Morning Coffee - Apr. 7, 2025

How this unlikely Raptors rookie class graduated with honours - Toronto Star
Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamison Battle and Jonathan Mogbo — with little in common other than desire, work ethic and now bright futures — are the enduring story of the soon-ending season.

And in many ways it makes no sense.

Try to find a common thread that bonds one of the most unique rookie classes in the 30 years that the Raptors have existed and it’s really, really, really hard.

What bonds Walter (a one-and-done collegiate supernova and NBA lottery pick) to Battle (who slogged through five years at three universities)? And how do they connect with Shead (who spent four seasons etching his name in University of Houston lore) or Mogbo (who had an underwhelming apprenticeship at Missouri State and San Francisco)?

Surely it’s not athleticism or pedigree, and it’s definitely not their backgrounds.

So, you search for what ties them into one neat, functioning, promising gaggle who seem to have beaten the odds collectively.

And after a season of seeing and interacting with them, and watching them grow and interact with each other and the NBA as a whole, the answer seems to be there.

They’re smart. They’re self-aware. They have no sense of entitlement.

They are willing pupils of basketball and life. It’s really been something to watch.

Here’s Walter: “All the free time that we have outside of basketball, I’m just getting to know myself. I think I realized I’m just hungry to learn more about everything. Kind of get a jump-start on life.”

And Battle: “The big thing for all of us is, we’re all so open, all wanting to learn and all wanting to find ways to get better. You can’t do it all on your own. You think that you can, but in reality you can’t. Every single person who’s had an impact on your life counts; that’s the beauty of it.”

Shead? “I have my family. I talk to my family every day. My mom sends me quotes every morning, sends me scriptures every morning. My family is helping me stay locked in.”

How about Mogbo? “Being respectful to everybody. Going to the facility, seeing everyone and going: Hey, hello, how are you doing? Just the small things. I think that goes a long way.”

No one knew how Walter would develop when the Raptors drafted him 19th last June, or how Mogbo would turn out as the 31st selection, or Shead at No. 45, or when Battle was invited to camp with no guarantee last September.

Quick Reaction: Nets 109, Raptors 120 - Raptors Republic
J. Mogbo - A

30 MIN, 17 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 8-9 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/-

First career double-double for Mogbo. At the start of the game, he struggled to guard Drew Timme who was playing his fifth NBA regular season game. But it was all uphill from that point on. Offensively, he mercilessly attacked the basket, showing his spin move and even a baseline jay. He squeezed a pass through a small window from the top of the arc, right into RJ’s hands, which then got kicked out to Rhoden for a wide-open corner 3 attempt. Mogbo’s assists are somewhat inflated due to Nets’ bad defensive awareness, but he executed on his playmaking opportunities. Defensively, he contested Watford as a roamer and tipped the defensive rebound to fuel a transition offense. Most impressively, he had a Boucher-like three-point block in in the last five minutes of the game.

Raptors Takeaways: Rookies continue to shine throughout hapless season - Sportsnet
It was the type of effort typically seen by a much more experienced group, led by players who've been there and done that in the NBA, and know how to take a punch and swing back. But that wasn't an option for the Raptors on Sunday as Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl all got the day off, leaving RJ Barrett as No. 1 on the Nets scouting report — and he finished with a modest 13 points on four-of-16 shooting while making just five of his 11 free throws — as he dealt with the extra defensive attention.

Instead, the youngsters stepped up —a positive sign for the Raptors front office, which wants to see the organization return to its roots from a development standpoint.

Sunday's game will likely be a forgotten win in a largely forgettable season. But if there's one thing to hold on to, it's that of the eight players who scored in double-digits for Toronto, six were either non-lottery rookies or undrafted guys. The hope is that this rookie class can be the lasting memory from a campaign filled with very few highlights.

So, for all the focus on where and who the Raptors draft in a couple of months, it's worth acknowledging that their first-year players have done their jobs in at least looking the part.

Thanks to a plethora of early season injuries and end-of-year emphasis on development (or lottery odds) over wins, the younger guys have been allowed to play together at the NBA level much more than anticipated. The Raptors are second in the league this season for rookie minutes and scoring and also first on both counts through April.

Toronto's rookies have also been all over the first-year leaderboards for their individual successes. Walter sits 15th with 8.6 points per game, Battle is sixth with a 41-per-cent three-point conversion rate, Mogbo is ninth with 1.7 offensive rebounds and Shead is third with 4.1 assists.

It's no bench mob 2.0 yet — the 2017 second unit ranked fifth in the league for scoring while this year's roster is 12th — but the "quadruple Js" are doing some good things.

Odds update: After beating the Nets, the Raptors are now 29-50, and their magic number in the reverse standings is 1.

Toronto is 3.5 games behind Brooklyn and if they win one more game or the Nets lose one, the Raptors can finish no better than the seventh-best odds. All the while, San Antonio is 3.5 games behind in the eighth spot and with one more Raptors loss or a Spurs win, Toronto can't finish worse than seventh.

With the seventh-best odds, the Raptors would have a 32-per-cent chance of landing a top-four pick and a 7.5-per-cent chance of jumping to No. 1.

Raptors rookies knock out Nets in lightweight NBA lottery bout - Toronto Star
A balanced offence helped the Raptors pick up a win Sunday, 120-109 over the Nets in Brooklyn to snap a three-game losing streak.

Coach Darko Rajakovic started three rookies, and the bench came through on an afternoon when no Raptor logged 30 minutes of action.

Jonathan Mogbo led the way with his first career double-double: 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Ochai Agbaji added 15 points and three rebounds, and Jamal Shead had a career-high 12 assists.

Toronto led by as many as 23 points early in the third quarter, and eight Raptors scored in double digits. Reece Beekman (14 points) was the high scorer for the Nets, who had five players with 13 points apiece.

Both teams, eliminated from post-season contention, were without several key players. The Raptors rested Immanuel Quickley, while Scottie Barnes (hand), Jakob Poeltl (hand), Brandon Ingram (ankle) and Gradey Dick (knee) sat out with injuries. The Nets gave Nic Claxton the day off with injured Day’Ron Sharpe, D’Angelo Russell, De’Anthony Melton and Cam Thomas on the shelf.

Raptors Lottery Spot Virtually Locked Following Victory Over Nets - Bleacher Report
The Toronto Raptors can no longer climb the draft lottery standings.

That doesn’t mean they’re entirely out of luck when the ping pong balls start bouncing next month, but Sunday’s 120 to 109 win over the Brooklyn Nets officially locked them into no better than the seventh-best lottery odds. At this point, it will take a good deal of luck for Toronto to move up.

Is it disappointing?

A bit. The Raptors had the third-worst record in the league as recently as late January. Just a month ago, they sat fifth in the lottery standings with a 42.1% chance at a top-four pick and a 10.5% shot at landing Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick.

But an 11–8 run since the start of March has chipped away at those odds, leaving Toronto in a tougher spot heading into lottery night. Assuming the Raptors lose at least one of their remaining three games, they will clinch the seventh spot, which carries a 32% chance at a top-four pick and a 7.5% shot at No. 1.

To their credit, the Raptors tried to hold their position.

They have rested Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett in alternating games for the past month, and have not hesitated to pull their best players late in close contests.

The problem was twofold. Scottie Barnes did not want to sit, continuing to play through a lingering right hand injury. On top of that, Toronto faced by far the easiest schedule in the league over the past month, which led to some wins the organization would rather not have picked up.

Take Sunday, for example.

Barnes missed his 17th game of the season and can now appear in a maximum of 65 games, the league minimum for award eligibility. Even so, the Raptors still could not out-tank the tanking Nets. Jamal Shead posted a career-high 12 assists along with nine points and a plus-31 performance in 29 minutes. Jonathan Mogbo had his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jamison Battle and Cole Swider each knocked down six threes as Brooklyn failed to keep pace.

The silver lining for Toronto is that several young players have stepped up and shown they can compete at the NBA level, even if the competition has mostly been against struggling teams. Shead looks like a capable backup point guard who should take a step forward next season. Ochai Agbaji has made progress as a three-point shooter and carved out a role as a defense-first wing. Battle also looks like someone who should be in the mix next season as a floor-spacing bench option.