They Found a New Star... (and it's not Kawhi)

The Toronto Raptors have found their next star, and it's not Kawhi. Now, not to be disingenuous, Kawhi Leonard didn't just look like a star tonight, he looked like a superstar in his debut for the Toronto Raptors. But there's one player that specifically impressed me so much, he's going to be the frame of the city. So we'll discuss that, including Allen Graves, rookie debut, my continuous just admiration for what RJ Barrett is doing on the court for this Toronto Raptors team, and how we just smacked around the NBA champions of course the NBA champions bench not leaning too much into the win loss of this game but there were so many storylines that have me exhilarated have me excited and most of them have to do with the Toronto Raptors but I'm starting off with a little tangent a little different direction because the Toronto Raptors put my logo out there on the court I brought out the hoodie I brought out the merch I've used this logo for the past eight-ish years now at this point it'll be eight years i believe out there in november and look in the corner look in the corner of this court it's the first time we see the toronto raptors play on their home floor this season and that's a raptors digest maple leaf there if i say so myself so folks we are getting free promo we're getting free promo all season they put the raptors digest logo out there on the court and i'm loving every single second of it so shout out the Toronto Raptors for putting that out there you know they're promoting the pod they love the YouTube channel the videos that we're cooking up but nonetheless I digress I want to dive into this game because there's so many stories and we could talk about the debut of Kawhi Leonard the debut of Allen Graves these guys have played super well out there on the court but the player that I do have to discuss that I have to lead off with it is Colin Murray-Boyles who has impressed over the first couple of games of preseason without a doubt everyone's expected a really nice leap in his second season for the lottery pick the Toronto Raptors had who was a rookie last year but in this game and of course you can take what you will from the box score from the numbers as he had a statistically just awesome game the Raptors slapped the New York Knicks 148 to 98 and specifically Colin Murray Boils in this game was fantastic right 19 points nine rebounds two assists with seven of seven from the field two of two from the three-point line you could look at that and be like Ben it's a game against the Knicks G Leaguers or whatever you want to call them right the Knicks bench why are you getting hyped why are you calling Colin Murray Boils a star out there in the title of this game and all that if you watched what he did if you watched if you you know some people don't tune into preseason there they tune into Raptors Digest and they see the logo on the court they're like yeah well we'll watch Raptors Digest just to get the you know the all that type of stuff he looks different he looks different i have a screenshot of this right here that i believe i pulled from twitter but he he took two he took two in this game i saw one i'm like okay it's pre-season you know you gotta feel yourself a little bit but two semi-transition off the dribble above the break threes for Colin Murray Boils and he made both little handoff actions out there from beyond the three-point line he did not hesitate there was no hitch there was no second thought about it Colin Murray Boils felt comfortable taking two above the break in transition dribble pull-up threes obviously he had a ridiculous dunk that everyone's reacted to everyone's talking about he had multiple nasty dunks out there in this game and all that type of stuff but the above the break threes what you're seeing out there from Colin Murray Boyles not to mention the defense his calling card what he has hung his hat on over the course of his rookie season his college career all that he went seven to seven he looked unstoppable he made some tough finishes around the basket I get the competition it is what it is but Colin Murray Boyles came out there and didn't miss a shot he went seven for seven end up with 19 you know in just 13 minutes of action at this point right he only played how many minutes total is this yet 16 minutes seven to seven two or two from the three-point line and knocked down three or four from the free throw stripe which is great to see again am i overreacting to preseason sure but it's less about the numbers it's less about even the results it's more so about how the player feels and if Colin Murray Boyles is knocking down dribble pull up threes i'll say it we have a star player without a doubt like that is that is a light thing to say that that's me with restraint if Colin Murray-Boyles is knocking down 37% of his threes at a consistent rate, you know, not just taking one a game. That is a star player. That's an all-star caliber player with the way he defends, with the way he finishes around the basket, with the way he facilitates at that point-forward spot. And if we're getting a guy that can knock down off-the-dribble movement threes for this team, there's a reason. I'm five minutes into this video. I am five minutes into this video, and we haven't talked about Kawhi. so i'll just get to Kawhi because you know i i said and i i was purposeful in my time i was purposeful in the title of this video you know that we found our next star Colin Murray Boyle is that star I I feel comfortable saying it's not Kawhi because Kawhi Leonard is a superstar you know I I joked on the streams last year I'm gonna say the word I'm gonna say the word the S word superstar for Scotty Barnes it was a meme it was a tease it was a that's what Kawhi Leonard is and that's what he still is he just watching him play even in a game where it didn't feel like his rhythm like it wasn't a super hot night for Kawhi by any stretch of the imagination in 16 minutes of action 21 points five rebounds four of eight shooting from the three-point line six of 12 shooting from the field had two steals he immediately as the game come on he plucked the ball away like a piece of candy lord knows how many deflections this man had over the course of stretch of game and the fact that he's he's a Toronto Raptor the fact that that I can pull up this the amount of photoshops I put Kawhi in from 2019 to now before the rumors were out there I used to get flack I get flack Ben why are we even talking about bringing Kawhi back there's no chance there's no shot the Clippers it's a mess boy the amount of photoshops I've made with this dude in a Raptors jersey since he left is criminal and now to see it real to see it there and that's one thing I'm not using AI for the spot for those uh those Kawhi swaps or anything like that so you know people are saying but the fact these photos are not AI they're not photoshopped they're not that and we can see Kawhi in a Toronto Raptors uniform forget that he looked like a superstar forget that he was a man amongst children out there on the basketball court just seeing him in the threads he could have sucked and I I'd be amped up and it's just a pleasure it is a pleasure to watch Kawhi he played a lot in that first half didn't play in the second half but uh Jacoby started the second half as we brought up but Jamal Shedd said it he told us or he told us directly he looks good I think he's getting used to playing with us and he's gonna get used to that pressure that we all apply and Kawhi looked aggressive out there on the defensive end we know he's a superstar on the offensive end but it doesn't feel real it it's preseason I'm too giddy for 11 30 at night after a preseason game where we played against the Knicks bench but I don't care if you someone tells me to calm down if someone tells me to chill out in the comment section send them right here send them a dm find their account send them a dm of Kawhi in a Raptors jersey and if that doesn't get you amp doesn't get you giddy I don't know what on earth I don't know why you're watching Raptors digest videos if you're you're not getting giddy about that because there's even more that we have to talk about right because the defense itself was it's a pleasure the toronto raptors have played an aggressive style of defense in the past couple of seasons and it's fun but we've talked about it right you know of course scotty it's one of the world-renowned defenders in the league they've had a lot of athletes they've had a lot of solid defenders on this team but the personnel hit or miss hit or miss in terms of elite defense we saw in the playoffs a bit you know Carl Morrie Bull's emergence Jamal Sheadick Jacoby Walter getting a ton of minutes in the postseason of course Scottie Barnes doing the stuff that he does but now with Kawhi in the lineup all the young guys just a year older AJ a portal that's looking relatively healthy i mean i get i get that the Knicks are were bad you know it's not the the championship Knicks right you had James Wiseman and you had uh Deuce Deuce McBride Bruce Brown Jose Alvarado like NBA players they they they they got nothing they got nothing going right 30 what how what is that percentage out there from the 38 39 percent 17 percent from the three-point line everything had to contest everything the number turnovers we forced 17 turnovers out there in this game it felt like more the defense was just absolutely nasty and that's what everything we've heard from this team right the Raptors regulars just dropped 42 points uh in the first quarter and the Knicks B squad with Barnes Leonard and Barrett combining for 32 of those points it it was crazy we had Jamal Shead like taking a look at some of guys out there on the defensive end right you know steals five points five assists for Jamal Shead but a plus 14 in this game he was a pest he was a menace out there on the defensive end he had Jakoby Walter coming out only one steal again but it's tough to show defensive stats but he also went four six on the three point line which is very very good to see out there for Jacoby so shout out Jacoby Walter but he was another just aggressive pest out there on the defensive end and Jakob Pertl this is the type of Jakob Pertl that we need to see do we is he ever going to be, you know, Mr. Switchable like Colin Murray-Bills, Kawhi, Scotty out there on the three-point line? Of course not. But the Toronto Raptors are running super hyper-aggressive defenses. Yaka Pirtle has to be able to protect the paint, has to protect the rim out there in that drop coverage. And the way that the Raptors are just so pesky, so aggressive out there around the three-point line, it leads to a lot of rushed plays out there for the Knicks. I get Jalen Brunson caliber players are not manning the basketball right now, so it'll be a better test when we actually get to see him against those groups people are rushed I don't care who you are you could be a hybrid of LeBron James and Michael Jordan if you have Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Jacoby Walter, Jamal Shedd, Colin Murray, Boyles all of these dudes being super aggressive on you you're gonna rush your plays you're gonna rush your drives and we need Yaka Pirtle to be able to do that cleanup and I thought he did a pretty good job out there in this game right so Kawhi Scottie disrupting passing lane CMB getting another mobile defender I'm writing the notes I on this game, Jamal Shedd just keeps the ball under pressure at all times at all times out there on the court, and there's a good point made out there in the comment section, so this is coming from Edward Chow shout out Edward Chow, but I don't think people realize how important bringing in Kawhi helps the team in terms of helping develop the defensive minded players like Colin Murray Boyles, Scottie Shedd, Jacoby Walter Bobby Webster said it, it will always be about fit, and this is 10 out of 10 in terms of fit, without a doubt couldn't have said it better myself so that's what's happening you know in this game and you know we're deep into this one and Kawhi is unlocking all these different guys that are out there on the court like Scottie Barnes RJ Barrett their games will never be 22 minutes for Scottie Barnes 8 of 10 shooting from the field misses one three-point shot was a plus 29 in this game 19.6 rebounds four assists he was getting i've never seen Scottie like have to work less for shots like we watched Scottie Barnes in the playoffs last season he was having to shoulder drive his way through the paint aggressively Kawhi Leonard he's taking the load of the defense man Kawhi's taking the load of the defense and then the guy that's going to benefit even more from this is RJ Barrett 17 points four rebounds three assists six of 12 shooting from the field but in a night where his jump shot was even a little bit off he just finds a way to be so effective scoring the basketball in different areas 22 minutes 17 points i i'll continue i'll continue this i'll continue this every video if i had to RJ Barrett is people talk about fit they talk about this they talk about that he just does is that third shot creator out there for this group and Emmanuel Quick we had a cold shooting night but still eight points three rebounds six assists plus 24 needs to be able to impact the game a little bit more when his shot isn't falling but all these guys are going to be leveling up this team, so amazing stuff there for the squad and as some people have put it right, shedding quickly, take care of business Kawhi, Barnes, Barrett, this is coming from Randy, Randy as Randy, but the only spot we need to focus on is the center spot, and of course, I talked about Jakob Pirtle a little bit, we signed Jamarian Sharp who looks like a very big man out there on the basketball court, Nate Biddle is still hurt one guy made his case made clear out there in this game today and Trace Jackson Davis really good he's a guy didn't get a lot of the he didn't get a lot of run with the actual regular rotation but in nine minutes he had nine points three rebounds i get it was in garbage time a little bit he had a couple of nasty blocks in this game as well trace jackson davis you know there's a case to be made for how the raptors you need more depth need someone to step up whether it's biddle whether it's jackson davis whether it's jamarian sharp whether it's Trey Jamison they need someone to be able to funnel minutes to at that back of center position because Callum Murray boils he's going to be playing a lot of the four alongside Jakob Pirtle and Pirtle's going to deal with foul trouble going to hopefully knock on wood nothing too true too dramatic deal with injuries over the course of the season we need someone to step up Trace Jackson Davis looks good visually a bit undersized but he looks good he looks good out there for this Toronto Raptors team so i uh i was very very uh happy with that and you know he finishes uh he finished like some of the points in terms of what he does right he finishes the chances that he creates he protects the rim without fouling he secures possessions on the glass and he can repeat it against regular rotation players so impressed with Trace Jackson Davis to say the least and the final thing I want to bring up is Allen Graves making his debut for the Toronto Raptors again Allen Graves first round pick this season there's a lot of hype a lot of potential and didn't have the greatest game statistically he missed a few shots he wasn't that he had some really bad missed threes but I like the confidence that he had hoisting up six he shot them very quickly he had a quick release but what impressed me most is just the intensity that this guy plays with he'd miss a shot he'd go follow his rebound get the ball tipped to just create an extra possession and even though it was only three rebounds in 15 minutes he just got his hands on everything and that was the scouting report that's what everyone was saying about it yes he rushed his shots a little bit yes he's been dealing with injuries and all that stuff coming into the game we weren't sure what his groin was going to be uh you know holding up but he was available for this one made his Raptors debut tonight and even though statistically it wasn't great he was the Raptors ninth man like he played in a lot of the meaningful rotation minutes for this game we could see that Darko Rajkovich wanted to put some lineups together that would actually get some run because I'd imagine Kawhi is gonna rest at least one of the next preseason games but Allen Graves didn't look out of place he looked a bit rushy you know he's rushing his shots a little bit but i was uh i i wasn't disappointed even though i'd like to see him knock down some more shots but the Toronto Raptors they play again you know they have a day off tomorrow but then they have two straight games Thursday and Friday against the Knicks once again and then against the Detroit Pistons we'll see how those go we'll see uh you know how they go and then really what i'm excited for is the 21st we get the debut we get the start we get the launch of the Toronto Raptors this year in meaningful basketball but from this game let me know what you guys think with all this what excites you most is it Colin Murray Bulls star upside is it Kawhi Leonard with Scotty Barnes that pairing or is the defensive ceiling for this team let me know in the comment section down below might get your comment featured out there in this video but folks i appreciate every single one of you that's tuning in the vids lots of fun stuff coming it's going to be an extremely exciting year and i don't want you to miss a single thing anyways i'm signing out cheers