All the best to everyone for a great year. May 2026 surpass 2025 in every possible way.
It sure has been fun watching the last two Raptors victories and a privilege to watch Scottie Barnes play. My question involves the trend of slow starts to games requiring big comebacks to get back in them. It seems that this has being a thing for a few seasons now. How can the team shake things up to come out with more energy and shotmaking?
I don’t see any reason or need to make any starting unit change. I’d rather see a nice long stretch with a healthy group.
But it’s something they are cognizant of, and it comes down to the usual group playing with more intensity and urgency right off the bat every night. I know it’s simplistic, but it’s true. We’ve seen it; they need to do it more often.
Hi, Doug. Happy New Year.
I have read and heard countless evaluations of basketball prospects that read something like this: “Great at X, excellent at Y, elite at Z, has a good motor, etc.” But then there is a footnote that reads: “Will need to develop a shot” or “needs to improve his shot.”
Cooper Flagg was the prize everyone wanted and a surprise team emerged to be the No. 1 pick but it wasn’t enough to save Dallas GM Nico Harrison’s
Cooper Flagg was the prize everyone wanted and a surprise team emerged to be the No. 1 pick but it wasn’t enough to save Dallas GM Nico Harrison’s
Why is it assumed that shooting ability is not an inherent skill? Good shooting requires balance, some footwork and a certain mental makeup. Excluding centres from this discussion, why is it assumed that any team or coaches can turn a player into a good shooter or even just improve a player’s shot, yet the same doesn’t apply to a skill like defence, which has a lot to do with effort and hustle?
How much evidence is there of NBA players becoming great shooters through coaching versus the total opposite?
Case in point: Ben Simmons (first overall pick in 2016) versus Steph Curry (seventh overall pick in 2009). Here is an analysis of Simmons at the time: “The one area on offence where Simmons needs to improve most is his shooting.”
Here is an analysis of Curry at the time: “Has not proven himself defensively against tough competition.” Curry’s father was known as a great shooter in the NBA so it’s in the bloodlines, and he carried that from college right into the NBA and he learned or improved in other areas like defence. But Simmons never improved (or learned) his shooting ability.
Oh, shooting can be taught, we’ve seen it first-hand here. Three prime examples: José Calderón, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. All had significant mechanical flaws in their shooting when they came to Toronto, all blossomed into at times above-average shooters.
It can be a trained skill, without question. Perhaps DNA helps, but not always.
And coaching is like teaching: You can have a full classroom of kids who get exactly the same instruction in exactly the same fashion from the same source and some get it and some don’t.
But to suggest shooting is not an inherently taught basketball skill isn’t correct.
Hi, Doug. Over the course of the last two years the Raptors have failed to draft a centre or trade for a centre when it is obviously a serious problem.
I fail to understand why. Now the talk again is the need to make a trade.
Can you explain to me and everyone else who are asking the same question: Why the delay?
Here’s a funny thing: Less than three years ago, the Raptors traded for a veteran centre and about six months ago they signed that veteran centre to a contract extension: Jakob Poeltl.
And funnily enough, they made a tremendous free-agent addition last summer to get a backup centre who is not the traditional centre, but seems to have fit quite well here as a change from Poeltl: Sandro Mamukelashvili. Now, maybe he’s not your idea of a centre, but for the way the Raptors play he seems to fit.
The fact is, the only “delay” is in finding a good third-string centre to play 12 or so minutes in the games Poeltl misses. That’s been a failing but, frankly, not that big a deal to me.
What’s the feeling around the league about Shaedon Sharpe? Is he a star on the rise? More than that? Have you heard anything from Canada Basketball regarding his future?
I’m not sure “star” is the right word. He’s certainly athletically gifted, an explosive dunker and can shoot a bit, but he’s kind of bounced between starting and not in Portland, so there have to be issues there. But he’s also relatively young, so there’s room to grow.
As for Canada? He’s never played a senior game. I would certainly think he needs time in qualifying window games before he can be considered. I would have liked him to have played last summer at the AmeriCup to get some experience, like Kyshawn George did. I don’t expect him to be in serious consideration for the ’27 World Cup and ’28 Olympics, if Canada gets there.
Happy 2026 to you and to all irregulars.
Some of the gymnastics performed with numbers in and around the NBA tend to confuse more than illuminate. But there was something startling about Scottie Barnes’s stats against the Warriors. Not only did his performance match what looked like the 1958 all-star team (as well as, inevitably, multiple Wilts and a Joker). It also caused the first mention of Maurice Stokes I’ve seen in a long time.
There is an award named after this guy and his teammate (I believe Wayne Embry played with both) that, in my opinion, is both the most obscure and most meaningful award presented by the league. It should be more prominent than it is and recalls a different world with respect to player safety.
Yes, Wayne was a teammate and we’ve talked often about them. And yes, any chance I get to repeat the Twyman-Stokes story I am glad to. I agree it’s a significant but underhyped award.
Happy 2026. Given that Kawhi Leonard seems to have reverted to 2019 form, is the NBA making any progress on his 2019 and later contract demands investigation?
Thanks as always for your Raptors insights.
It is proceeding at a slow pace but, as I know the NBA, it’s a very thorough process. It’s only been three or so months into it, and I am sure there are many layers to wade through. Trust me, though, the league hasn’t abandoned it.
Hi, Doug. Do players have their own personal coaches or massage therapists, or any other support workers who work only for them, whom they pay out of their own pocket? Thanks.
I would say most do, yes, but they are mainly employed in the summer. Teams have more than abundant staffers to deal with skill development, massage, nutrition, etc. from September to June. Any personal coaches are not part of the regular-season regimen.
Happy New Year, Doug! May 2026 eclipse 2025! Looks like it will for the Raptors at least!
The Raptors have been waiting for someone to step up all season. There’s a month to go to the trade deadline and they’d love to have an answer by
The Raptors have been waiting for someone to step up all season. There’s a month to go to the trade deadline and they’d love to have an answer by
1) Looking ahead in 2026, a question about the season’s end. The Raptors likely make the playoffs, but who ultimately makes it to the Eastern Conference final? My guess is either the Knicks or Celtics, barring either a stunning trade(s) or tragic injury/injuries. The West is a bit more up in the air, the Spurs and Thunder having to get past Denver or Houston. Do you think I’ve overlooked a team or two?
2) So there’s a month or so before the trade deadline. Which teams, in your opinion, should consider going for it? What would GM Doug do?
3) The Raptors’ wins over the Warriors and the Magic definitely raised morale for fans. The Nuggets loss was a bit disappointing, but how much do players really feel about these clutch wins and losses?
4) Back to the Magic game. Collin Murray-Boyles and Jamal Shead led the Raptors in plus-minus that game (not your favourite stat, I know, but it does give you an idea of how well they defended). Especially C.M.B., who only scored four points! To me, it’s a stat that says, “good things happen when you are on the court.” Shead, I think, is untradeable due to how much he brings to the team, second perhaps only to Scottie Barnes. Thoughts?
Thanks for a great 2025! Looking forward to more insights for 2026!
I would throw Detroit into a three-way East conversation, and who knows, if Philly stays healthy they’re pretty good. I think you’ve got the West four, but maybe don’t sleep too much on Minnesota.
Here’s the thing about “going for it.” It presumes players who can make that big a difference are available and I don’t know that’s the case. I do think if the Golden State Warriors want to make a huge splash they should. Time’s ticking there.
Players and coaches, unlike fans, tend to truly live the credo about not getting too high after wins or too low after losses. They tend to just go game to game and are not affected by what’s just happened.
I’m not sure anyone’s “untradeable” from a franchise that hasn’t been in the playoffs in three years, but it’d take a big offer for me to give up either Shead or Murray-Boyles.
There are a bunch of ways that Gradey Dick has actually taken strides this year, but he’s taken a few steps back, too — and the strides he’s taken aren’t good enough to make him a valuable asset. He still needs minutes to improve, and he can’t get them on this team. Occasionally he finds his scoring touch, but against Denver: 11 minutes of zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocks. I gather he can’t be sent to Raptors 905 to get some minutes in? Is there nothing that can be done to get him more time to work through things?
I’m assuming he’s working his butt off to improve. He seems a good guy. I remember stories of Kyle Lowry staying up for hours after a bad shooting game just to work on his shot. You probably wrote those stories. Does Dick have that mentality? This prolonged shooting slump can’t be easy for him. What’s being tried with him to get him out of it?
There seems to be a slight weariness in the play of Ochai Agbaji, Shead and Mamu. You saw it pretty plainly in the Denver game (the three players combined for four points). Shead’s passing seems to be a tad less effective than earlier in the season, when in fact it was a marvel. And Jamison Battle was only given six minutes of playing time. Agbaji, Shead, Mamu, Dick, Battle — and we can throw in Ja’Kobe Walter here (six players!) — played a combined 84 minutes while delivering only eight points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block. Mo Bamba didn’t play (he still needs time to figure out our plays) and Garrett Temple has a spot on the bench, but not for playing.
You can look at the game against Denver and lament the Brandon Ingram last-gasp shot not being on time. You can lament how Immanuel Quickley was hot and cold in shooting all evening. We can point out the absence of a centre. But the real issue is having so many off their game at the same time. When Barnes or Ingram or RJ Barrett or Quickley rested, you had good reason to be worried.
C.M.B. really stands out. Would you agree he’s performed beyond expectations so far (still somewhat early in the season)?
Dick’s inconsistency is troubling, but he puts the work in, the coaches put the work in with him. They just have to keep hammering at it and hope it works out. There’s certainly skill there; we just don’t see it too often.
Yeah, the same backups who basically won the Orlando game on Monday were a huge reason why Wednesday’s game was lost. And except for Mamukelashvili, all of them are relatively young players prone to inconsistency. They need to iron that out. Sometimes all it takes is time.
And yes, if the bench provides 0-for-18 shooting from three and nothing else, they will lose every single time. Luckily that’s not a regular occurrence and not something to be too worried about.
Murray-Boyles has been tremendous and more than many expected. He still fouls too often and has his lulls, but when he learns how to really play he’s going to be a beast.
Hi, Doug. The Raptors signed Mo Bamba, but as of yet he has seen only about four minutes of playing time. Is there a particular reason for this?
I thought he was a good signing with his height and rebounding skills. They could have used him against Denver.
Maybe he is still figuring out the system. I also wondered about Olivier Sarr on Raptors 905. Is he worth a look? Thanks.
Bamba’s four minutes certainly weren’t breathtaking and he did need some practice time to get used to the system. I think he’ll get some time in the next few games.
Sarr’s interesting and might be worth a 10-day deal once they can be signed starting Monday, but not until they exhaust Bamba’s time on Jan. 10.
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