Sean Woodley here, the host of the daily Locked On Raptors podcast, with your daily Locked On Raptors newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Raptors and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
Toxic Positivity Friday! Toronto Raptors: Top-6 team in the East?
Oct 25, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) is fouled by Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (5) in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images|Dan Hamilton/Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
TPF is back! The Raptors are 2-7, but who cares! On this day, our wildest hoop dreams are attainable.
This time around, scaling the Eastern Conference is in our sights. Have you taken a look at the East standings lately? It’s the unstoppable Cavs, the inevitable Celtics, and 13 teams worth of pee-eww, stinky-stinky.
These squads have problems, folks!
Indiana can’t defend and Tyrese Haliburton is searching far and wide for the TYRESE HALIBURTON(!?!?!) that broke our brains and defenses a year ago. Tied with them for 3rd at a nice round .500 are the Nets. Sean Marks, his hand hovering ever more twitchily above the eject button, won’t be having any of that into the new year.
The Hawks have a trio of wing freaks in Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher living out the Anunoby-Siakam-Barnes fantasy, except they’re much worse (for now). The Knicks are thin and janky. As we all learned last year, there’s nothing like a good “will they won’t they” star player trade subplot to sewer a season; maybe Miami’s Jimmy Butler is this year’s Pascal Siakam?
Chicago’s as bad at offense as the Raptors are at defense. Charlotte’s looked spunky and that’s definitely gonna hold up, no for sure. Orlando’s dealing with one of the biggest bummer injuries of the year; it’s not their fault, but without Paolo they’re worse at scoring than everyone, and by a lot. With Washington, all the fun doesn’t negate all the bad. And the Pistons are the Pistons until they show they’re not.
That’s without even mentioning the true disasters: the Sixers, who have an excuse, and the Bucks, who don’t.
Toronto obviously has its warts, and lots of ‘em. Plagued by injuries to stars and depth, and the definition of a movable object on defense, they don’t totally deserve to be 2-7, but this isn’t some 50-win freight train hiding in plain sight. Thing is, you probably don’t have to be to wind up near the top of this pile of soiled jeans teams.
Immanuel Quickley is due back any day now, bringing balms for two of the Raptors’ bugaboos: 3-point shooting, and ball security. A healthy IQ these last couple weeks probably tilts a couple of the Raps’ coin flip losses the other way. Scottie Barnes doesn’t need orbital bone surgery, which means his return is probably closer than it feels.
A lot was made before the season about the Raptors’ early-season tough mudder of a schedule. Not such a boogeyman when 87% of the conference you contest is bad, hurt or both. The Clippers, Lakers (28th in defense?!), Bucks, Pistons, Celtics and Pacers are on deck. A month ago that looked like a 1-5 slump. Now? Looks like a borderline heater to me.
Toronto’s 13th in offense with a skeleton crew; Scottie Barnes has played 4 games, Quickley 14 minutes. With their already elite rim pressure and a few more threes, there’s a Top-10 unit in the bones of the healthy Raptors. Being really good at one thing can drag you to the 40-something wins zone when everyone else is mid. A meager jump from 29th to, say, 21st in defense would help matters, too. Barnes will carry some weight in that effort when he’s back.
A surprise playoff push would be one of them good problems. Sure, the idea of adding another potential Dude in the draft at the end of an entertaining losing year is nice. But if the group you have develops into something good enough to haul you into the Top-6 on its own merits, you don’t stand in the way of that, even if the conference is in a grim state. Getting good begets trades for Dudes who aren’t hypothetical.
Sitting just two games out of sixth with a lot more going right for them than a bunch of the teams they need to leap, maybe it’s not so crazy to envision late-April hoop in Toronto.
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Today on the podcast, Katie Heindl, your fearless Locked On national newsletter editor, stops by for her first Toxic Positivity Friday where we take stock a seemingly climbable Eastern Conference. Enjoy the show, and have a wonderful weekend.
The Nuggets did it (Nikola Jokic did it), the Warriors did it (the death lineup and defensive efficiency), the Celtics did it (switching one through five, pre-switching, neutralizing open lanes), and now the Thunder are doing it.
It’s been described as pestering, smothering, swarming, but I‘d like to put “car wash” into consideration. That’s the set up awaiting opponents. The car (the opposing team) gets locked into those self-driving tracks and the gauntlet begins. Lu Dort and Alex Caruso appear as those cylindrical spinning brushes, stripping the ball outright and early or else funnelling players into the next wave of guards. Pressure continues from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams but it becomes more targeted, thinking of the jet streams of water now being directed at the car from every angle — and those spinning whirlwinds of Caruso and Dort haven’t relented.
If, somehow, an opposing player finds a sliver of daylight in the so-small-its-micro-ball switching scheme the Thunder are playing, if they manage to get out from the many hands reaching in, pressuring, forcing turnovers, then they will meet Chet Holmgren at the rim. Holmgren is like those long, slapping shammy tentacles that come down on the hood, sides and roof of the car from every angle, though his reach and hands are much more expertly deployed. The Thunder have a defensive rating of 96.5 (for context the Warriors, at second best, seem light-years behind with a respectable 103.8) and lead the league in steals (13.4) and blocks (7.3). The cars are coming out spotless, utterly worked.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Home and Away
Trade The Toronto Raptors are eyeing a potential trade for the Warriors’ $109 million forward to bolster their roster. (Sporting News)
Analysis Raptors fall to the Kings as offensive struggles continue, raising concerns about their fourth-quarter performances. (Raptors HQ)
Watch Defense wins games? Here’s an insightful breakdown of OKC’s defensive schemes. (Thinking Basketball)
Must Read The Influence of Sedona Price: Take a fascinating look at the domino effect of NIL on college athletics, women’s sports, social media and athlete health. (The New Yorker)
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Basketball Impact of Miles Bridges’ Injury
Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) holds his knee after a collision at the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Spectrum Center.|Photo by Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
With only three games on Thursday, there was ample time to delve into the latest injury news and its implications for fantasy managers.
Injury Updates and Their Impact
Miles Bridges’ knee injury is a significant concern. After initially returning to play, he’s now sidelined for at least two weeks with a knee bone bruise. This situation opens up opportunities for other players. With Nick Richards and Mark Williams also out, Taj Gibson steps in as the starting centre. Grant Williams, who has been getting centre minutes, will likely shift to playing more at the four, alongside Tidjane Salaun. This reshuffling could push Williams into a more prominent role, making him a potential pick-up in 12-team leagues.
The absence of Bridges also means increased usage for Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. Tre Mann is another player to watch; holding onto him could be beneficial as the team adjusts to these injuries.
Ja Morant’s hamstring injury is another blow, with expectations of a two-week absence. Memphis’ injury reporting is notoriously vague, so fantasy managers should prepare for an extended period without Morant. Tyrese Maxey’s situation is similar, with the Sixers indicating a reevaluation in a week, but realistically, it could be longer. Kyle Lowry is a suitable replacement in the meantime.
Don’t let these episodes pass you by — stay locked in with the latest Locked On Raptors podcasts.
Thursday — Raptors fall apart in 4th quarter vs. Kings to spoil Davion Mitchell’s revenge game Sean goes solo to talk about what went wrong in the 4th quarter against the Kings on Wednesday night, Davion Mitchell finding his way, the injuries to Jonathan Mogbo and Ja’Kobe Walter and more.
Wednesday — Which hot Raptors starts have a chance to sustain all year? Sean is joined by Zulfi Sheikh (Sportsnet, Raptors Republic) to talk about whether the starts of Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Jakob Poeltl and Davion Mitchell are sustainable or not.
Tuesday — RJ Barrett’s would-be winner pops out, Raptors lose to Nuggets 121-119 Sean recaps the Raptors’ second heartbreak loss to Denver in as many Mondays. Gradey Dick’s leap, RJ Barrett’s off night, the Raptors’ best defensive stretch of the season and more get covered!
