What about the NBA’s conference finalists should the Toronto Raptors be looking to replicate?

What about the NBA’s conference finalists should the Toronto Raptors be looking to replicate?

on your Wednesday episode of lock on Raptors the NBA’s Conference finals are upon us which means we get to play the game of what shared DNA did these teams have that the Raptors can co-opt going forward we do that with ktie hindle coming up on today’s show thanks for hanging you are locked on Raptors your daily Toronto Raptors podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day hey hey what’s going on and welcome to another episode of Locked on Raptors part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day it is Wednesday May the 22nd and I’m your host Sean Woodley I’ve been covering the Toronto Raptors now for 10 seasons on various platforms you can find all my work over on the hell website at Woodley Shan you can find the show on Instagram at lockon Raptors and of course you can join us in the lockon Raptors Discord server a beautiful Haven for sickos just like you who love the podcast who love the Raptors who love talking about the draft who love talking about the stuff you’re cooking up in the kitchen it’s a lovely little listener family we got building around the show the link to join the Discord is in the description it’s free to join as always we’d love to see you there uh of course you can find the show for free get your podcast follow subscribe rate review on the audio side of things it’s much appreciated you can also go to the YouTube channel subscribe and hit the notification Bell when you do that you’ll get a heads up via push notification every single time the show is about to Premiere or go live you can join the live chat mess around in there with fellow sickos who you know some of there’s some Crossover with the Discord but that’s it’s kind of its own little sicko world over there in the live chat plenty of ways to engage with the sickos who listen to lock on Raptors just like you thanks in advance for doing that Today’s Show it’s brought to you by your friends over at game time download the game time app create an account use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply all right on today’s show the Conference finals are rolling on Pascal SE yakum is doing very good things and some questionable things for your Indiana Pacers you’ve got the Wolves and the Mavericks taking uh their their series to what Dallas tonight Minnesota Minnesota it’s very exciting uh those fans are going to be absolutely insane uh of course the Celtics went up one last night one up one last night over the Pacers and with the Conference Finals going on it feels like a good time to take stock of what’s working in these playoffs what are the things that the Toronto Raptors who are hoping to one day build to be the type of team that can beat in a Conference Finals can sort of build upon and co-opt and replicate etc etc here to talk about all of that is our dear pal Katie hindle from basketball feelings and from believer mag how’s it going Katie how are you it’s going good sorry for that face I made when I came in the intro like froze oh as it was like starting so I had no idea for a moment where I was in space and time well we have the screen cap for the thumbnail uh already in the bank which is very exciting Katie I I’m a tyrant when it comes to choosing the the thumbnails and I will do what I please uh I know I did I did well every time I do Katherine’s pod Katherine aiker’s pod she always picks the nicest thumbnail of me and I tell her I’m like oh I’m so used to Sean’s choices it’s a trait when someone is like no this seems like a good still you see if I didn’t also pick insane pictures of myself I I would feel a little more bad but like yesterday I picked one where like my eyes were closed and it looked like I was trying to sing a song uh like from memory or something like that so uh I’m an equal opportunity bad thumbnail Chooser for our guests and myself um yeah Katie let’s talk playoffs shall we um we saw last night game one Celtics Pacers damn shame the Pacers couldn’t pull that one out um you know some interesting foul non foul contest non-contest decisions late from Pascal SE AUM a lot of other extremely good Pascal seum stuff that made me feel not so good inside uh we don’t need to relitigate that though um I did want to take today Katie just kind of run through the shared DNA of these conference finalists if there is any at all if there are through lines we can find that can kind of help inform where the Raptors are in their bu their build how far away they might be and what stuff they still might need to go and procure for their team that they have yet to do so that might allow them to make a run to this stage of the NBA postseason and years to come um k let’s start I want to kind of get into my first thing here which is I think it’s pretty clear based on the conference finalist I think the only one here that you would have said like is a stone cold lock to make it is the Celtics um other than that I think there’s a little bit of surprise maybe that the Wolves obviously survived the nuggets the Mavericks seem like they were on their their sort of heels in the first round against the Clippers for a second there they’ve made it all the way here it feels like the parody era is just like stamping it’s here it’s not going anywhere and I think that’s a good thing for just like the health of the league and the entertainment we obviously know no Champion has now made it past the second round for six seasons since the Toronto Raptors started that Trend um it’s uh it’s kind of an interesting time here Katie for the league and I think the Raptor’s place in it is fascinating to kind of examine where are you at with the sort of idea of parody being no doubt here to stay being kind of one of the takeaways from these playoffs what a trend to start that’s good that’s it’s like a very positive read onto what the Raptors couldn’t repeat it’s like well look what they did they ushered a League wide parody they’re so Noble they did Vanquish the KD Warriors which apparently is the only level of team that can repeat anymore it’s crazy no I’m a parody fan uh I feel like we talk about that enough I I really enjoy it um for the chaos and also for the opportunities I think parody is kind of one of the ways that things get pushed forward more in like a scramble whereas like when you’re in a a dynasty or a super team era um every team kind of has to calibrate themselves to beat one specific player by player I mean the whole team um but you know in a in a parody era everybody can kind of develop their own strong suits um and figure out what works best for them and their roster and the Personnel that they’ve got and you know like their varying levels of skills so it’s obviously tailoring them matchup to matchup like in a playoff situation um but I think it’s generally better for growth and I do think it is here to well that’s not true the MBA is so cyclical so it’s here to stay for a little while and then a super team will finally figure it out though it is interesting to watch super team after super team not necessarily understand what the model is anymore because it’s obviously changed the financial landscape has made it really hard to build super teams that have enough juice to get through a season and I think we’ve also seen with the Nuggets going down who I I think are probably the closest thing we’ve seen since the Golden State Warriors of the KD era to like an inevitable team like it’s really hard to just have like the mental capacity to win two championships in row let all the physical health and luck that comes with all of it like I think the talent’s more spread out than it’s ever been depth is more important to kind of your ability to survive and weather injury which which is a thing people everyone’s got to deal with and it just becomes a lot more difficult when instead of having three stars on a team you have one or two and you know one injury can really derail your best laid plans I I think you know the I it seems just really really hard to build a team good enough that’s going to kind of shift the landscape of the league the way those warriors did right like that was basically done because of a once- in a-lifetime salary cap anomaly that allowed Kevin Durant to walk into their cap space we’re probably not going to see that again and so it’ll have to be I think sort of a more organically built super team the thunder come to mind as like a potential you know we’ll see how it all breaks down and where these guys ends up end up in terms of the league hierarchy but it’s going to have to be more of a sort of built from within and then you just kind of accept Okay we’re going to be very expensive now and that’s got to be your pathway to building that kind of team I don’t think it’s going to be done via free agency or sort of star recruiting really anymore um you know maybe Avenues via trade or whatever but it’s going to be tough to do and yeah the threshold to be that level of team is just extremely high um I also really like the point you made Katie about the sort of the the the sort of styles make fights of it all almost where every team kind of has its own way of doing things and that leads to Super interesting matchups in the playoffs um every team you know to your point like during that Warriors era every team was built to try to beat the Warriors and that led to a lot of sness around the NBA it’s pretty awesome when everyone kind of plays differently is it not it is uh it’s cool it’s been cool to watch and also like in the kind of adjustments I think when I mean I know I I did this a few times certainly in the first round um but like counting teams out prematurely because you’re like no I’ve seen everything they have and then you realize in the next game that you don’t right um I think that’s cool I also just think like what happened to I always compare this to the Raptors I think because it’s just the closest example I had proximity wise um and because I think they did this very well but that that kind of rare thing when a team goes through um a playoffs and like the deeper they get into it if they’re able to really learn as they go and adjust and kind of like almost accelerate their growth in real time um the Raptors did that and that’s why they won one of the reasons why they won um but I think you know we’re also seeing that so even you know someone like OKC um I’m the Knicks certainly probably the Pacers but they’re like these aren’t like lost runs for them like they’ve probably gotten so much better in the past four weeks I’d say then they have in the last like six months you know yeah 100% like the Wolves a great example of that too right like they just kind of went from this sort of uh can we really trust them to oh my God it’s just like a bunch of uh pterodactyl here to destroy us it’s incredible um yeah I I think as far as like a takeaway for the Raptors from this like I I do think to me it’s kind of hammered home the sort of feeling I’ve had throughout these playoffs and into the you know back in the regular season as well which is just like when you’re building a team yeah it’s nice to think of oh let’s build ourselves to be sort of an upper crust Inner Circle Contender it’s really damn hard to do that and it’s dependent on getting one of the seven or eight players in the world who kind of alone makes your team that good um and so do think the sort of goal here should be just build like a top six worthy team and be in position to take advantage of the sort of abundance of NBA weirdness that seems to be more likely to happen as teams are less sort of stocked with super duper high-end game shifting Talent um and it’s more of a sort of even playing field and injuries and luck and things like that play into things and matchups right like the team hits the wrong matchup and all of a sudden whoa the Nuggets rid of the bracket wow everything’s opened up um you know do you have like the similar sort of take away for what this means for the Raptors do you have something else like what what do you sort of take from what we’ve talked about here and apply it how do you apply it to what the Raptors are now trying to do I don’t mean to be gloomy but it’s also made me realize how far how much farther the Raptors have to get there because again like you know these kind of teams that I think throughout the season people said were too young or too in experien to get there um got pretty far some are still in it and like even those teams have been intact as they are for such a long time sure compared to Toronto so it’s it’s been thinking about like oh right you know a rebuild takes a it takes like long enough to be competitive kind of at home and to be competitive and and like competent throughout a regular season and then in the playoffs like that’s an entirely other animal um and you can only get that experience by getting there and probably losing many times so uh it’s just reminded me of oh yeah it’s gonna be a while sure yeah like you gotta walk before you can run like I I think there’s a world in which they find themselves kind of in a top eight position next season and everything’s very nice but then the playoffs become as you said like an entirely different deal and that’s a whole new multi-year step in learning process unless you’re the Wolves where your second year going you’re just oh yeah we’re the best team in the world now have fun ha and I mean look I think another thing too is you know the Mavericks and Pacers like they made big inseason trades and we’re Ben they benefit from it right the wolves made a huge trade for goar and it took a year but they’re benefiting from it um I think that’s something interesting we can talk about coming up too is just sort of the rewards of kind of going in with your chips and bolstering your team we’re g to come back and talk about that coming up in just one sec Today Show is brought to you by game time the single best place to buy tickets for the sporting events concerts Theater events whatever it is that you want to go to it is the very best for a whole bunch of different reasons you get incredible last minute deals you can save up to 60% off buying last minute for sports concerts comedy and theater you get Flash Deals where you can save even more with exclusive inapp deals on select seats ahead of the game or event you get pictures of your seat all in pricing no surprise fees at checkout it’s a beautiful thing I use game time all the time I game time twice this past weekend while I was in Vegas I bought tickets for the Blue Man Group which was awesome super duper fun I got all sorts of paint on me it rocked and then I bought tickets for the Las Vegas Aces game on Saturday against the LA Sparks and that was fantastic we paid like 66 bucks to sit fifth row in the corner right by the floor it was very rad all because game time made it super easy to buy those tickets you can now buy your tickets for game time by downloading the game time app creating an account using the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase again terms apply create an account redeem the code locked on NBA l c d o n NBA for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed back at it here with Katie heinle from basketball feelings and her weekly WNBA column over at believer mag which is fantastic and everyone should be reading damn it um all right Katie uh I want to give you the floor to to talk about some of your own thoughts on you know how these playoffs have um sort of changed the way or altered the way you think about the Raptors and um what they have ahead of them as they build from where they are to where they want to get to um quickly you know I don’t need to sort of belabor the point about trades and stuff uh using picks to trade for good players is good uh carry on uh Katie um what do you got as far as one of your takeaways from these playoffs and sort of the conference finalists and the shared DNA they have that the Raptors might be striving to you know have within their own bones I think it’s how they would stand up to pressure honestly because we’ve seen that especially I think in last night’s game um between the Pacers and the Celtics just how you know the Pacers I don’t want to say they wasted all those times they SP like the time they spent catching up and closing those gaps um but there were a few just kind of executional Errors I think that they gave that game away um they couldn’t they couldn’t finish like they couldn’t close it out and they do remind me in that sense of a Toronto team right that I think does look flustered looked flustered a lot this season which part for the course absolutely uh but I think you look flustered when you’re uh really really bad yeah exactly so I think to me the more applicable thing the more applicable lesson is to start look is to have like these situations that you know last year you would have been like oh they don’t know what to do you know if they’re pressed a little bit um I think it was definitely more on the offensive end but there were sometimes on the defensive side where they just like didn’t seem to understand where they were supposed to be um and if they can have less of those or if you can notice them in any type of execution of one of those schemes and then have someone go the right way and be like oh that actually looked quite fluid it didn’t look like they had to think TW like think too much about that um that I think will be like a positive for me but no there’s still obviously like leaps leaps away from what we’re seeing in the postseason but I think like that’s that’s really stood out to me it’s just like oh yeah that the the teams that have gotten here and that always get here sorry especially again Pro dog podcast this has been going on for like seven years yeah I’m like oh no can’t believe it happened for the first time especially a team you know you have a dog you first like the Wolves you know where I totally thought they were going to succumb to pressure even with you know veterans on that roster um but they haven’t they’ve been able to kind of dig deep and steud themselves when they really needed to uh and also be patient and let the game come to them and I think all of those things would be great lessons um for the Raptors to learn and I don’t really have a doubt that Darko and his staff aren’t watching watching the playoffs and thinking the same thing no doubt that’s like one of the the great shames of this season is we didn’t even really get to see the proof of concept with this team like in close games for longer than like a 10 game stretch with the team they want to have like we have no idea what their sort of late game process is going to be I think that OKC double game is kind of the closest thing we got to um and obviously some not great stuff happened there with Scotty Barnes near the end of that game and it was kind of a bizarre finish um and maybe that’s indictive things to come I kind of think not I think that’s probably like a learning experience but it’s a shame they didn’t get more of those throughout this season to kind of go into next year with a little bit more sort of understanding of where they need to improve late in games what they do well what they can lean on um you know I think they have some stuff they’ll be able to lean on I think like you know as they sort of work that quickly Barnes Duo and sort of find the chemistry there that’s going to be a big thing they can kind of lean on for for buckets late in games defensive we’ll see I I still have no idea what they want to do on defense and how they’re going to deploy things and how that will translate to high stakes basketball but that’s kind of you know I talked about this a couple weeks ago I did like the sort of H for the season to come or for for from this past season going into next year and it’s just like the Tactical stuff with Darko we really have no clue what the sort like we know he’s great in the locker room kept the room together everyone seems to love him the Player Development got going pretty well it seemed but uh how exactly do they want to deploy things when things matter most we still have no idea how he sort of pulls those cranks and levers the way you typically you know would get a look at that at least over the course of a season where you have you know the same team intact for 82 games as opposed to little pockets of 15 or 20 games here and there where the team completely changed um another quick thing Katie that I think for me is a bit of a takeaway from these playoffs is offensive rebounding seems like a thing that everyone should be able to really do and lean into and and it’s you know feather in the cap to Nick nurse the Nick nurse Raptors were onto something there when they basically spammed the offensive glass for two seasons in a row everyone’s like what the hell these guys doing and all of a sudden it was like oh maybe everyone should try and do this this seems like a pretty good thing um obviously dark rakovich was with those Memphis Grizzlies teams that also were part of this sort of early way of offensive rebounding becoming cool again after many years of the school of Doc Rivers of you just got to get back and not crash the glass kind of taking over the league um and I think that’s you know that’s directly informative of what the team has to do this offseason as far as building they’re not big enough they need more dudes who can crash yaka purle himself very good offensive rebounder I wouldn’t say they have another very good offensive rebounder on the team Grady dick maybe for his position you know he’s got the instincts for it that’s a thing he’s always been pretty decent with but he’s not going to grab more than one or two a game one would think being a shooting guard or small forward whatever he is um and so that for me like you look at what they have to do this offseason they got to go get some beef right Katie yeah but I would I was also thinking of like one I love offensive rebounds I love orbs I think they’ve great equalizer yeah um grab those orbs well I guess like in the Pacers don’t techn I mean you’ve got Turner but the top seven offensive rebounding teams in the playoffs or in the final four and the Pacers are one of yeah I just mean they don’t necessarily have an evident big to me right someone that you’re you’re saying like the Raptor should go out and get I think at this stage of where they are yeah that’s definitely some one the Raptor should probably look to getting because it might be too much to add onto the plates of the people they already have and I think like in terms of physicality I could only really see Scotty Barnes doing something like that sure um Chris bushe in his day could could grab a few orbs maybe there’s a like a an orb Renaissance season for Chris buet left in them he’s got one year left maybe there’s one last like ride off into the sunset where he helps them become an offensive rebounding Juggernaut again I think the main thing sorry I might sneeze God this podcast is a mess um it’s really hot Katie we’re all our brains are melting it’s it’s fine it’s understandable I think the main thing for me is um what the hell was I goingon to say oh yeah is how offensive rebounding can be such an energy shifter and we’ve seen that too when it’s like okay these especially in the playoffs it’s like okay you really need to stop or you really need to make this transition count or okay you blew that how can you how can you kind of force force your team’s hand and get it back um and that’s something that I think the Raptors should totally key in on because they already have so many of these like frenetic energy shifters almost waiting to unleash those skills do you know what I mean like and I whether that’s like grabbing a quick offensive rebound and resetting or just like quickly being able to cut RJ getting somewhere Scotty being able to force his way in as well um they’ve got a lot of they’ve got like the backside of that action they don’t have someone to start that action off um and I think that could be totally useful for a young team which is like you know they could be destabilizers I think the games where they looked really good this season is when they were playing at a bit of a destabilizing force and then the realization caught up with them that they were winning and they were like oh no what do we do can’t do that yeah or just like that General awareness right but I think if they could really run with that that’s something that we’ve seen like has won games outright probably has won series outright I think in the playoffs for sure uh I mean the Knicks I think would have been in the Conference Finals on the back of their offensive rebounding if not for their cavala of injury right like that that was like the thing that got them by the Sixers was just like a couple of historic offensive rebounding nights um same thing in their Series against the Pacers in the games they won it’s you know it’s grimy it’s ugly but guess what the playoffs are grimy and ugly and you have to find ways to you know again it’s like a great equalizer it’s also a thing that there’s a reason giving up an offensive board is like the thing that a coach will lose their mind over the most it’s like it’s it really is back break there’s nothing more deflating and the Raptors I think you know we saw this down the stretch when Kelly o lck was their only big and lineups with Kelly linck sure have a hard time rebounding um you know it’s just hard to build any sort of positive juice right especially for a team like the Raptors where they are a transition team right they were number one in the NBA in transition frequency they run a ton and it’s hard to do that if you’re given up offensive boards at the other end like it really is the sort of thing that can tilt the balance of game in you know a way that I’m glad coaching staff seem to be realizing again after a few seasons where it was kind of uncool to go and crash the glass um so yeah I think you know this season the Raptors were 18th in offensive rebounding percentage it’s just not good enough for the modern NBA I don’t think you got to be somewhere a little higher than that as you know the Nick nurse teams certainly were and how they addressed the roster and Personnel to give them a shot at being that kind of team I think could be uh huge to me it’s very similar to like do you have guys who can live in the ugly areas of the mid-range who can score in the playoffs it’s kind of the similar thing to that it’s not pretty Ball but it works and working is kind of all it needs to do in the playoffs um we’ll come back on the other side Katie get into a couple other rapid fire things that we’ve kind of noticed about the conference finalists that maybe the Raptors already have in store and are you know ready to build with or need to go and add we’ll talk about that coming up just one sec Today’s Show is sponsored by better help look sometimes you just got to have someone to talk to it’s a very valuable thing we all carry around a lot of different stressors the world is very stressful they’re big they’re small but they all can bottle up and if we don’t talk about them it can affect you negatively therapy is a safe space to get things off your chest and figure out how to work through whatever is weighing you down whether you’ve been through a major trauma or you’re just trying to sort through the daily decisions and difficult conundrums that life throws at you uh it’s just nice to have someone to kind of throw stuff off of they have you know no agenda no bias they’re just there to offer you insights and help you find your values so you can make decisions in line with your values to make you a happy person at the end of the day that’s what we’re all striving for right if you’re thinking of starting therapy give better help try it’s entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just fill out a brief questionnaire get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapist anytime for no additional charge that’s a big deal get it off your chest with betterhelp visit betterhelp.com lockin MBA today to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp hp.com lockon NBA back at it here with Katie hindle from basketball feelings and believer mag as we uh continue to talk about the conference finalists and how they might inform the Raptors as they build from where they are to where they want to get before we continue on with some rapid thoughts uh just a reminder lockdown sports today 247 is your all day streaming Channel over on YouTube you can go subscribe to it it’s free and you get 247 locked on podcast covering the biggest stories in sports local experts National shows draft podcasts it’s all there for you go check it out locked on sports today 247 put it on and don’t do any work all the live long day okay Katie um let’s wrap it up here with some rapid fire thoughts on the things that are working for the conference finalists that either are not or could work for the Raptors going forward I will give you the floor do you have something else you want to pause it as a thing that the Raptor should be striving for in order to get to this level um h you don’t have one I can go I mean I just don’t want to repeat myself so go ahead sure okay um positional depth kind of a nice thing to have right like it’s you know it’s hard to you know sort of get enough guys who can play super high leverage minutes but we’re seeing it now injuries attrition I think the level of basketball you have to play in the postseason nowadays is so high there’s a lot of attrition that comes from it mental and physic physical and if you have guys who can kind of fill in the gaps behind that is going to make a massive difference you know whether it’s uh the Nuggets you know not having enough bench guys to fill in when Michael Porter Jr was struggling or Jamal Murray was you know dealing with an injury whether it’s the wolves having you know NS Reed this like incredible luxury to bring Off the Bench when Carl Anthony towns has foul trouble we saw the Knicks just kind of run out of guys and you know that was an extreme example of but you know the Mavericks have a lot of interchangeability between some of their wing type guys they’re two bigs who they get to roll out there in Lively and Gafford we know the Celtics you know okay Chris DS porzingis is down well we can just throw Al Horford in and just basically be the same team um you know it’s hard to do it’s hard to build a team where you have positional depth with guys who can hang when things matter most but um I I I think because of the landscape of the league that’s now sort of the thing that makes a team into a super team almost is having just sort of layers like shark teeth but of really good players just layers and layers of good players coming in and I do think the Raptors are sort of on track right like they’ve got like a sort of basis and they have a lot of means by which to add to this team this summer between their cap space mid-level exception if they be remain a an over the cap team they have two draft picks obviously um you know they can get there they’re not there yet and I think that’s been one of the downfalls of this team over the last two three seasons is just not having enough guys when the main guys falter or need to sit on the bench and get some water uh you know it’s a it’s a tough thing to to navigate if you don’t have depth what are your sort of thoughts on that being a thing that you know most Conference Finals teams in today’s day and age are going to need to have no I’m with you there because I think we also saw that’s probably why the heat fell out right and Pat Riley even talked about that in a season ending presser of just like you know they’re not a rebuild team but they do need to add depth they have to address that big problem I think you know as the rounds go on you realize how many things have to break right um health is obviously a huge one H but also just having some having like a more than competent bench having a bench that can actually like start be like an energy shifter start something maybe like if you’ve got a big Point differential to close that Gap you know while your starter’s rest because otherwise those are kind of wasted minutes in the playoffs and you can’t afford that at all so uh and I think yeah to your point the nuggets are cheap and that’s why they don’t have sorry but it’s true um you know G be a second apron team Katie they’re G they’re they’re spending all kinds of money not enough not enough to kind of shore up that bench right because that’s something that honestly like that team should have recognized I think making it that far last last year and knowing that the same conditions that like that wasn’t going to happen things were going to break the same way so I think for Toronto well now you’ve got some semblance of a starting lineup as you said earlier we didn’t really get to see them very much all season long H once you get that sorted out and then you can address like all right what does our bench look like I think that’ll be crucial I guess the good the silver lining of where the Raptors are right now is that aside maybe from Scotty Barnes and quick maybe quickly probably mostly Scotty barns everyone’s kind of interchangeable of where they’re at right like either want like career-wise maybe skill set wise so you can you can that’s like a nice those two things should be complimentary to one another it shouldn’t be that big of an upset when it’s like okay now we’ve got benchman it’s like that shouldn’t be something you need to roll your eyes at right so yeah I think that’s a good one I mean in terms of other things I’m learning from the playoffs that apply to the Raptors as I said earlier I feel like they they’re not going to apply for a few years so it doesn’t feel fair to just put those at their feet that’s totally fair um yeah and the other thing with like depth too is it’s not just like injury insurance it’s also like stylistic yes uh flexibility right like oh we can play this different way and we can try this different thing although I do think the teams that we’ve seen in the playoffs they kind of have played the same way throughout most of the playoffs and it’s worked um but yeah which is weird which is kind of very straight it’s like unlik most years where yeah you know teams will have a guy who you know doesn’t play in one series but becomes a matchup you know necessity in an X Series and all of a sudden you know Serge ja Baka and Marcus Sol starting together against the Sixers and stuff like that I don’t know that if like um I was gonna say like that probably has to do with coaching but I think aside from like Missoula uh you know there’s like these are coaches with enough tenure and experience that they should be adjusting so I don’t know I guess just riding it out yeah I mean some of them I think it’s it’s fair they’re really good they’re doing pretty well uh it’s not to say there aren’t like tactical adjustments but lineup adjustments I think it’s been kind of a strange season where yeah we haven’t seen a lot of that series to Series yeah um I do think the other thing too Katie and this is maybe the thing the Raptors got to figure out the most and this is again one of those sort of longer term this is a problem for one year a very serious playoff team is um still not going out of style to have like mid-range of assassins in the NBA in the playoffs like Tatum and brown Anthony Edwards donic Kyrie SE yakum we saw last night kind of keep the Pacers in that game just by hitting a slew of mid-range jumpers over Al Horford like you know that’s still like much like the offensive rebounding thing that that’s the ugly ball that you need and I don’t know if the Raptors currently possess someone who is that sort of mid-range Marksman I think Scotty Barnes can get there he had a career best season from long mid-range this season um you know how he improves upon his sort of short mid-range is a fascinating thing for next season after you know a bit of a two-year slide after his rookie season but pulling up for mid-range pretty encouraging still nowhere near enough sample to say like this is a thing Scotty Barnes does but having some mid-range assassins uh seems to be quite valuable if only the Raptors had one of those on their team before the deadline did they who’s to say um Katie do you have any last parting shots here before we wrap things up no just in enjoy the playoffs enjoy the playoffs they Rock it’s been so fun I’ve been having a absolute blast wolves MAV should be great or I can’t decide if this is going to be a great series or if the wolves are going to absolutely walk the floor uh with or wipe the floor walk the floor wipe the floor I think it’ll be good I think it’ll be good I mean if we’re talking about adjustments I think like Luca’s frustration can just force those I am kind of curious to see how Jason kid coaches this um we’ll see masquerading like he’s a good coach I’m waiting for the bottom to fall out at some point they resigned him yeah so yeah many more year there there will be another fow period in the Jason kid era one would think there’s always a couple over his time coaching a team right right um one can only hope uh Katie we will leave it there thank you so much as always for hanging out it’s an absolute blast blast to chat with you anything you want to promote for the good people out there yeah um you already mention it but my WNBA column with the believer is going strong the First Column went out last week I already wrote the second but that that’ll come those are out every Friday um awesome basketball feelings is also going strong with its exit series there’s been some really amazing guest contributions so far uh and me kind of plugging plugging the holes but you can read that at basketball feelings and then I just had Charlotte Wilder uh on the basketball feelings podcast and I think that just went out your moments ago wow wow Real Time Podcast posting it’s beautiful thing everyone go subscribe to basketball feelings it’s the very best go read believer uh and Katie’s wonderful work on the WNBA over there and we’ll be back again tomorrow as our pal Jamar Hines makes his triumphant return to the podcast as we’re going to play a game of what’s more likely also hoping maybe question mark uh before our pal Jacob goes away to cover the Cricket World Cup we can get the episode doing our over unders breakdown with him in sahal in on Friday still working on that if that doesn’t work we will do that upon vivx return in the off season and have that be a little offseason special in June or whatever but um yeah that’s what we got for now thank you so much for tuning in and thanks for supporting the show follow subscribe rate review on your favorite Apple or Google or Spotify whatever audio app you use and of course we’re on YouTube as well go subscribe hit the notification Bell etc etc we’ll talk to you again on Thursday another episode of lockdown Raptors thanks for hanging bye bye great

In Episode 1641, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl to chat about the NBA’s Conference Finals and what shared DNA the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers share that the Toronto Raptors should be trying to replicate as they embark upon their own attempt to climb up the standings into Conference Finals contender status. Off the top, Sean and Katie chat about how these playoffs have proven with little doubt that we’re very much in the height of the NBA’s parity era, and how that should inform the Raptors’ build going forward. Next, they get into the importance of learning in high leverage moments and the reps it can take to bring team to a point where they’re ready to win at the highest levels, as well as why strong offensive rebounding in the playoffs feels like a great equalizer. Lastly, they run through some rapid fire thoughts on the need for positional depth, the value of mid-range assassins, and much more!

Join us over on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/p3MNZWzp

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LORaptors?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Yahoo Finance
For comprehensive financial news and analysis, visit the brand behind every great investor, YahooFinance.com.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

eBay Motors
From brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.
PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

FanDuel
FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#NBA #Raptors #TorontoRaptors