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.
The Raptors have set their course; time & reps are the only fix
Jan 3, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN: Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic talks to his players during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Scotiabank Arena.. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro/Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
About a year ago, the Raptors did what everyone wanted them to do: they picked a direction. By trading Pascal Siakam, clearing out for a youth movement centered around Scottie Barnes, and restocking the draft cupboard, Toronto set their course toward badness-by-design. “Rebuilding” being the Word of the Day when the team first addressed the media in late September confirmed it.
Maybe you disagree with the calculated losing path, maybe you don’t. But whether you’re a pro-tank lotto luster or someone who wishes they’d opted for the build-from-the-middle track Masai Ujiri’s successfully driven before, there should be no disagreement on this: veering off the chosen path just a year later would be very stupid.
Seeing the Raptors drop as many games as they have over the last month might have you questioning things, even if you were among those calling for a season down the tubes in the name of a high pick. Losing stinks. Being a doormat is no fun. It grates on you.
It’s also part of the deal.
There’s no skipping steps when you choose pain. Young players lose minutes, and so young teams lose games. It’s the circle of life. The first sign of extended struggle is no time for a weak stomach. For the Raptors to start overreacting in response to heavy losses by, say, firing their coach, would be to repeat the worst mistakes committed during the dark ages of the franchise, where half-baked half measures kept the Raptors irrelevant for most of their first 20 seasons.
You may not like how the plan is going, but after a couple years in the woods, there is a plan. The only real fix here is time and reps. Sometimes those reps will yield ugly results, like Friday night’s loss to the super injured Magic.
There’s no two ways about it. That’s a game Toronto should have won. Orlando was without its two best players coming in and lost its next best guy by halftime. You can forgive them struggling to carve open the Magic’s nasty defense — even Orlando’s backups are mean, and the rush of adrenaline that powered Wednesday night’s Immanuel Quickley return game gave way to some offensive kinks that need ironing.
Giving up 88 points to the skeleton Magic through 36 minutes is a tougher look, even if the shooting variance fairy was particularly unfavorable. You can’t really account for Cory Joseph banging three triples on your head. Leaving Tristan da Silva wide open for the bulk of his five threes, miscommunicating off-ball switches, and leaving dudes unchecked in transition are a little less forgivable; there were definitely Raptor claw prints all over Orlando’s box score.
“So defensively, the biggest problem was the three-point line, especially that first half,” head coach Darko Rajaković said of the Magic’s absurd 19-of-44 night after coming in as the league’s least accurate three-point shooting team. “We just did not get close enough to shooters that we identified as shooters.”
There’s a difference between playing poorly and not trying hard. Apart from the spell of blowout Ls around Christmas, which I wrote about last week, I don’t think you could accuse this Raptors group of not bringing it most nights. On Friday, a good chunk (though not quite all) of the Raptors’ defensive miscues were errors of commission and over-zealousness, from Ja’Kobe Walter needlessly pinching in to help ward off non-threatening drives, to Scottie Barnes closing out too hard on a red-hot Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
You can be lax in your execution and give up buckets without it being a dereliction of your duty to give a damn. As it happens, screwing up execution is kind of the whole deal with young teams. Even within Friday’s loss, they ratcheted it up in the fourth quarter to makes things interesting; learning to string together good stretches over 48 minutes is one of the big ticket items on any rebuild to-do list.
There’s no solve for youth other than waiting for early 20-somethings with no experience to become older and less green. Steady reps and serious basketball help expedite things. Mercifully, RJ Barrett’s return on Monday means the Raptors can really get to work on really figuring out what this team has, and how far they need to go to climb from the basement.
It’s totally possible, even likely, that the fully healthy Raptors are still no great shakes. Though the limited sample we do have suggests the core guys have some sauce, particularly on offense.
And if the BBQ Raptors, reunited for the first time since March, come out and get demolished at home against Milwaukee tonight, the 10,000 foot view of this team won’t change a bit. It’ll be a data point, one of hopefully many more they’ll accrue as the slow passage of time paints the full picture of whether the Raptors’ choice to rebuild was correct or doomed. All we can do now is wait, and hopefully watch some compelling hoop.
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Today on the podcast I went solo to talk about the Raptors loss to Orlando, what the return of RJ Barrett means and much more! Enjoy the show!
Jan 4, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) greets Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) before a game at Frost Bank Center. | Scott Wachter/Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Casting a cursory eye up and down the standings this weekend, I noticed some appearances that made me take a second look. This went for teams for climbing and sliding. So, I’m introducing a potentially recurring feature called “Monday movers”, highlighting teams jostling and jockeying in the standings, likely bound to get more contentious as the season goes on.
San Antonio Spurs
What a thrill it must be for long-suffering Spurs fans to take a glance at the West’s top 10 and see their team there, after so many seasons spent hanging around the bottom of the conference. What a thrill it was for me, too!
It’s not all because of Victor Wembanyama, but the phenom did hit two milestones this weekend: he played his 100th NBA game and he turned 21. His in-game numbers are similarly worth celebrating.
He’s the first player since Shaquille O’Neal to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds before turning 21, and the 7th player in the last 45 years to score over 2,200 points (he’s scored 2,278) through his first 100 games. Other than Bill Walton and Brad Daugherty, Wembanyama’s the only other 7-foot center with 385+ assists before turning 21, though their first 100 games. He’s also put up more threes than Steph Curry did, with 225 to Curry’s 200 through their first 100 games.
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
Injury Toronto Raptors are expected to have RJ Barrett back in action tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. Read about his anticipated return and its implications. (Sports Illustrated)
Rumor The Raptors are resisting trade interest for Jakob Poeltl amidst buzz around Olynyk and Brown. Dive into the rumors circulating the team. (Bleacher Report)
Preview The Bucks will compete against the Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena at 7:30 PM ET. Read the preview.(NBA)
Trades The Jimmy Butler vs. Heat saga escalated quickly: Here’s what we know. (ESPN)
Biz Amazon adds Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki to its inaugural studio coverage for the 2025-2026 season. (The Athletic)
Jan 5, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Utah Jazz guard Brice Sensabaugh (28) is interviewed by Seg Media reporter, Lauren Green following a game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Russell Lansford-Imagn Images | Russell Lansford/Russell Lansford-Imagn Images
One of the most intriguing developments on Sunday came from the Utah Jazz, where rookie Brice Sensabaugh has suddenly burst onto the scene with a scoring explosion.
Sensabaugh dropped 27 points against the Orlando Magic, following up a 34-point performance in his previous outing. That’s a staggering 61 points over two games for a player who had been largely off the fantasy radar. His usage rate has skyrocketed to over 30% in these contests, and he’s been scorching hot from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of 17 three-point attempts.
However, before we rush to add Sensabaugh in all leagues, it’s crucial to examine the context of his breakout. The Jazz were missing several key players, including Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Jordan Clarkson. This opened up a significant opportunity for Sensabaugh to showcase his scoring prowess.
The sustainability of Sensabaugh’s production is questionable. His three-point shooting percentage is bound to regress, and when the Jazz get healthier, his minutes and usage are likely to decrease. That said, he’s shown enough to warrant consideration as a streaming option in deeper leagues, particularly when Utah is shorthanded.
Click the button below for more insights, including another Thunder player to keep an eye on for your fantasy roster.
Don’t let these episodes pass you by — stay locked in with the latest Locked On Raptors podcasts.
Tuesday — Raptors win sixth game in seven, defense shines again vs. Pelicans Sean goes solo to talk about the Raptors’ 113-104 win over the Pelicans, the defense’s continued success, the offense’s struggles & more!
Monday — Raptors complete sweep of Atlanta Hawks on the road Sean and Vivek Jacob recap a Raptors win over the Hawks on Saturday, talk about Scottie Barnes turning in another two-way master class, and debate a red hot Would You Rather conundrum.
Friday — Raptors hang on to topple Hawks for second road win of season Sean goes solo to talk about the Raptors taking the Hawks, Scottie Barnes’ two-way excellence (again) and why, no, the Raptors aren’t winning too much.
