The Toronto Raptors head into 2025 healthy, and looking to put the hell year 2024 behind them. In Episode 1778, Sean Woodley is joined by Katie Heindl (Locked On NBA Newsletters, Basketball Feelings) to ring in the new year with a round of Toxic Positivity Friday, where they chat about the joy of watching Immanuel Quickley back with the team, optimism for the upcoming NBA Draft, and all the things that give them hope for the year that lies ahead. Off the top, they chat about Quickley's return freeing up the rest of the team to be itself, and the prospect of a roster being fully healthy for Friday's game for the first time in ages. Next, they get Katie's early impression of Bruce Brown's return, and Sean details his most toxically positive item going into the season: draft optimism! Lastly, Sean and Katie run through some rapid fire things they're excited for in 2025, including Darko Rajakovic finally getting a chance to coach the team as intended, a full year of Hot Take Heindl and more!

Join us on the Discord: https://discord.gg/5WzNRG3W

Locked On Raptors Newsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptors

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Show Theme Music: Keep Fallin' / The Passion HiFi on SoundCloud

The Toronto Raptors welcomed back point guard Immanuel Quickley and took down the Brooklyn Nets 130-113 as Scottie Barnes posted 33 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in the victory. In Episode 1777, Sean Woodley goes solo to react to the Raptors' first win since December 3rd, discuss the impact of Quickley's point guard skills being back in the Raptors lineup, how Scottie Barnes benefits from IQ's return as much as anyone, the rotation going forward once RJ Barrett and Bruce Brown return to the lineup and much more! Off the top, Sean sings the praises of Quickley's table-setting and outlines why he is more of a point guard than the scoring combo guard some folks seem to be projecting him to be. Plus, how Quickley helped unleash Scottie Barnes as the power wing he's meant to be. Next, Sean outlines his vision for the healthy Raptors rotation, who's on the outside looking in, and the question of what the starting five should be once the team is fully healthy -- potentially as soon as Friday against the Magic. Lastly, Sean digs into The Good (Jamal Shead, mostly), The Bad (the 54-point loss to Boston) and The Hmmm (having cake and eating it too) from the past couple days of Raptors basketball.

Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord server: https://discord.gg/5WzNRG3W

Subscribe FOR FREE to the daily Locked On Raptors Newsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptors

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Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
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FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Show Theme Music: Keep Fallin' / The Passion HiFi on SoundCloud

The year 2024 was not kind to the Toronto Raptors, who revamped their roster and lost a whole lot of games along the way. In Episode 1776, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob (Raptors in 7, Sportsnet, Sportscasting) review the year that was in Raptors hoops and run through their biggest takeaways, best and worst things, and their biggest surprises and disappointments from the last 12 months. Off the top, they get this year being one of transformation for the Raptors, how they executed their retooling around Scottie Barnes, and how they got back to their roots as a development-first franchise. Next, they run through the best and worst things from the year, with talk of Vince Carter night, Day 2 of the NBA Draft, untimely injuries and having to watch Jordan Nwora and Malik Williams play basketball. Lastly, they close out with their biggest surprises and disappointments from the year, including the Pascal Siakam trade return not looking terrible, RJ Barrett's transformation into an efficient scorer, the way things ended between the franchise and Siakam, and the abrupt end to the IQ-RJ-Pascal-Scottie-Jak version of the team that served up the best week of basketball the team played all year in the first week of the year.

Join us on the Locked On Raptors Discord server! https://discord.gg/5WzNRG3W

Subscribe for free to the Locked On Raptors Newsletter: https://newsletters.lockedonpodcasts.com/nba/raptors

Rocket RX
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FanDuel
The NFL Playoffs are almost here, but it’s not too late to get in on the regular season action with FanDuel because right now, new customers can finish the season strong with TWO HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Show Theme Music: Keep Fallin' / The Passion HiFi on SoundCloud