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  • Let's welcome in China.

  • Yeogu, McKay to Talk Raptors, the defending NBA champions, have had a good start to the season today.

  • So what's been the reason for their success so far?

  • Well, I fell in love with the Toronto Raptors organization when I was working the G League showcase in Mississauga.

  • And there I watched Lorenzo Brown and Malcolm Miller in the D League with head coach Jerry Stackhouse that same night, playing a Toronto Raptors game as well.

  • So they played in two games in one.

  • I thought that ended like a You're in high school days.

  • But what I learned from this organization is that they have success.

  • They're great at nurturing and growing talent that starts from the top all the way down at the top.

  • You have the executive level with Messiah Jerry, who everyone says is one of the best game changes, right, and then it trickles down to the coaching unit nurse.

  • He was a G lead coach, obviously won a championship with the Raptors and orchestrated that trickles down to the players.

  • Paschal Seaq um was a D League finals M V P and champion Chris Boucher, who I watched ball out working the showcase.

  • He was a D League M v p.

  • So they are a farm system of talent, and I fell in love in the the coal in Canada, you know, homegrown talent.

  • That's the way to do it anyways.

  • Now there was a question of whether or not they would fall off a cliff when Kawai Leonard left.

  • How is his departure effective?

  • The team Welcome.

  • Why, everyone knows was a big piece of that championship.

  • But I think what he did he gave the Raptors validation.

  • Everyone from the coaching to the players you talk about Fred Vanvleet.

  • We talk about Pascal Seaq when we talk about Kyle Lowry, who we knew had struggles in the playoffs.

  • But the biggest reason why they're after struggled.

  • LeBron James, right?

  • So LeBron James, the way he sort of faced off and gave me the heebie jeebies just a little bit.

  • The Raptors, right now that they have a championship, you know they have validation.

  • One of my favorite phrases is you go through it to get to it.

  • The Raptors went through it largely, you know, at the mercy of LeBron James.

  • But now that they have a championship they've gone through, the highs have gone through the lows, and I think that they ended better for it clearly.

  • So where would you rank the Raptors among Eastern Conference contenders?

  • I would love to throw them in the top three, but I have them around the four or five position in the East, largely because number one has to be.

  • The Bucks combo is doing Number two, the Celtics Kemba Walker's addition.

  • He's the perfect fusion of, in my opinion, Isaiah Thomas and then also Kyrie Irving at the point guard position, being unselfish.

  • Also in underside score there, one of the biggest surprises of the season.

  • Now the 70 sixes in the rappers like I could go back and forth.

  • The only reason I give the 76 years is because they have a little bit more certified talent right between Ben Simmons and Drone bees.

  • But the Raptors are right in the mix now.

  • I know health has been a question for a number of their players, but if they're healthy, I would not want to play a team like that in the playoffs, you know.

  • So it's one thing to make the playoffs.

  • Another thing to go deep.

  • What's the one thing the Raptors will have to do better to make a deep run in the place they will absolutely need more center production, meaning Serge Ibaka is pretty much holding it down at the center position.

  • He's only giving you about 13 points per game.

  • Outside of that, Marc Gasol, six points per game last season gave you nine.

  • Not even that much, even though he's a good facilitator.

  • But number one first and foremost has to be getting making sure they could hold down the paint.

  • Now, I think pastel siac um, he's have him in the open court in transition and stuff like that.

  • But the center position is a position that I think a lot of people explain.

  • OK, we'll have to wait and see how they do.

  • This is a team that many people thought.

  • Would they be good?

  • We're not sure.

  • So far, so good for Toronto today.

  • Thank you.

  • Always thanks so much for watching ESPN on YouTube firm or sports analysis and highlights.

Let's welcome in China.

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