OverDrive - Armstrong on the Raptors leaking oil, the pathway to consistency and the progression of the talent

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

TSN Basketball Analyst Jack Armstrong joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NBA, the Raptors' losing skid and the pathway to consistency, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in the lineup, the development of the team's talent, the Cavaliers and Thunder at the top of the league and more.

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Let's go. New year, new you. New you. New you. Explore it all. Feel brand new. At iHeartRadio.ca and on the free iHeartRadio app. Jack Armstrong, a rapper's analyst. Jack, I guess prior to us getting to the rappers here, why don't you answer that question? Shay Gildes, Alexander or Nikola Jokic? Who would get your MVP vote if you had to hand it out tonight uh... tonight

uh... i would say shane uh... he's just been amazing and and i understand that but you know in defense of yokich you know his supporting cast is in good but i think shane is that that i have to be outstanding in every facet and uh... who's to say it would be a co-envies

right now i think i think those two guys but neck and neck and they're head and shoulders over everyone else i i would agree with that i think the odds makers would it would agree with that i think that's what we're trending towards as for the raptors you know you're you're in cleveland you're in your hometown last night and uh... you know got we're just we're you were in your hometown last night, and, you know, we were just talking about this, Jack, and you would know this better than we would, Dave

and I. Like, there was a good seven to eight years, or maybe a decade, where the Raptors would just smack the Knicks around, and the shoe's really on the other foot, you know, and it's kind of tough to see, because last night, it wasn't for Chris Boushey the last two or three minutes. They may have lost by thirty last night you know it's a difficult run right now and you know here's the interesting thing for for the raptors

from a big picture perspective you know uh... before twenty fourteen you know you had a few cycles of success and the uh... you know with with vince carter and that group and then chris bosh and his group where you made the playoffs a few times and then you know things kind of tailed off and then you have the excitement of you know we the North in 2014 playing the Nets and then that great six seven year run and the

challenge now is that creates expectations. So when you have that, you have greater disappointment. And that's kind of what I'm seeing now is that from a fan-based perspective and from an interest perspective, it just gets a little bit harder to keep people's enthusiasm and intensity and passion because they've already witnessed one side of it and they've seen something really cool and been to the top of the mountain and now you go the other way and it just gets a little bit harder so I think that's been the disappointing part of it you know for Raptor fans is that you know you just have not been able to get out of this for the last few years.

And here's the bigger challenge for the Raptors. Let's say you don't get Cooper Fleck. Let's say you don't get the first pick in the draft. Let's say you get the fourth or fifth pick in the draft. And I've talked to a number of executives and scouts in the league, and it's a very good draft, but nonetheless, is that guy coming in, if he's your fifth pick, is he gonna turn your franchise around?

And the answer would be, he'll be a good player, he'll be part of the mix, but there's still a lot of heavy lifting. And I think right now, this year is about trying to figure out who exactly fits what they're trying to do, and then to go about trying to turn it around and you know the following year you have two number one picks but again you have a fan base now that has been to the NBA finals and has won it they've been to a few conference finals things

like that and you know so the bar gets set higher and the level of disappointment disappointment becomes higher so I think it's a you know, it's a challenging time right now So Jack, you know a big part of this year It has been defined by injuries to key Raptors and the fact that they haven't been able to really Get a sense of who they have and what it might add up to down the road because they haven't had the availability of key guys. We're starting to see the makings of what it can be with Barnes and Quickly and Barrett as the sort of top three guys and the rest of the group sort of filling out. In the early days with Quickly back and Barrett and Barnes both healthy touch wood,

what have you seen there that gives you some idea of what those three guys could be as as a foundational core to this team no i i think i think those three can function together looks like they play off each other well when i j barrett and scotty bonds were playing together i thought they were very effective efficient playing with each other and i think quickly is already played with our today and i think it's just a comfort level for Scotty Barnes getting used to

now you know quickly having the ball a little bit more but I've seen Scotty Barnes adjust and adapt and I think it's it's been beneficial for him you know now it's those other pieces I look at their starting five last night you know Yaka Pertle is a good you know a good starting center and Grady Dick right now seems to be struggling a little bit because he went from being a high usage guy on a team that needed him to do a lot to now being kind of a complementary piece in that starting lineup. So he's got to do the little things and he's got to make open shots and be efficient and do the things that he's got to do the little things that he kind of make open shot to be a

patient and uh... do the things that uh... he's able to do to complement the other four guys but he's not going to be a feature guy anymore respectfully at this stage of his career so i do think that they could function well as a starting line up i think there challenges uh... you know there's been a lot of defense of slippage

uh... i think you know that there's been a lot of defensive slippage. I think, you know, they're not able to sustain that focus. I think when you're bringing young guys in like a Jacoby Walter and Shed and guys like that, Mobo when you were playing him, you know, you're going to have significant slippage. The pace of this game is dramatically different than what it is at the college level, and it takes them getting used to. But there's some good pieces that they have in place. The question is are they going to gel and the other question is are they going to get to a point where they

can be a respectable defensive team and I thought last night they had a lot of good stretches defensively and then absolutely hit the wall and the Knicks took it to them and the game completely got away from them so they're not that team yet that can sustain for a long period of time and that's what happens when you lose a lot of games. With Jack Armstrong and you mentioned Jacoby Walter who he didn't really have a camp because he was injured throughout it and injured throughout you know the start of the season but now has been back a while and he's spot duty here or there.

But I think adding to your point earlier about the reaction to this season I think from Raptors fans I think the buzz or lack thereof around him is probably a great example of that. Because forever you remember this, Jack, Dave, you'd remember this, 20 years ago, whoever went in the first round that guy was talked about constantly because you know the team wasn't expected to do so well yet I don't get the impression like a lot of people are buzzing about Walter but I'm curious you know what you what you've seen out of them and whether or not you think they they have something in Jacobi Walter well he's one of those guys that you know they're nice he's getting his head handed to him because he's 19 and

you only had one year in college and he's you know the pace of the game the physicality is a little slight and he missed training camp and he missed critical lessons early in the year and now you know you're basically jumping on a moving train and I think it's hard you know and he's had some moments where he shows your glimpses uh... and i think how perspective uh... i like his talent level i think he played and the kid plays hard

but pressure on the ball he's got range in size and length as a defender i think i think you could turn out and be a good nba player uh... but right now he's not ready yet and you know there are nights you have to throw him out there to the wolves and he's got to have to develop and grow and you know but right now it's it's a tough spot to be in. This team isn't stacked with a ton of veteran guys who've been there done that you know you have a Kelly O olinic a bruise browner

you know uh... yaka pearl guys like that but none of them a primary players they're all secondary players so uh... chris boucher i just throw four names in there but none of them are primary guys so i think that becomes the big problem right now when you're talking about a jacoby walter there's so much pressure on him to do something when he's out there because there's not enough experience out there to help him guide him along and hide him. So Jack you're in Cleveland I'm wondering you

know nothing against the Cavs and nothing against the Thunder they're both wonderful teams to watch for people who really like the game but how do you think that Commissioner's office looks at the league as it sits right now with the two best teams being teams from smaller markets who don't necessarily have like a list you know it's you know Steph or LeBron I guess there are no other Steph or LeBron's in this league but don't really have like established stars leading them and a bit of a changing the guard in terms of you know the guys who are going to be the faces of this league.

Well I think the way the cap is structured now the first apron second apron things have changed dramatically now and the town is more spread out if you look at the standings there aren't a lot of high-end powerhouse teams. I think you'd probably look at the two you just mentioned and the Celtics that kind of stand above everybody else and then I would put the Knicks in that next tier. You know and then you got like Memphis and Houston like are you ready to buy stock in those guys yet? They're really nice teams and you know Philadelphia was supposed to be better. That's been a mess you know for a lot of different reasons Milwaukee is you know an older team and they've had some issues and you know Indiana has been

off to a disappointing start they're starting to play a little better and you got a you know Denver is you know top-heavy you know you got to pay guys and I don't think their owner is as committed sometimes as he needs to be in terms of doing what it takes. I think when a guy like Jokic, you got to go all in and damn the torpedoes. You got to do everything possible to surround that guy with everything you got. And I think if you look at Denver, they've lost rotation pieces the last two years and haven't filled it.

Look, I understand you're paying people a lot of money, but you've got to find creative ways to go about it. Look, the system's working. The first apron, the second apron, it's spreading the talent around. I would argue that Jay Gilsen' Alexander is a superstar, maybe Madison Avenue doesn't think that, but he is. And I think Donovan Mitchell is a heck of a player and in the league that we're in right now, he's a top 10, top 15 player.

And it's great here in Cleveland, there's such a tremendous vibe, this is a fabulous sports town. And you know, LeBron we laughed and he came back and they won it and all that and now they had some tough times but they got a really good really good team they got an excellent coach you know they're fun to watch so I'm happy for the NBA having a game like last night all my friends that I was working the Raptors Nick game last night but all my friends that watched the game last night and i just watch replays of it were raving

about it like that's the nba at its best right now and i'm happy that those two teams are because they're excellent and they're good for our game how about those buffalo bills jack how we feeling about sunday well i'll be there sunday we plan to try to add a date on the back so i'll be there early sunday morning rare to go i think the big thing with the bills is how good is their defense gonna be uh... there's a lot of question marks i can they get people off the field yet there their team that does a good job or to turnovers

well if you play get a team that plays clean are they going to be able to get people off the field in third down situations and they haven't been great at that I think their offense is excellent they're going against a really good Denver defense and you're at home so that's a game you got to find a way to win but I think long term whether you look at game one two three four if they can even get that far a lot of it's find a way to win. But I think long term, whether you look at game one, two, three, four, if they can even get that far, a lot of it's going to come down to the defense. I think the people, I think people forgetting, most people had the bills in a restructure, retooling year where people say, ah, they'll win nine to 10 games.

They'll have a good year and be a wild card team. Instead, you know, 25 percent of their cap is dead money and they want thirteen days so i think they had a quarry great regular season and they could have one fourteen if they felt like winning on sunday at new england but they've had a great year now the question is now it's

really good teams and you got to move the chess pieces and you got to have talent and you got to be able to win Match-ups and only time will tell if they have enough. It's gonna be awesome cannot wait for good luck tonight in Cleveland And we'll do it again soon. Thank you, Jack. I just got a fit watch tonight. I'm off tonight I'm just we fly to Detroit right after the game. I got the game Saturday night on TSN So I'm just a spectator. So I'm looking forward to watching this I love it. Get your feet up and enjoy it. Thank you, Jack. Thanks. Thanks guys

Jack Armstrong