Can The Raptors Win It All In VEGAS?

Can The Raptors Win It All In VEGAS?

The Toronto Raptors have officially announced their summer league roster. The Las Vegas summer league begins on July 10th until July 20th. And the Raps will head in with a good mix of players with a bit of pro experience and some intriguing young rookies. So, that being said, let’s break it all down. Here is your summer league roster. And for anyone listening and not watching, I’ll just break it down for you. Here you have Jameson Battle, Colin Castton, Olri Shamshay, Tyson Denhart, Quincy Gerier, Chucky Heburn, Jarkel Joiner, Tyreek Key, AJ Lawson, Elijah Martin, Jonathan Mo, Colin Murray Boils, Clifford Omarui, Jamal Shed, Anna Wani, Tate Jones, Jacobe Walter, and they’re all coached by head coach James Wade. And look, my initial impressions of this team is that they’re going to largely hang their hats on defense. I think that’s very clear here. There’s a lot of physical, versatile defenders on this team, similarly to what you’re hoping for the Raptors. That’s a team that where you’re kind of trying to figure out what the defensive floor of the Raptors is going to be. And you want to see some of that translate here with the summer league law roster, whether it’s through CMB, Elijah Martin, even guys like Jacobe and Jameson, how much have they grown defensively? When I talked to both of them when they were at the 905 level last season, both both of them mentioned the same things that like we are here in the G-League to work on our defensive game, that is how we’re going to earn minutes at the NBA level. The offensive side of the ball is something where our game can scale up and down, but defensively, can we be consistent? Can we deal with physicality? Can we deal with scheme specific stuff and not get hunted on that end of the floor? And that’s something where I’m interested to see how much has that like tangibly develop where you can really see it out there on the floor. That’s what I’m looking forward to some of these guys. And I think the the summer league roster is going to just have a lot of size to it that by my count there’s seven players listed 67 and above. So they should be good on the glass. They should be good in the paint and they should be a very physical team. You saw through the NBA playoffs just how much that physicality can bring success and how much of a difference it can make in terms of raising the floor of what your team is able to do. And I think this summer league roster should be able to manage there. And I’m excited to see what they’re able to kind of accomplish. Uh, and another thing that I I’m I’m kind of getting initial impressions off of is AJ Lawson and Colin Castleton. These are two guys fighting for their roster spots. They have spots with the Raptors right now, but they’re on non-G guaranteed deals heading into this season. So, if you’re a fan who’s looking for the Raptors to add on the margins, waving a guy like Lawson or Colin Castleton opens things up for you. So, for them, it’s added motivation to kind of prove yourselves and keep that roster spot. So, it’ll be interesting to see what they’re able to accomplish with that. I also enjoy the continuity that we’ve seen with the 905. A guy like Tyreek Key and then also Quincy Gary. These are two guys who were kind of staples for the 905 roster last year, even though they had tons of up and downs like the the team did with injuries and with just roster turnover, some of the Raptors rookies coming up and down. But Quincy Gerier, he’s a guy that I’m specifically interested in watching because if you haven’t been paying attention to the CBL, he’s playing with his hometown Montreal Alliance and he’s really been more of a lead creator for them. He’s averaging 17 and seven. He’s been able to do a lot of onball stuff there that he necessarily he didn’t necessarily get the opportunity to do with the Raptors 905. So, I want to see if he can translate some of that here, bring that back. And he’s just an experienced pro who’s done this before. So, having him on the summer league roster, I think should add a bit of a presence, even though he’s still just a guy looking to prove himself like the rest of these players. And, uh, I find it funny that Jarl Joiner is on this roster. 6-1 guard, played with College Park last year. He’s a fun, twitchy athlete, but I vaguely remembered him kind of having success against the Raptors 905. So, I went and looked at it. His first two games against the 905 last year, he put up 30 points and then 22 points. So, he clearly left an impression on this front office. He averaged 11.6 points for the season, but he had two really good games against them. So, it’s funny to see him on this roster. Maybe that played a part, maybe he didn’t, but it should be fun to watch him as well. And uh if we’re looking at a potential starting five for this summer league roster, you probably look at something along the lines of Jamal Shed at the one, Jacobe Walter at the two, then Jameson Battle at the three, Colin Murray Boils at the four, and then you probably in my opinion would have older Shamsh at the five. At least for the first game, or at least that’s what I would hope to see out there as a starting lineup. And again, this is a versatile starting unit in my opinion. These are guys who can switch comfortably for the most part. I think if you’re talking about a weakest defender, a weak link, it’s someone between Jacobe and Jameson, and I probably lean Jameson in that regard. But even then, like these are two guys, like I mentioned, progressing a lot on that end of the floor. So, I’m excited to see what they bring at this level. So, I don’t think they necessarily have too many weak spots on the defensive end. And I’m also curious, if you look at that starting five, who do you kind of operate through more often than not? Like you obviously have your starting point guard Jamal Shed who should be your table setter, but like if you’re looking for go-to scoring or like kind of like hub stuff like is it Colin Murray Boils? If you are a fan or a proponent a proponent of the the idea that he can be a hub or you see his upside on offense like this is probably your first opportunity to see actions run through him at an NBA level or NBA style level almost. And then a guy like Jacobe Walter, what is he able to do in year two? can he create space a bit more effectively than he was able to in year one. He did a lot of that tough shot making and taking kind of stuff and he found some success with it at times but like doing stuff a bit easier, making life a bit easier for himself in terms of getting to the rim and creating space. Can he do those things consistently? And will he be able to do that with the summer league roster and be like more of a main presence for them? That’s something I kind of want to see if that proposed starting lineup is coming together. But uh if you’re going to ask me who I’m most excited to watch, I think there’s a couple players. For one, again, Ola Shamsh, he’s just such a unique and intriguing prospect with that blend of size, athleticism, speed, and he’s just he’s such a raw prospect. So, kind of seeing what he looks like. He weighs about the same as he did last year, so his body shouldn’t look too different. I I am interested to see what it’s like in person obviously or at least on tape if it looks like he’s filled out anymore or not. But like just how comfortable does he look especially on the offensive end. Last season he did get better as the season went on. But for him it was a huge part with the 905 is just like building that confidence offensively. It was a lot of standing in spots being stagnant trying to figure out where to be and then cleaning up stuff off the glass. Like can he be a bit more involved as a screener? That’s an area of his game where I didn’t necessarily think was a strength at times. He wasn’t the strongest screener in my opinion. So, can he kind of show more on that end defensively? Like, he is coming off a partial NCL tear. So, does he still have that birth burst and athleticism when he’s covering space and ground? Is he able to move as effectively on those things? So, I I’m assuming he will be like he and I think he’ll be fine. Obviously, we’ll find out if he’s on any kind of minutes cap or anything like that. But if he’s healthy and he’s out there, I’m excited to see what older Shantry can accomplish and if he looks like that first year of pro experience really made a difference for him. And Jonathan Mo is interesting for me because he comes in about 10 lbs lighter than he was last year. And if you were following his kind of experience, especially with the G-League, the Raptors have been really invested in this wingification for Jonathan Noble. Kind of the small ball center stuff didn’t necessarily work. His rim finishing especially just didn’t translate from the college level. He dunked everything in college and obviously when he’s a 67 68 guy like you’re just not finding that type of success against NBA level defenders. So they are trying to kind of make him more of a perimeter oriented player more wing stuff. I’m curious to see if you get any of that small ball center lineups with Jonathan Mobile at the summer league level this year or is he going to be doing what he did in the G-League? I covered it then that like at the G- League level Jonathan Mobile was parked in the corners a lot of the time working out from there. some high post stuff maybe, but it was not a lot of just like dunker spot, under the rim, small ball center type of things. So, I’m I’m going to be interested to see what his positioning looks like and how the Raptors are going to use him at summer league. And then I already talked about CNB, but he’s your number nine overall pick, your first top 10 pick in quite some time. Who knows where the Raptors are picking next year. So, I’m excited to see what CNB is like. How much are they emphasizing him offensively on defense? Can he be an anchor almost? Like he’s not going to be asked to necessarily be that at the NBA level, but like we know what his defensive upside is and how physical of a defender he can be. Can some of that college success translate against NBA level guys? Like there’s all that exciting tape of him against a guy like Jeremiah now he was able to blow up his actions and stuff like can he do that against NBA level guards? Is he able to stay out there and switch and not be left on an island? I I’m hopeful and optimistic, but this is going to be our first kind of opportunity to see it. So, those are three guys I’m excited to watch, but I think the roster as a whole should be pretty fun together. One thing I will mention is there is obviously one notable omission here. Uh Grady Dick is not playing at summer league. Now, obviously, he is a third-year guy. At that point, I think it is a bit more on just the player. Do they want to be there and or do they want to continue working in other ways? I believe Oai Baji played summer league last year if I’m not wrong, third year guy then. So I think it just comes down to preference. But I know Grady Dick’s season did kind of seize out towards the end. But if we’re being honest, he still did take a massive leap from year 1 to year two. He started every single game he played. He averaged 14 and a half points, three and a half rebounds, two assists, and he shot 35% from three on six attempts a game. Now look, he did only play 54 games. So summerly could have been a nice ramp up period for him, especially kind of like a player who needs to be able to deal with physicality and kind of warm up into that. But overall, he did have a successful second season, I think, when he was out there. And he showed his game was able to scale up when he needed to be, especially when guys like Emanuel Quickley, Scotty Barnes were out. So I I’m not necessarily thinking it was a make or break for him to play in summer league. It would have been nice to watch him. Obviously, as Raptors fans, you kind of want to see him out there and see what he’s able to do. But even then, I think a lot of us would have been happy if we got the Grady Dig plays for one or two games, dominates, and then you just kind of take him out and pull him early and don’t play him from that point so you don’t risk injuring him. So, that would have been interesting, but we’re probably just going to have to wait until training camp now or preseason to see what Grady Dick look like. But, all in all, I’m not I’m not too pressed about it. I will say like I’m hoping to see a healthy season from Grady Dick. I looked at the numbers. Out of a possible 164 regular season games, the last two years, he’s played 114. That’s about 70% of the available games in the regular season that he’s played in. It’s not the most worrisome number, but again, this is a player who came in with a bit of a slighter frame. Even though he’s 6’8, he’s a bit of a skinnier guy. He, if you look at offseason videos, he does look like he’s filling up finally, so that should help him in terms of dealing with the NBA physicality. But that’s something you want to keep an eye on like the wear and tear of playing a pro season 82 games. Can he handle that? And so far he’s dealt with injuries or just like fatigue generally in his first two seasons. So I’m hoping to see kind of a rejuvenated Grady Dick even though he’s not playing at summer league. But look, let me know down below what you think about the summer league roster. Who are you looking forward to watching? Again, summer league from July 10th to July 20th. That is your roster. Please make sure to like this video, subscribe, all that good stuff. I know I’m not your usual guy to bring you your news and information and updates, but I gave a shot doing it. Let me know down below how I did. Make sure you also check out the Raptors Republic website. We’ll have deeper dives on the Summer League roster. And also, RR’s very own Samson Folk will be in Vegas covering Las Vegas summer league. So, be sure to keep a lookout for his content when it comes to that. But until then, I’m Zofie Shake. Thank you for watching and peace.

The Toronto Raptors announced their official Summer League roster. Do they have what it takes to win the whole thing?

Don’t forget to like, comment and share the video.

0:00 – Intro
0:47 – Initial impression
4:04 – Possible starting lineup
5:51 – Players to watch
9:00 – No Gradey
11:18 – Outro

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