 points, four for five on twos, four for 11 on threes. Uh six of seven at the free throw line. That’s something we talked about maybe, you know, not absorbing the contact the way he should in previous games. Did that in this one. Six for seven at the free throw line, four rebounds, seven steals. And we are going to talk a lot about that. I mentioned, you know, the team was struggling with the half court offense in the first half. Jacobe did have it going quite a bit, though. He knocked down three triples in the first half. Uh, one was a sidestep three, which was nice to see. Uh, and and then in that third quarter when the defense ramped up for the Raptors, he just caught fire. Like everything was going for him. He was, you know, taking heat checks. He was knocking down his threes. He was, uh, you know, getting steals, get getting to the basket for dunks. Everything was working for Jacobe. So, let’s talk about this defense. Seven steals. Like, you know, we talked about Jamal Shed. We’ve talked a little bit about Chucky Heper getting right in people’s grills. This was Jacobe in this game. Like, the ball pressure was so so intense. It was phenomenal to watch. He’s down in the stance, active hands, great lateral movement. He’s so good on that side of the ball when he’s fully locked in, and he was drawing charges as well. You know, we talk about steals, but he he drew a couple of charges as well. So, he was just super super focused on the defensive side of the ball. Really helped spark the Raptors in that third quarter. As I said, that’s the stretch where the Raptors were able to turn this game on its head and never looked back. And hey, if you’re a regular listener, you know I’ve been high on Jacobe. Uh I’ve said that the ceiling for him just as far as the 25 26 season is concerned is I think he’s potentially someone who can be a starter, the starting shooting guard by the end of the season, depending on how things play out. this is kind of the path. Now, offensively, it’s it’s not necessarily the vision because it’ll be such a different role for him in the regular season. Uh, and you know, here he’s being asked to initiate and create and be uh such a big focal point and uh I think that’s obviously not something that he’s going to be asked to do uh once the regular season starts. But defensively, this is what gets me excited. And uh playing that level of defense, if he can bring that to the regular season consistently, that’s what opens up the path. And of course, knock down enough shots, uh, you know, when when teams are forced to double team the likes of Brandon Ingram and Scotty Barnes or whoever, uh, and the ball swings to you and you’re able to knock down enough shots, then, hey, opportunity is going to expand. Uh, he was clearly the best player on the court in this game. Uh, no real debate there. And, you know, that was kind of the mamba challenge I gave to him before the summer league began. So, it was good to see him come through on that front. Another man we have to talk about in this win, AJ Lawson. He continues to hoop, 19 points, five of 10 from the field. Continues to get to the free throw line. Seven of eight uh at the free throw line. And you look at when this offense gets stagnant, his ability to generate ahead of steam, I think I think is really huge for this team. and he’s got these, you know, these line drives going right where he’s able to draw the contact consistently, able to draw the foul consistently. Uh and then and even when he’s not, you know, he’s got confidence in that shot and and you know, these are tough runners off the glass where he’s going at high speed and I think a lot of times it’s easy uh to be too strong on those finishes, but he’s got good touch with those. Uh and I think that’s something that’s that’s really kind of saved the Raptors offense at times. And obviously, you know, getting to the free throw line just helps settle things down. Uh he’s defending well, too. He’s really there with the ball pressure, active hands, and so I think is it’s just really good to see him fitting in with this group and uh leading this group. He like it takes leadership to perform the way he has so far. So, I think that’s something uh that’s super encouraging for AJ Lawson. just owning the fact that hey, he’s kind of a summer league vet and he as much as anyone is trying to show that he doesn’t belong here anymore and he deserves more of an opportunity. Uh, you know, and we’ll see how that shakes out. To finish off, hey, happy birthday. Happy birthday, AJ Lawson. Happy 25th birthday. Uh, always nice to get a win on your birthday. So, I’m sure they’ll have a big celebration in store. One thing that was fun in this game was uh when AJ was getting through to the free throw line, fans started singing happy birthday to him. So, uh that was cool to see as well. Uh and yeah, I’m sure they’ll have a good time in Vegas to to celebrate. Uh next up we will talk about the physicality that led to uh some tension but also in my opinion brought out the togetherness that this team has right now. Summer sports are in full swing and whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or highstakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game more exciting. You’re already following the action. Why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. Whether I’m placing a same game parlay or watching a bet ride into the ninth inning, FanDuel makes it feel like I’m part of the action. New to FanDuel? New customers can bet just $5 and get $150 back in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanduel.com to get started. And we are right back at it. I mentioned, you know, the physicality that brought out uh the camaraderie. So, let’s uh dig a little deeper on that. And let me set the stage for you. So, first quarter, I mentioned that Jacobe hit a sideep three and I think he talked a little bit to EJ Liddell there letting him know like, “Hey, you can’t go under on me.” Like that. that type just uh there’s nothing intense there at all. Uh but then later when Jacob’s defending, he’s chasing around a screen uh around an EJ Liddell screen and Liddell made sure to get him and he knocked him pretty hard. Uh Jacobe goes to the floor. They call the offensive foul. Nothing more than that. And that was the right call. there wasn’t uh enough, you know, there wasn’t enough excessive contact to view it as anything more than that. But Jacobe gets up, they start jawing a little bit. There’s a bit of a back and forth and I mentioned like EJ actually had a good half. Like he had four blocks in the first half and you could see he was up for it. Maybe there was a little bit extra. Um, and there was this intensity uh that he was playing with that you could sense was kind of simmering, was kind of bubbling. You know, maybe we’ll see this materialize into something bigger later down the line. So, third quarter, and I think this was something that set the stage for what we saw later. Third quarter, one of the worst calls I’ve seen. Uh Elijah Martin is battling Boo Booie for a loose ball near half court. They collide a little bit. It wasn’t even like a major collision. Uh so the like you know it wasn’t you know Elijah Martin going boom you know with the shoulder or anything like that there like just an honest battle for a 50/50 ball and uh Buoie stumbles a little bit loses his balance and then he falls backwards into the scorers table and it got him right in that that hard like top of the scorers table right into the back and it was a loud contact. You could hear the thud and he goes down hard and is clutching his back and obviously in a lot of pain. He left the game, was questionable to return initially, but he didn’t come back and I think that played on the referee’s minds a little bit, but again, absolutely nothing malicious on uh Elijah Martin’s part. And I thought that was just uh really silly what came after because you had Liddell come over to Elijah Martin right after the play uh get in his face, make it seem like it was a dirty play when it wasn’t. Referees go to the replay to see if they should assess a flagrant. They do assess a flagrant. It was shocking. Even, you know, the commentators on the broadcast were like absolutely disagreeing with it. It was shocking. It was completely shocking there. There’s no way you could look at that and think that Elijah Martin was trying anything egregious there. Uh so he gets assessed uh the flagrant. Um and then because of the jawing that Liddell initiated with Martin, they also both get double texts. Uh, and so that was bizarre. Um, and so I think just really unlucky there. But the issue for me is as the referee when they give that a flagrant now, in some way they’re validating what Liddell is thinking in his head that, oh, so they saw the replay and they did see it as a flagrant. did feel like, you know, Martin did something uh that was unourred. And so I think that’s what leads us to what happens next where in the fourth quarter, Jacobe drives to the basket and Liddell just decks him like elbows him to the ground. The Raptors bench is like ready to go crazy. Jacobe gets up and turns towards him. And shout out to Dark Rayakovic. This man was watching courtside baseline, races over to block Jacobe kind of save him from doing anything silly. He was there in a second in a flash. Uh Colin Castleton is then jawing in Liddell’s face. Uh Darko grabs him too. So honestly, shout out to the Espressos. like Darko was on it like that man is locked in. Um and so you know that whole scene plays out uh and Liddell does get ejected gets a flagrant too. Castleton gets attack for jawing at Liddell. But even when you look at the replay, the thing that stands out to me is the bench reactions and whether it’s Jameson Battle, Jonathan Mo, Jamal Shed, like the entire bench was immediately reacting. Everyone was uh you know ready to defend Jacobe. Uh, and that’s where you sense that something special is building with these bench guys and you really start to, you know, you you want to believe in these guys now that they’re playing for each other. They’re fighting for each other. They’ll do whatever it takes. We’ve seen the defensive intensity that they’ve played with. Jacobe Walter spoke uh on the broadcast after the game obviously with his performance. he was invited over and he was talking about how uh Dar Darko Rayakovich has really emphasized them spending as much time together as possible and so that’s what they’ve been doing just a lot of team bonding sessions just going grabbing meals together whatever it may be and we’ve seen the unity on the court in the way they play defense and in a moment like this no one’s thinking about themselves everyone was there ready to back Jacobe. Uh, and I thought that was super cool, super encouraging to see. Uh, and let’s face it, like that even going before that, the third quarter, the fun the Raptors were having in that quarter, that 190 run, like everyone’s rooting for each other. Everyone is so into it, and it’s it’s bringing back some of the vibes that we’ve seen from some of the best summer league performances from these Raptors teams. And so, uh, that’s something that gets me excited. And, you know, to finish off, we will touch on, uh, some of the other performances, uh, from the other guys, uh, that we saw in this game. Let’s be honest, meal planning and grocery shopping can be overwhelming. Between busy schedules, picky eaters, and trying to eat healthy, it’s a lot. That’s why I love Hungry Route. They take the stress out of planning by filling your cart for you with personalized groceries and meal options based on what you like and need. Hungry Root uses their smart cart technology to recommend groceries, recipes, and even supplements tailored to your preferences. Whether you’re dairyf free, gluten-free, focused on gut health, or just trying to eat better, Hungry Roots got you covered. It’s been a big help in sticking to my nutrition goals without giving up flavor or convenience. Take advantage of this exclusive offer. For a limited time, get 40% off your first box, plus a free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com/lockdown NBA and then use code locked onnba. That’s hungryroot.com/lockdon NBA code lockdown NBA to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. And to wrap up, I want to go over some of the performances uh that we saw from the other guys. So, obviously, we got to talk about Colin Murray Boils, his second game in summer league. The defense was very good. His positional sense for a rookie, I think, is really, really impressive. And then I think he just lets his physical attributes take over, right? Uh he’s got good anticipation. The instincts are there. So when you’re in the right place at the right time, then he he’s got the body the length uh to really cause problems. And so uh I think that’s a positive. That’s something that we’re expecting to see from Colin Murray Boils. And uh I’m glad, you know, we’re getting to see more of that as these games go on. Offensively, so there wasn’t much for the first three quarters. Uh I I’ll call this a bit of a Goldilocks equilibrium. uh game where I think the first game, you know, I think he was overeager, trying to do too much. We saw the turnovers, the air balls, uh fouls, and I think that’s something that he probably thought about and said, “Hey, you know, maybe let the game come to me more.” And so he I think he finished the first half just taking the one shot attempt. So I think he was just happy to let the game come to him. And then the second half, you he started to come on and especially the fourth quarter, he made some nice plays. He finished with 10 points, 305 shooting. Uh had a couple of nice passes uh to cutters and so we saw a little bit of that offensive reading of the game. Uh you know, a bit of that playmaking and he did knock down a three. So uh that’s a positive for Colin Murray Boils. So, you know, nothing that really jumps off uh jumps out, but a solid performance. And then we’ll see how he goes uh against the Warriors. Jamal Shed was another one that I thought was interesting to observe in this one. Potentially like an important development curve uh in terms of the adjustment uh that I felt he made over the course of this game. defense. We don’t really need to spend much time on that. You guys know what Jamal Shed brings to the table. So, uh, on that end of the floor, what I found interesting was that you early on Denver was going under screens and daring him to shoot and he was stepping right into it. So, he went 0 for three from three in the first quarter and there were good looks. Uh, and he was, you know, catching in stride, shooting in stride and, uh, just missing them. So what does he do? What does he learn from that? He’s seeing, you know, that Denver is happy to drop. They’re happy to let him take that shot. So he doesn’t settle. So the adjustment that I saw from him was he’s now saying, “Okay, in this drop, I’ve got a little runway to get to the paint, so let me do that.” And so he’s now working into the paint. Uh, so he has this one drive where he gets in there and then he goes up, it’s like a flo push shot, makes it, and then that started to be something he went to consistently again and again. I went back just to check. Shot 41% between 3 to 10 feet last season. So, you know, if he if he has that floater package that, you know, that push shot um that he can rely on, I think that’s something that could be an important thing for him where if the shots not falling and they’re willing to drop, uh then he’s someone that can maybe exploit that space, get in. And I think there were good things that happened off that too where he was able to kick out and find shooters, create opportunities for others. He finished with eight assists. Uh and so he finishes one for five from three, but he still finishes with 16 points. And again, I I just think that boils down to what he was able to do uh in and around the paint. So, uh, really encouraged with the way he kind of figured that aspect out of of the Denver defense and made that adjustment and was able to execute. Uh, another important guy I want to touch on, Oristoche. Again, uh, you know, the numbers may not jump off the page, seven points, four rebounds, one assist, one block, but if you saw the defense that he covered, uh, what am I saying? the space that he covered uh in this game, it was incredible. Uh this is the best that I’ve seen him defend in space. Uh and he’s moving fast. He’s using his length. He’s contesting shots on the perimeter. Uh I thought it was super super encouraging. Uh the most encouraged I’ve been by him defensively. And you know, even when there’s there’s the possessions where he’s having to kind of be out on the perimeter, the way he was able to scramble back into the paint to not just get back for the rebound, there there were possessions where he’s getting back in there and then contesting shots. So really, really encouraged by that. Um, and you know, towards the end, the Raptors did go small. They went with Mo and Colory Boils. uh to close the game. And presumably, you know, the Denver went small. They’re trying to get back into the game. They’re trying to play faster. They’re uh get up the threes. And so, I can see James Wade is probably thinking, “Hey, let’s just get as many uh you know, quick of our quick athletes out there uh to cope with that.” I still don’t know if that was necessarily the right call just because of the way that Shamch was playing. Chamch finished, you know, as a team high plus 15. So, uh, and he was part of that 190 run as well. So, I would have liked to see him get a bit more run there. Uh, and just to see how that would have played out. But hey, Raptors get the win. It was really important. you can see that it’s important for them uh to get these wins and uh you know other than that uh Jameson Battle knocked down uh some threes in this one including a third quarter buzzer beating three uh off the glass uh pretty much logo distance. So uh big shot there and again that was another moment where you just saw the camaraderie. you saw everyone get excited and bump him up and dap him up and uh just a really good feel-good third quarter. Uh on the other side of the spectrum, Colin Castleton uh it it really hasn’t happened for him in summer league. This game tonight was a real struggle. Uh finished the game two for seven from the field. Uh four points. Uh, one of the commentators kept making the point that, you know, he keeps going up for these rebounds with just the one hand. And it’s like, yo, man, you got to go up with two hands. You got to go up strong. Uh, and so it’s been disappointing uh, from an encore perspective, but I I will say I I won’t question the effort. Like through these three games, this man has had his elbow taped up after, you know, uh, diving for a loose ball and cutting himself. He uh banged up his knee in this one. His knee was bleeding, so he got his knee taped up. Uh and then he’s right there, you know, to have Jacobe Walters back. So, from that standpoint, you can’t complain at all. Uh but yeah, from a skills and execution standpoint on on the court, it just hasn’t uh materialized for him. And uh so that’s a bit unfortunate. AJ Martin only got eight minutes in this game and so uh he played only three minutes in the first half. So maybe there was something that James Wade was just seeing that he didn’t like uh what he saw or you know maybe it was a matchup thing. Maybe, you know, Raptors really might have been focused on getting this W. Obviously, moving to the 3 and 0, putting them in good position to make the semifinals. The last game and this game, they’ve just had the 10 players in the rotation. Obviously, you go back to the first game, it’s a lot easier to play everyone when you’re winning by 40, but uh you could even argue that this was a nine-man rotation because uh Elijah only got the eight minutes. Uh last thing I’ll touch on here was uh Mr. Keith Py who was uh in attendance uh and you know a lot of us including uh myself were critical of his press conference after uh to announce the parting of ways with the Messiah Jiri but it’s hard to kind of spin this into a negative obviously you know people are happy to go to Vegas uh but I think it was good of him to to be there have an opportunity to check out the team, maybe interact with uh Bobby some more and uh spend some time there. Uh so yeah, as much as you want to hate, I think that’s something that you you have to say is a positive. Uh besides that, I think I’ve touched on everything for this one, so I’ll wrap it up there. Raptors, hey, they get it done against Golden State. they will go uh to the semifinals of Las Vegas summer league. Uh if you want to carry on the discussion, head on over to the Lockdown Raptors Discord. The link is in the description. Thank you for making Lockdown Raptors your first listen today. For your second listen, find the Lockdown NBA podcast where there is no offseason. Doug, Matt, and Hayes keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to the to be the most informed NBA fan. Find Locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day.

The Toronto Raptors remained undefeated at the 2025 NBA Summer League with a 101-97 win over the Denver Nuggets. Vivek Jacob goes solo to break down Ja’Kobe Walter’s amazing performance, the team unity shining through in a tense moment, and more growth from Ulrich Chomche.

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