1 Thing To Watch For Each Raptor In Summer League

1 Thing To Watch For Each Raptor In Summer League

What’s up everybody? I thought it would be a good time to talk about summer league expectations for your Toronto Raptors. Uh not just breaking down the the schedule and the roster and the calendar. If you want that, uh go and check out Zulfi’s video. He did something last week, a really good breakdown of what to expect from everybody, why Grady might not be playing. Uh but for me, it’s more about specific individual expectations and maybe one key thing to look out for for some of these players. Um, we’ll start just by saying first and foremost that summer league is not indicative. There is no true correlation between summer league basketball and how their game translates to the NBA and to the Toronto Raptors. It’s very hard to say. Well, I mean, look, Raptors fans know this very well. OAI struggled immensely at summer league last year. comes in to the Raptors roster the year after. You know, last season had the best season of his career. And so, there’s not too much correlation. There are certain archetypes that can thrive really, really well in summer league. There are certain G-League guys, and we’ll talk about those in a second, that can really impact the game in summer league because it’s similar to G-League basketball, but it’s harder for that to translate into the NBA when there’s a specific role. and guys like Ochai, uh, even honestly sometimes guy guys like Grady who do most of their work off of the ball, uh, it summer league isn’t as advantageous for them because the sets aren’t built up for them to run off ball actions consistently and get them looks. Um, it’s just less of a spaced out game. It’s more, to be honest with you, it’s more like LA Fitness runs, you know what I mean? And while there is some organization to it, more organization obviously than LA Fitness runs, um it’s hard to glean too much from any of it. That said, there are tangible things that you can look for and say, “Hey, well, this guy did this. There’s steps here, and maybe that does translate to the NBA. Maybe that does translate to what the Raptors want from them next season.” Samson did a great mailbag yesterday talking about the optimistic outlook for every single player on the Raptors roster, basically detailing how they can get to their quote unquote ceiling for next season. Um, I think that’s a great episode that’s sort of a a a sister episode to what this is, but this is more fine-tuned to the younger guys to the summer league roster and what we can expect. Okay, let’s get into it. Uh, first guy on my list is Jonathan Mo. Uh, so MoBo, I think the one thing that I would watch out for, the one thing I’m intrigued by and I want to see improvement in is the interior finishing. Mobo last year, uh, really struggled as a finisher in my opinion. Wasn’t the greatest. Here, I’ll pull up his shots just right now. So, uh, at the rim, Momo shot 54%. He shot 39% on layups last year. uh and you know on hook shots and runners he was 32% 39%. So basically in that short range area and at the basket he struggled immensely. Uh I think part of that is touch. Um you know I I know they implored him the Raptors implored him to dunk the basketball more frequently towards the end of the year and to be more physical in order to not have to compensate for the the lack of touch around the basket. I would like to see a more soft and refined touch when it comes to floaters, when it comes to, you know, catching in that short range area and putting up a push shot or in the dunker spot and being able to do that little floater. Um, doing it over defenders. These are the things that I’m looking for for Jonathan Mo because I think interior finishing is incredibly important for his game. Yes. Uh, he’s working on his three-point shot and that’s a constant evolution for a guy who didn’t take that many threes throughout college. Um, there was some tangible growth there throughout the year with the Raptors, but for the most part, in order for him to get minutes, he is a clear cut positive defender already in the NBA. We know that he can bring that at the NBA level. He’s a very good offensive rebounder, uh, very good defensive rebounder, can crash the glass, can run in transition, can make plays in transition as well because of his feel as a passer, but the touch and the finishing is something that absolutely needs to improve. And truthfully, the the numbers that I just mentioned to you guys, you know, 54% at the rim, uh 38% on hook shots, 39% on layups, that’s just not good enough for a guy who’s like your tweener forward/s small ball center. You just need better numbers from that. You need you need, honestly, you need double that. 39% on layups is just not good. It needs to be like 60% for a guy that’s basically a a nominal center for you in certain lineups. So, Jonathan Mo, the thing I would like to look for outside of everything else is to see more refined touch as an interior finisher. That’s the main quality that you should watch out for in the summer league. And again, footnote here, if it doesn’t happen, if you don’t see it, it’s okay, but it would be something that I would watch for that is tangible uh for the NBA and for his next season. Jacobe Walter, really excited to see Jacobe in summer league. Um, you know, obviously, again, I think he’s a really good defender. had a pretty good defensive season as a rookie. Uh especially guarding in isolations. I think he’s a guy who, you know, I believe Samson was mentioning it the other day, like gained muscle throughout the season, which is a really, really good testament to how much he works on his body. I think that will translate really well to his second season of his career. Um, to me, I want to see a level of shotmaking from Jacobe Walter that I think would be really beneficial to his second season with the Raptors heading into his sophomore year. And if we pull up some of his shot types and shot data, um, you know, he shot 35% on jump shots last season, 37% on catch-oot threes. These are three-point percentages, by the way. Um, 37% on catch-oot threes. Most of those were unguarded. He shot 40% on unguarded threes. He shot 23% on dribble jumpers that were threes. Not very good. So, working on that pull-up percentage. Shot 33% on dribble jumpers in general. And that includes mid-range jump shots. Um, he shot 40% on dribble jump shots that were pull-ups. Uh, and he and he shot 45% at the rim, 42%. I think generally um Jacobe has an imagination and a creativity to what he wants to do offensively. He doesn’t shy away from physicality and that translated in certain parts to what his game was offensively last season. Uh being able to get downhill and try and draw a foul. You know, he would get defenders up with that pump fake and then draw a foul. like that is something that I could see translating moving forward in summer league. You want to see a more refined approach offensively because I think sometimes that imagination and creativity that he does exhibit offensively uh can go astray can kind of lead him into tough shots and and difficult looks and you want him to be a little bit more refined. His bag work if you will is something that I’m looking forward to. also general shotmaking. Uh, you know, refining that three-point shot, going out there and like scoring 15, 20 points a night for the first two or three games, whatever amount of games he ends up playing in the summer league. That’s what you should be looking for with Jacobe Walter. Just being able to truthfully dominate from an offensive level. I think that’s what I’m looking for, especially because I’ve seen it happen at the G-League level. watching him with the 905 last season. Uh there were moments in times where it was like, man, this game at this level is way too easy for him offensively. He got to the basket at will. The jump shot was flowing. He was really thriving in the 905 when he got opportunity. Um I think that will translate to summer league basketball. I think the fact that like generally it’s a more rapid pace and he can kind of work in transition more frequently adds and it kind of is a benefit to his game. Uh so I want to see shotmaking from him. I I think I know what we expect from him defensively. Jacobe will next season be a pretty important part to the Raptors defensive infrastructure, especially at the point of attack, but I want to see how much more they can get from the shotmaking department. um not only off the catch, but working to create his own shot, working to get downhill, working to finish at the basket. These are the areas of the game that I want to see from Jacobe Walter. Okay, Jamal Shed, my guy Jamal. Um yeah, let me let me pull up my notes here for Jamal just to make sure I got him. So Jamal generally um I think his defensive upside is clear. He wasn’t a positive impact defender last season. In fact, the Raptors were three and a half points per 100 possessions better on defense when Jamal was off the floor. And I think part of that was because in certain matchups, he was um physically outmatched. You know, of course, he’s a smaller defender. And so, part of that is is really like figuring out how he can succeed as a smaller defender. He has quick feet, but sometimes that that quick those quick feet and like his hips um kind of evade him, you know, in the sense that he he gets blown by often. Uh or he might get physically outmatched and someone’s just able to bully him to the basket. These are things that Jamal has to learn to figure out defensively at the pro level, but the effort and tenacity at the point of attack is there. It’s just about refining it to the point where you can pick and choose your spots. So defensively seeing that again, I’ve seen this guy be awesome defensively in the G-League. So I think it’s just about figuring out how to do it at the professional level against much more talented scorers and much more talented offensive weapons and doing it at a variety of positions. But offensively is what I’m looking from Jamal Shed to really fine-tune. Uh again, looking at this the the numbers here, shot 51% at the rim, 51% on layups, uh 45% on runners. Uh the three-point shot, you know, off the catch was 35%, which was pretty good for Jamal Shed, truthfully. Uh 25% on on pullup threes, which is not great. I want to see a more refined approach offensively for him and to become a more efficient offensive player. Uh, you know, obviously the transition game and him being able to set the tone offensively for this Raptors team is something that I think he had last season. Uh, dictating pace, being able to push in transition and that itself will translate in summer league. Jamal is also a guy who that archetype of player uh, typically ends up playing better at summer league just because the ball is in the point guard’s hands more often. It’s a ball handlers type of game and they just there’s just more eyeballs on that guy in summer league to be able to do well. My thing that I’m looking for is how much can he dominate defensively? Can he really stay in front of his man? Can he work against more physically dominant players? Um has he learned new tricks in his bag to be able to dominate more defensively? That’s what I’m looking for with Jamal Shed. And of course any craft finishing wise would be great. Uh, Colin Murray Boils. I’m very excited to watch Colin Murray Boils. Uh, CMBB is going to be awesome. So, there’s a couple different ways to look at this. CMBB’s game offensively, you know, you think of the the post touches. He was near the top of college basketball last year in terms of post efficiency and post frequency. So, he loved working out of the post. I think that translates really well in summer league basketball where you know there’s G-League guys, there’s rookies, there’s maybe a couple of second year or third year guys, but physically these are guys who are similar to where I guess both athletically and both age-wise to where Colin Murray Boils is physically. So he can dominate at that level with his physicality. My question is, how much can he really dominate this level of competition? Because I think one of the main questions I have for him offensively, while he was an excellent driver and a great finisher at the rim, can he do that at the next level consistently at the size he has? Six 66 and a half I believe was his measurement. Uh he obviously has that length to be able to finish. He as opposed to Jonathan Mo has beautiful soft touch. you watch some of his layups and his driving opportunities with South Carolina last year. The ability to take a bump and then finish off the glass is incredible. And he does it at certain speeds where you’re like, “Okay, this there’s a clear way that this could translate in the NBA. I want to see him dominate summer league because of that. I think this is a good arena, no pun intended, for him to be able to really dominate summer league itself. that type of basketball um is conducive to players who like to work in the post. And I could I can envision a world where Colin gets to like 15 points, nine rebounds, and a couple of blocks or something along the lines of that just because of how physically imposing he can be. So, I would like for him to physically impose himself dominantly in summer league and see how far that takes him. Also, there’s the defensive playmaking aspect, but I really do think that’s going to translate from day one. We’re going to see some crazy plays, some great sequences from him defensively. But what I want to see, that one thing I’m looking for for CMBB, is how we can physically dominate at the level of summer league. Uh, does that mean it’ll translate to the NBA where the athletes are bigger and there’s more physicality and you’re playing against older competition and all that type of stuff? No, not necessarily. But it’s a good indicator that the touch is there, that the driving ability and the aggression is there. And I think that’s one thing I want to see from CMBB uh from day one in summer league. Okay. Elijah Martin, the other rookie here, uh second round pick for the Toronto Raptors. Uh again, Cody Wilds had a great video essay recently breaking down what Elijah could potentially bring to this Raptors team and maybe if he cracks the rotation. There’s obviously uh a tangible skill that he provides on the defensive end that can translate to what the Raptors want to do in terms of point of attack aggression, in terms of high pickup points, in terms of using his length and athleticism to get out and running in transition. He obviously has a good three-point shot. Um for me, I I obviously the defensive playmaking at this level, I believe, will be there because he’s an older player. um you know, he’s he’s a five-year college guy and so he’s played against guys at this age and this level and this skill set pretty frequently and he’s done well against this competition. I think defensively we will see those moments already from day one. For me, it’s the shot making and what we see shotmaking wise. Um like generally he was a pretty good three-point shooter. I posted this on Twitter, basically a 10-minute clip of just him taking ridiculous shots for Florida last year. Deep threes on the movement, you know, kind of catching, curling off of two pin downs, catching it, pump sideep, three, that type of talent as a three-point shooter. I want to see more here. Now that being said, uh this could be a situation where it’s similar to Oayabaji or Grady Dick where because he’s more of an offball player, you might not see the fruits of your labor in summer league because again, those type of players don’t necessarily thrive in summer league because it’s not, hey, uh what can you do off ball, it’s what can you do with the ball in your hands? Maybe Elijah can do some some stuff. I think in transition he’ll do really well in summer league. But in terms of the the shotmaking category, I’d be really interested to see what caliber of three-point shooting he can be. What what what level of a three-point shooter he can be at the summer league. That’s the the one question I have with Elijah Martin. Very excited to watch him though, just because he’s a multi-year guy and it’s like, hey, if he really pops off, this is a guy who people can be really excited about. Fans can be really excited about. Uh Jameson Battle on the move shotmaking. That’s something that I’ve been harping on a lot for Jameson generally is just being able to shoot off of movement. Um, just pulling it up here. So, yeah, his play types, looking at off of screens. Okay, off of screens, he shot 37% from three. In transition, he shot 45% from three. On spot-ups, he shot 37% from three. But if you dig in a little bit deeper last season, he shot 39% off the catch, 37% on guarded threes, 43% on unguarded threes. The dude absolutely shot the leather off of the ball, even dribble jumpers. So, uh, you know, obviously Jameson Battle didn’t have a ton of dribble jumpers, but by dribble jumpers literally just means if he catches it, the defender flies by, he takes a little power dribble and shoots the ball. That technically counts as a dribble jumper. Uh, and he shot 43% on those two. So, really talented shooting generally, but what I have noticed is off the movement, off of movement, like running jumpers, he isn’t necessarily the greatest at. Uh, and that’s something that I’m really looking forward to. Sorry, I got interrupted by a phone call, but yeah, generally, look, I think Jameson Battle, the the question that I have is off the movement, off of movement, running into your jumpers, right? Coming down off of two pin downs and curling into action, similar to what I just said about Elijah Martin and the shotmaking talent that he showed at Florida. Um, displaying that exact same thing, um, would be great for Jameson Battle. That’s generally the one thing I’m looking for with Battle. If he can really hang and if he pops off and if he has like a 20 25 point game, this is a guy who can probably uh earn himself some money in the sense that he now has a partial guarantee. That guarantee that contract gets fully guaranteed right before summer league. He probably ends up with a roster spot. But to me, it’s how much more can he crack into the Raptors rotation because they they obviously have Grady Dick, they obviously have Jacobe Walter. Um, if he pops off in summer league, I think training camp will be very interesting between those three. Okay, Chucky Hepern. Um, very fascinated to see how Chucky Heburn does. Again, this is the type of player that could pop off in summer league just because there’s an opportunity with the ball in their hands. And I think Chucky will automatically have the ball in his hands. In Louisville, he had the ball in his hands quite frequently. Uh, can knock down his shots, but a wildly talented defensive player. I want to see how he thrives on the defense. Ben, again, we seen really talented like Jamal Shed in Houston was a wildly talented defensive player in college for four years. Chucky Heburn, defensive player of the year. Louisville, great defender. I believe he had like two and a half steals a game last season. That’s awesome. How does that translate against professional basketball players, against summer league competition, against guys who have been in the G-League, against guys who are maybe second or third year players, etc. Like, how does that translate? Especially because he’s not the tallest player, very similar to Jamal. He’s like 6’2, maybe 6’1 on a good day, whatever, or 6’2 on a good day. Um, how does how does he deal with the physicality? uh is he able to impact defensively uh despite the size disadvantage? Um can he can he be a guy who makes defensive plays? That’s my question with Chucky Heburn because I know he’s going to have a lot of opportunity and runway with the 905. Uh how does that translate to summer league basketball? Again, I think Chucky could be a guy who actually pops the hell off um because of the amount of time that the ball will be in his hands. But uh yeah, I’m down. Like dude, oh my god, I’m just looking at his pick and roll numbers right now. So Chucky last season for Louisville had 206 possessions as a pick and roll ball handler. He ranked in the 93rd percentile in college basketball in terms of pick and roll efficiency. So dude is wildly good with the ball in his hands. I imagine that will translate offensively in summer league because those are the type of guys that just really thrive in summer league basketball. You got the ball in your hands. You got to create something. There’s a lot of pick and roll that gets run in summer league too. He’s a guy who can really pop off. The defensive side is how I want to see him thrive. Uh, and him making plays. That’s where I’m really curious about with Chucky Heppern. Uh, Shamshay Orich, my guy. Um, look, I watched him a lot last year for the 905. Um, you know, in between hosting, I would try to watch and see what was doing. Um, wildly def talented shot blocker. What was it? He he averaged nearly three blocks a game last year for the 905. Um he the thing with me is not necessarily the defense. I think he’ll be a pretty good defensive playmaker. Even last year in summer league there were moments where you’re like wow this guy’s a ridiculous shot blocker. Uh he has to get his timing right and not foul as much but generally like wildly talented shot blocker. So I think that will be there and present in summer league. maybe more dominant would be great to me is the craft and finishing inside hands, right? Uh catching lobs and dunking immediately or catching, you know, if there’s a pick and roll with Chucky or Jamal and they do do that little wraparound pass like grabbing it from from a low point and going up and finishing it is really important. craft around the basket, whether you know they hit him in the post and he’s able to do a little hook shot or a runner in the short roll area is something that I’m looking for with Orish Shamsh. Refining his hands, refining his touch around the basket, much like Jonathan Mo in the sense that you want him to finish and you want him to be a better finisher. But for Oric, that’s a massive part of his game. Uh, it’s being able to be a solid rim runner because of his size, because of his physicality, because of how good and talented he can potentially be as a rim runner. You want him to really, really fine-tune that aspect, uh, and show that he can do it in summer league. So, Rich, for me, it’s the finishing, it’s getting to the basket, uh, working in pick and rolls, his pick and roll craft in general. So screen roll, you know, dive to the basket, how connected of emotion all that is very key for Shamsh. Um AJ Lawson and Colin Castleton. Again, these are these are two guys who have had experience in summer league before. Uh who are really really good G-League players. AJ was obviously a G-League All-Star last year. Um these are guys who have been here and done that. to me, especially with their spots on the roster, kind of like there’s there’s a decision to be had here in terms of can they make this roster, especially because there’s there’s no more roster spots here. The Raptors would have to do some maneuvering. Um, this is a chance for them to go out and dominate. This is a chance for them to go out and show that not only do they belong, but they belong on the roster, that they are better than a Jameson Battle or a Jamal Shad or Shamshshire or Jonathan Mobile, that they can provide more. Will that happen? Uh, and will that really change the minds of players or or the coaching staff to give them a spot over someone else? Maybe not. I think the roster for the most part is set. And I would be pretty surprised uh if AJ or Colin Castleton make it. Maybe AJ makes it on a two-way. You know, the there’s there’s an opportunity there. We’ll see what happens with Elijah Martin and how the Raptors contractually want to use him. They might slot him into that final two-way spot. they might give him a guaranteed roster spot. We’ll see what happens. Um there’s still a lot of fluidity there between him, Jameson Battle, and AJ Lawson and Colin Castleton. That said, um them dominating in summer league not only helps them with their position with the Raptors, but elsewhere. Uh, I can’t tell you the amount of times where I’ve been at summer league and I’ll be watching, you know, uh, a random Chicago Bull scout watching Raptors versus Hawks and, you know, two weeks later that Bull Scout has or or the Bulls have signed a player on the Raptors or on the Hawks that on the summer league rosters. That’s something that happens very very frequently. It’s in fact the Raptors did it with Javon Freeman Liberty. They played Javon. I I believe it was a Raptors Bulls game and a day later they signed him to a two-way contract because Javon was awesome and he was open to the opportunity of coming to the Raptors. And so for AJ, for Colin, it’s like, hey, make the most of this opportunity. Absolutely dominate. uh figure out a way that you can kind of show not only the Raptors but the rest of the team how you can dominate uh at the G-League level how you can dominate and earn yourself a roster spot for someone that might need you guys. That’s what I would like from AJ Lawson and Colin Castleton. Um okay, truthfully for the rest of the guys um you know obviously there there are some 905 players here. Quincy Gurier, Tyreek Key, uh you know, those guys are guys who likely are are like gonna be back with the 905 next season. Uh Clifford Omarui, who is Eugene Omarui’s, uh brother, he has an exhibit 10 deal, so he’ll be at training camp likely. Uh you know, he’s a center, so there’s opportunity for him to get run. Maybe he ends up actually working his way into a two-way deal. That would be awesome. for these guys. It’s like pop off to the point where the Raptors have to give you a contract, but also um you know, make make decisions hard for this Raptors coaching staff. You know, I think ultimately when you are a a Tyson Dean Hart or any Tight Jones, like the thing here is to make the most out of the opportunity. Uh Clifford Omarui really like I have a friend who’s really really high on Clifford Omaru and he’s like hey maybe he can make this Raptors team. Go out and show it. Like let’s see it. Let’s see let’s see that happen cuz that’s what happened to Jameson Battle. Jameson Battle was like a guy who made it to the roster because he popped the hell off in summer league and he got an opportunity with Raptors training camp and they were like you know what we’ll give this guy a two-way. and Jameson was so good that he earned himself this partially guaranteed contract and likely a roster spot next season. So, do that. Be a guy who can do that. Um, that’s that’s my main takeaway here is if they’re giving you a two-way like they did with um with Chucky Heburn, like cook, get an opportunity. There is also one open two-way slot here for the Raptors. make the most of that opportunity and fight for that two-way spot. That’s what I’m looking at for some of these guys. And also, a couple of these guys are older. You know, Quincy Gerier, he’s a 99 baby. I can’t believe I just said older. He’s four years younger than me. Um, but yeah, like some of these guys are sort of veteran type players that can be good for you. Um, again, these are these guys are fighting for opportunities at the G-League level, fighting for opportunities against uh for scouts professionally. That’s what you want to see from the rest of this roster. But for me, um, you know, the guys that I listed out, those those skills are what I’m looking for. Tangentially, you know, on the side, obviously, I would love to see this Raptors team do well in the summer league and and win and get an opportunity to raise a summer league trophy. That would be awesome. But I think for the most part, you’re looking at these individual skills and how these specific skills can translate into the NBA level because it’s not about the overall game. It’s not like, holy crap, you know, Colin Murray Boils, he popped off. He had 25, five and five, he’s going to be rookie of the year. That’s not necessarily how it works. But if Colin is like physically imposing himself, he looks like a man amongst boys out there. Uh getting to the basket, finishing, making plays defensively, you’re like, “Oh man, like if he’s dominating against G-League competition, against summer league competition, against second, first, and thirdyear guys, he’s going to do well in the NBA.” Um, you know, that’s the sort of thing that you can take away from summer league. It’s hard to take away too much, but those are the things that you can take away. Folks, as always, like, comment, subscribe, do the things you guys usually do to get this video out to other people. We really do appreciate the support that you guys have had for Raptors Republic. Uh, it’s it’s been a joy uh to cover the Raptors for you and to do it all offseason. Appreciate you guys tapping in. We’ll see you guys later. Take care.

The Toronto Raptors play basketball this week! Summer League kicks off and Es Baraheni sets the expectations for each player on the roster.

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

2:29 – Jonathan Mogbo
5:05 – Ja’Kobe Walter
8:37 – Jamal Shead
11:20 – Collin Murray-Boyles
14:07 – Alijah Martin
16:18 – Jamison Battle
18:32 – Chucky Hepburn
20:47 – Ulrich Chomche
22:45 – AJ Lawson/Collin Castleton
25:20 – Rest of roster

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/38IlV8U
Read our articles: https://bit.ly/38FCq5B
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3jKJnsg
Twitter: https://bit.ly/2WOyTiy
Tik Tok: https://bit.ly/38FDlTB
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kQXVG6
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2X15aDk

#raptors #summerleague2025 #nba #torontoraptors #collinmurrayboyles #alijahmartin #jakobewalter #ulrichchomche #raptornation