The Raptors Might ACTUALLY Be Really Good

The Raptors Might ACTUALLY Be Really Good

Yo, what’s going on y’all? It’s Con and the Toronto Raptors might be really good. They are playing some of the best basketball in the NBA right now and they’re on fire. They’ve won eight out of their last nine games with a couple wins over Cleveland, over the Bucks, over the Atlanta Hawks, and tonight knocked off the Charlotte Hornets and a huge clutch win 110 to 108. You got big plays down the stretch from Brandon Ingram and Scotty Barnes. Both huge blocks to save this one. You got a big bucket from RJ Barrett cutting in after Brandon Ingram got trapped trying to win the game to go ahead and give them the lead over Ryan Calbrer who’s 87 feet tall. You got huge buckets from Emanuel Quickley. Great bench play contributions all over the place. Yakob Purle being the great big that he is setting big body screens. It was everything that you’ve seen from the Raptors this season all wrapped up into one game. And that’s the way they’ve been playing is just well-rounded, really solid basketball. They are a top 10 offense. They’re a top 10 defense and they’re top 10 in net rating and they’re towards the top of the Eastern Conference. Everything that we can see right now indicates these Raptors are just really good. And we didn’t really know or at least I didn’t know what to think about this team coming into the season. And I know a lot of people share that sentiment because the Raptors put a lot of money into building out this squad, a squad that was completely unproven because they brought in Quickly uh from the Ojanobi trade as well as RJ Barrett and they paid those two a lot of money despite not seeing them contribute in a big winning environment. uh you go ahead and you bring in Brandon Ingram at last year’s deadline to pair up with Scotty Barnes and it’s like okay how are they going to work as this wing tandem next to RJ next to Emanuel Quickley Yaka Purle they paid those guys a bajillion dollars and we’re like okay this is going to be our core it was very unorthodox they got their franchise guy then tore it down and then built around him with you know kind of not really drafting that many major pieces it was just traits but so far it looks like it’s working because all those guys are contributing in a big way And it’s all of them because only one guy is averaging over 20 points per game on this team and it is Brandon Ingram who has been so huge for them. Had 27 63 two steals and three blocks tonight in the win against the Hornets. Uh I haven’t checked like any of the advanced metrics, but just eye test wise it feels like Brandon Ingram is playing the best defense of his career. He is really locked in on that end while also being one of the best mid-range bucket getters in the sport. Uh the three-point shot has fluctuated. It’s not been great so far, 27.9% but hit three tonight. Uh specifically, he seems to really like that straightaway shot more than like either the wing or the corner threes. Uh but if you get him in the mid-range, you’re one-on-one, Brandon Ingram’s probably going to score over you. And that’s something that the Raptors really needed. He’s gotten them over the finish line or even gotten them close to that point for other guys to go ahead and finish the job. The Hornets felt like they had to send two over because they were so scared of Brandon Ingram putting them away in the clutch on that mid-range jumper, setting up the shot that RJ Barrett hit to give them the lead. when you have a guy that has that type of scoring gravity, it makes life so much easier for everybody else. So, Ingram right now playing at an all-star level, and if that three ball continues to tick up a little bit, like I think it will eventually. I mean, he’s been a pretty solid shooter the last three years of his career coming into this season. We’re talking about one of the more well-rounded offensive players in basketball, and he’s going next to just one of the most overall well-rounded players in basketball in Scotty Barnes. And in the preseason, Scotty was not playing very well. There have been ups and downs. People I feel like have kind of gotten down on Scotty Barnes over the past few years after towards the beginning of his career. People are like, “Oh yeah, this guy has the chance to eventually be the best player in a championship team. He’s someone to build around.” Uh there were reports that the Raptors might be interested like a Kevin Durant or Giannis, but that they really didn’t want to give up Scotty Barnes and some people clown that, but other people kind of understood because he had a really promising start. And now he’s got more talent around him and he’s having the best season of his career. 19 and a half points per game, seven and a half rebounds, five and a half assists with 1.4 steals, 1.8 blocks. Again, including that clutch block that he went ahead and made to save this game for the Hornets. Uh he’s been one of the best defenders on the planet. He is playing at an alldefensive level. Has to be on one of those teams if the season ends today. And offensively, I mean, he’s shooting 40% from three. It’s not a lot of attempts. It’s only a few per game, but to go ahead and do that, like it is a shot that you have to respect right now with Scotty. 50% overall because he’s a monster. Just backing guys down, botting them, and getting to the rim. He likes that little mid-range jumper as well on the baseline. Like Scotty is just doing it all at the moment. He’s being the exact type of point forward all-around player that it felt like he could eventually become. He’s also playing at an all-star level right now. If we get to February and Scotty Barnes and Brandon Ingram on the All-Star team, I don’t think anybody’s surprised. Then Scotty, if the Raptors continue to tick up, could even push. I mean, I talked about all defense. He could even push for all NBA depending on how high the Raptors get in these standings. He’s been amazing. He and Brandon Ingram have developed such good chemistry already. Again, people, you know, have to kind of feel like they send extra pressure to Ingram and Scotty knows where to be to go ahead and relieve that pressure or find Ingram in his spots. They’ve done a good job, a really good job of already working together. And that comes along with RJ Barrett who last season and you know really ever since he got to Toronto feels like he’s kind of unlocked a new level of his game and that’s continued to be the case. 19 points a night 50% from the field 34% from three. It’s not the best but it is a shot that people respect and you know he did have two games against the Cavs and the Nets where he shot 0 for three and 0 for seven. So that’s just 10 blank attempts in a row. Like outside of those two games feels like he’s been decent so far this season from three. He’s competing on the defensive end. part of why this unit works. I think R.J.’s been really solid. I don’t think he’s looked like the guy that some people thought he might be this season. I think a lot of people looked at the Raptors and said it might work, but eventually they’re going to have to get rid of RJ Barrett. Like if they make a big trade, he’s the guy whose money has to go out the door, but he’s just playing really good right now. Like he’s just been good. Emanuel Quickley, who started off the season really, really poorly, and I made that uh impressive and disappointing video. And Emanuel Quickley was on my disappointing players list to open up the season, but he’s been a lot better since then, giving them 15 and a half a night, 4.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals. He’s competing better defensively. I’ve liked the playmaking more. He’s had four assists, seven assists, six assists, five assists, six, six, and seven over his last seven games. That’s pretty good. Like, that’s what you want to see. And that comes with improving three-point shooting over his last few games. Three of eight, two of six, five of seven, three of eight, five of nine, uh, Quickley is knocking down those shots. And as that three-point shot continues to come back and the playmaking continues to be there in the defense, Emanuel Quickley is worth the money they’ve been giving him. And Jamal Shed is backup, is a dog. Like Jamal Shed is awesome. I love watching Jamal Shed hoop. He just goes out there and hounds as a defender, never turns the ball over, makes the right plays. He’s just one of those guys that plays winning basketball. And there are so many players on this team that do that like Yakob Purle who just relentlessly sets big body screens, gets rebounds. I mean, the amount of times in this game and over the entire season so far for the Raptors that the the guy with the ball in his hands gets the defender on their hip because they weren’t able to get around Yaka Purle’s screen, it’s it’s innumerable. It’s a really high number that happens so many times a game. Mamu has been amazing as a big for them off the bench. Had seven points in this one. Four rebounds, knocked down a three. That is a consistent shot for him. Uh he’s been so good and reliable as that guy coming off the bench for Yakob. Uh Grady Dick had 10 points. The three-point shot hasn’t been all the way to the way we expected to be from Grady this season, but it’s starting to get there. And again, he also competes. This team just has a lot of size, a lot of length. Uh Colin Murray Boils has been really good defensively as a rookie. And he’s knocked down like not a lot of threes, but it’s a shot that he’s hitting somewhat over over the course of this season. He’s looked really promising so far. And he’s been a rotational piece. That’s not something you always see from a rookie, never mind for a team that’s been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Like, I’ve been very much impressed with what he’s brought to the table. It’s just it’s just a great team so far. I I’ve liked what Darko Ryakovich has done. At the beginning of the season, I’m like, is he going to make it through this year? Because I’m underwhelmed, but they’ve definitely leveled it up defensively. They found their footing there. Offensively, they’re starting to click a lot more. They’re really building up that momentum. Uh it’s just been good. They’ve been great. And I don’t think this is just a hot streak. There are a few teams in the NBA like we, you know, we started off the year in the Bulls were 5-0, 5-1. And I made that video, I’m like, they might actually be really good. But I talked about how I think they’re going to fall down the standings. And ultimately, they’ve definitely done that as of late, although they beat the Nuggets tonight, which we will talk about later in the rest of NBA section. But in terms of where the Raptors are right now, I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think they could finish top five in this Eastern Conference, top four even. When you think about some of the disappointing teams that we’ve seen so far, some of the injuries, I think they have a real shot to be a top four to five to six team in this Eastern Conference. And that’s that’s fantastic for the first year with this group coming together and having never played and it being a huge experiment, a question mark. I’ve been vastly impressed by Toronto Raptors basketball. They’ve been one of my favorite teams to watch just outright. And if it does reach a point where they want to go ahead and make an upgrade, they’ve got the pieces to do it. They’ve got a bunch of money on the books like we talked about. I’m not saying they need to blow this thing up, but they have avenues to get even better. If a Giannis or some other big star becomes available around the deadline or going into next season, they’ve got room to go ahead and make improvements, make moves. I like the way that they’re heading. I feel way better about the Raptors right now than I did going into the season over the course of this summer. When they trade for Brandon Ingram at last year’s deadline, I’m kind of like, what are they doing? Does this really help all that much? It absolutely has. This team’s been great. They’ve been really fun. They’ve been good on both sides of the ball. Also, I love the way they move the ball. They’ve got the sixth highest assist percentage and the third best assist to turnover ratio. They just take care of the ball. They swing the rock left and right to find not just a good shot, but a great shot. It’s crazy to see this level of chemistry so early in the season. I think this Raptors team has real capability to be great all year. Uh, every stat that I look at, the eye test, everything tells me this is just a good basketball team. I don’t know how far they go in the playoffs. There is a lot going on in the Eastern Conference. There’s like 47 teams who are nine and four or eight and five or seven and seven, like somewhere around those records. I’ve got no idea how the standings are going to shake out, but I’ll let you know, I’m rooting for the Raptors to be continue to be really good this season because I want to keep watching them play basketball. I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m excited to see how they progress. Shout out to Toronto. I I might have undersold them in my predictions before the year and I hope that is the case because again, I want to see them succeed. So, yeah, those are kind of my thoughts on the Raptors. Let me know down below in the comments what your takeaways have been from them so far. Have you also enjoyed watching them play as much as I have? And where do you think they finish in the Eastern Conference standings? Let’s go ahead and talk about the rest of the NBA tonight. Uh let’s talk about the Bulls beating the Nuggets 130 to 127. This was a wacky game where the Bulls got off to a huge lead. They led by 18 points and then the Nuggets basically erased it instantly before halftime. Uh and then you’ve got the Bulls again taking a decent lead and the Nuggets erasing it before the Bulls go ahead and slam the door shut in the end uh to snap the Nuggets win streak. Funny that I just made the video calling them the best Nuggets team ever and they immediately lose to the Chicago Bulls. Maybe the cone curse is back. Uh but in this one you get 214 and six from Josh Giddy. Kevin Herder hits a huge three. Vousvich hits a big shot late even though he was really bad in this game overall. Joic another monster game 36 18 and 13. Uh Cam Johnson probably his best game of the season so far. Had 19 and a huge three down the stretch at this one. Jamal Murray had 341 and four. They just really couldn’t get a stop. And this is the defensive regression I talked about. We could potentially see when I made my Nuggets video. And I mean, it’s only one game and the Bulls were, you know, hitting some really tough shots. It’s not like they were just always wide open. But the defense definitely looked bad in this game. It’s got to be better if the Nuggets want to They were never going to maintain a top two to three defense. But if they want to still be a decent defense, they’ve got to be a lot better than this. The Cavs knocked off the Bucks. But specifically, I want to talk about this because Giannis leaves the game with a groin injury, which is really concerning because Milwaukeee’s already been slipping. think they’ve been looking a little iffy as of late. And if Giannis misses serious time, they’re in a lot of trouble. They’re going to need guys to step up in a big way and I just don’t know if they have the bodies for that to happen. Uh for the Cavaliers, Donn Mitchell, 37, he continues to be unbelievable this season. 20 from Sam Merrill. Yeah, I mean really the story line is Giannis being injured and you know we’ll see ultimately where that takes us, but if he’s out for a little bit and the Bucks start to fall down the standings with how many East teams are playing really well right now despite injuries, it could get ugly fast for the Mountain Eastern Conference. The Sixers beat the Clippers 110 to 108. Paul George made his return. Two of nine shooting, nine points, three assists, two blocks, hit a three. Nothing too crazy, nothing too notable. Just 21 minutes of course on a restriction there. Uh but the story line was Tyres Maxi again 393 and six assists. He’s easily been the MVP for the Sixers this season. Has been firmly an AllNBA player. VJ Edgecom had 146 and six. Uh fastest player since like Luke I think to hit is it 200 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists. Something like that. I I’ll go ahead and flash that stat up here. Uh but yeah, they they go ahead and they get the job done. Quinton Grimes uh hit some huge shots in this game. Played really good down the stretch. Harden tried to do his best. 286 and five. Not the most efficient night from him, but I mean the Clippers are just running out of bodies. Like Kobe Sanders started tonight. Derrick Jones Jr. is out for I think it’s 6 weeks. Bradley Beal is out for the season. Kawawaii is still not coming back. Uh it is a nightmare right now for the Clippers. And if they continue playing like this, there are real chances that they’re going to give the Thunder a top four to like 10 pick in this draft. A loaded draft class. And if that jumps, you know, I’m a Thunder fan and even I’m terrified for what that would do to the rest of the league. And the final close game of the night was the Heat being the Knicks 115 to 113. Cat has a fadeaway jumper to try and send this one to OT but misses it. They hold on and win. Big game for KL Wear who got destroyed on the boards last game. Udonis has him said he texted him and told him, “You have to be better this game.” Had 16 points, 14 rebounds, six of them being offensive. He was awesome. Uh you got 19 from Norman Pal, 18 from DaVon Mitchell, 14 from Fontio, 13 from Haime Hawkins continuing to build his six man of the year campaign, 13 from Pel Larson, and just everybody contributed. It’s kind of the way that he had been winning this season. No Bam, no Tyler Herro, doesn’t matter. Uh for the Knicks, of course, still no Jaylen Brunson, but Deuce McBride gives him 25 points. 22 and 15 from Cat, 23 from Male Bridges. Also, no Ojan and Obi in this one either. So, you get Landry Shamut starting who did not play up to the level of the last Pete Knicks game where he had 30 points. He had 10 on two of 11 shooting. Josh Hart had 14 59 14 from Jordan Clarkson. Uh kind of a well-rounded effort, but the Heater able to just go ahead and overpower them specifically with the three ball. They shot 40%. The Knicks shot 25%. My Thunder blow out the Pelicans 126 to 109. Put up 49 points in the first quarter. That’s the most in a quarter of Thunder history. Chedda 26 and9. He is bonafideed all-star AllNBA this season. And we also got the news today that Wemi is going to be out for a little bit with a calf injury, which is really scary. We’ve seen what happens with those calf injuries. So hopefully it’s all good and he doesn’t rush back and we don’t see anything similar to what happened to you know like a Jason Tatum or Damen Lillard Tyrese Albert like those guys dealing with calf injuries when they come back the Achilles is a concern. So, you know, knock on wood. Hopefully, nothing happens there. But it does come into question, you know, who’s going to win deepo if he’s not able to play enough games. And the way things are going right now, I think it’s chat at this moment. Uh Lou Dort hit four threes. Big game from him. His best game of the season so far. Shay had 23 eight and three. Only had to play 28 minutes cuz they were getting uh or they were annihilating the Pelicans. And for New Orleans, uh Jeremiah Fears has been really fun. 24 points from him. He was awesome in this game and he’s been really good as of late. So, even though the season is terrible and it’s all lost, at least a bit of a bright spot. The Timber Rolls annihilate the Mavericks 120 to 96. Not really a lot to say here. It was just kind of a bludgeoning 22 from Nas Reed. Shout out to him. The Pistons beat the Pacers 127 to 112. Pacers fall to I think 113 at this point. Might even be 1 and4. Uh 29 from Seakum, 25 from Mathan, uh who made his return today. But 31 and 15 from Jaylen Duran. Danish Jenkins 26 and eight assists. He just keeps playing like Kade Cunningham light while Kate Cunningham is out. Uh the Pistons have now won 10 games in a row. This is their best win streak since 2008. And they’re sitting pretty solidly on top of the Eastern Conference right now despite real injuries. They’ve been the story of the East so far this season. So shout out to them and I think that’s every game. Yeah, that’s everything. So what those are my thoughts on the NBA slate from tonight and the uh Raptors specifically overall. Let me know down below in the comments what your takeaways were, how you feel about Toronto, how do you feel about your favorite team so far, what other teams and concepts do you want to see me make a video on? Uh, leave a like and subscribe if you enjoyed. Hit the notification bell so you don’t miss out on future videos. I appreciate you all. I’ll see youall later. Real one say back.

The Toronto Raptors have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season and are playing elite basketball right now behind Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley amongst others. They were a wildcard in an East headlined by the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks, but have performed better than most thought and have the makings of a genuinely really good squad for more than just this hot stretch.

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0:00 – Intro
0:47 – This is a really good team
1:09 – This wasn’t a normal rebuild
1:58 – Brandon Ingram has leveled up
3:10 – Scottie Barnes is elite now
5:00 – RJ Barrett and Quickley are awesome
6:59 – This team is so deep
8:08 – I think they’re good for real
10:29 – The rest of the NBA
16:09 – Outro