Episode 13: Rayan Rupert - Defensive Player Of The Year

Hey, hi, hello, and welcome to the red black comeback podcast.

My name is Dave.

I am one of the two hosts.

I’m one of the two co-hosts.

What do you think, John?

Co-hosts.

Okay, I’m one of the two co-hosts.

You were the other of the two hosts.

You carry more water than I do on most days, but it’s okay.

You know, I’m going to put that on my LinkedIn profile.

I am Dave.

I’m in Toronto.

I’m one of the co-hosts.

He’s Jonathan.

He is in Portland, Oregon.

He is the other co-host.

John, how are you doing?

I’m doing great, Dave.

I’m excited to get on this with you.

Okay, I guess let’s just get into it.

Season so far, it’s been a pretty interesting season.

At least I think so.

Do you think it’s been a good season so far?

Oh, yeah, it’s been so exciting.

I mean, honestly, part of the issue is my team is actually trying to win for once, so that always helps.

Okay, so why don’t we start with your trailblazers?

To any of the new listeners or people who are listening for the second time and maybe ignored the first time, Red Black Comeback is a podcast that was started because John’s in Portland and I’m in Toronto, and Portland has an NBA team and is about to have a WNBA team, and Toronto has an NBA team and is about to have a WNBA team, and both Portland and Toronto’s NBA teams were, at the point of starting this podcast, in some state of a rebuild, right?

And John and I sort of bonded over this idea that, hey, we’re both cheering for formerly great teams that have fallen on hard times and are trying to make their way back.

That’s kind of what the podcast is about.

Obviously, the WNBA season is over, so we’re not going to be talking tempo and we’re not going to be talking Portland Fire, probably until 2026.

Sorry, not sorry, it’s the NBA season.

But we’re very excited for Portland and Toronto to join the W.

We also don’t know if there’s going to be a W next year.

That is a different conversation for a different day.

Let’s go back to what we were actually talking about.

John, tell me, yeah, tell me about your team.

Tell me what you think of your Blazers.

Yeah, so the Blazers are in a pretty good spot.

I mean, if you look at their record as of this recording, they’re 6-7, which makes it look a little worse than I think they are.

They’ve had a few injuries that have impacted them quite negatively, missing Matisse Theibel right away, who, by the way, I saw in a coffee shop, he had a cast on his arm, and it was the nastiest cast.

It had like a bar and like two wires coming out of it.

So whatever he did to his thumb, they did some pretty major surgery on it.

Anyway, missing Matisse, missing Blake Wesley, who’s been an amazing surprise that I didn’t expect out of the gate.

Obviously still missing Scoot.

And so those are three really big impact players that we haven’t had for the last six, seven games.

Scoot, since the start of the season, of course.

But the thing that defines those three players so well and why their loss impacts the Blazers, even though they’re not starters, is the fact that they play at a super fast tempo.

And one of the things that Portland did coming out of the gate, which was amazing, was they pushed the pace on defense and on offense, but especially on defense.

If you watch any of their games, you will see a full-court press for four full quarters of the game.

They go at you hard, and they’re forcing more turnovers than any other team in the league right now, and it’s fantastic.

Looking at their record where they are, like I said, they’re currently 6-7, and if you look back at some of the games, most of those losses have come in the last five, six games.

And you could see it’s because their tempo was slowed down because they had a depleted roster, because they couldn’t keep up the pace through four full quarters, so it would slow down.

And I will say one of the things that is a definite area for growth for the Trailblazers is their half-court offense is honestly abysmal.

Whenever they get slowed down and get into their half-court offense, it just – it’s painful to watch, Dave.

Why do you think that is?

Because one of the things I definitely wanted to talk to you about was when Boston started trading away guys to get under the apron or whatever the reason they were doing it for, when they sent Chris Stapps to Atlanta, they sent Drew Holiday to Portland.

And I was one of the many people who was like, ah, Drew’s washed, and it’s just a thing so that Portland can get a veteran leader to help the young guys learn how to be good pros and spend the last couple of years of his career.

Yeah, I was very wrong about that because I think Drew Holiday’s been fantastic for all the reasons I just outlined obviously, right?

But also he’s been awesome on the court.

Statistically, he has been great.

So how do you square the circle?

How – like when I watch the Blazers and when I watch recaps and whatnot, I paid for League Pass this year by the way.

I paid for League Pass Premium.

I have never done it before.

I have been a dedicated – borrow somebody’s account or like watch the game in the bar and stream a game if I really, really wanted to see it or go to the game in Toronto.

But I bought League Pass this year because I just – it was relatively inexpensive.

I got this discount code.

And so I watch a lot of games.

And when I watch Portland, it’s funny because I think the same thing you do.

Half-court offense reminds me of the old Raptors, right?

They seem stuck in the mud.

And yet at the same time, right, they’re leading the league in pace or they’re 1, 2, 3 in pace.

You know what I mean?

And Drew Holliday’s having this great season.

So why are they stuck in the mud in the half-court?

It can’t be because it’s Scoot because Scoot is not a real point guard.

And if he’s going to be one, he’s not one yet.

So it’s not like, oh, last year we had Scoot Henderson, you know, that guy who’s not really a great distributor or a leader of the offense.

But now I have Drew.

So why is the half-court offense stuck in mud?

Is it because of the relative inexperience of people around Drew?

Or do you think it’s because of the Chauncey Thiago thing that we are going to have to talk about?

We don’t have to talk about it a lot.

But do you think they’re adjusting to Thiago or do you think that – yeah, why?

Yeah.

So, I mean, this is my theory.

This is my theory on the thing.

So I will say since Chauncey’s been here, our half-court offense has been terrible.

Like you go back every single season.

But, you know, some of those early seasons you’re like, oh, they’re rebuilding.

You know, the roster stinks, yada, yada, yada.

No, I think now that we have some solid players on our roster, you can see that Chauncey never put in place a solid half-court offense.

So the players don’t really have anything they’re building off of.

And, you know, to that end, you know, people sort of kind of gloss over the fact that Chauncey, before he was arrested, Chauncey had brought in Thiago to be their offensive coach, right?

So now all of a sudden the guy that was brought in to be the offensive coach has to take on head coach duties.

So he doesn’t have time to work with the players in that sort of one-on-one or group mentality for, you know, improving the offense or putting in a new system.

He sort of is just inheriting on the offense side, you know, what was already there.

I’m guessing that as the season goes, they will be able to add some new things in.

I’m really, you know, I know it’s a long ways out, but, you know, when we have the break at the All-Star Game, hopefully they can get some practices in there and get some things moving.

But yeah, I mean, Thiago is here because he’s supposed to be helping the team originally because he was supposed to be helping the team’s half-court offense.

And, you know, like I said, the proof is in the pudding.

They’re terrible in the half-court.

So, like, why do you think that is?

Because, like, one of the things I just like A.J.

Mitchell because, like, A.J.

Mitchell is this Belgian kid who went to, like, I think he went to UC Santa Barbara.

Go banana slugs, by the way.

I think he went to UC Santa Barbara.

And when they drafted him, like, a buddy of mine was like, oh, I love this guy.

And I watched a little bit of tape on him.

I was like, oh, I can see it too.

And it’s always like this conversation, oh, Sam Presti always finds the guys.

Aaron Wiggins was a 55th overall pick, like Bronny.

But Aaron Wiggins is a real deal, right?

Did you really just compare Aaron Wiggins to Bronny?

No, I compared two 55th overall picks.

No, I know.

Did you really just put them in the same sentence?

Well, I have to because they’re both 55th.

Like, or whatever it is.

Okay, so that’s the first.

The other thing is I wanted to address the threes.

Maybe he just needs to hold the ball higher.

Maybe that’s all it is.

Maybe it’s just like when he rips the rebound down, he brings it up.

But at the same time, you know, when that ball goes up, then the big guys who are jostling for the rebound can knock it out of his hands, right?

So I think this is like six and one half, it doesn’t the other.

But he’s young and he’s raw.

Yeah.

And he’ll learn.

And because Tiago Splitter was a big man.

Like, he’ll learn.

Yeah.

No, I mean, the good news is there’s upside, right?

I mean, the fact that he knows how to position his body and tell where the ball’s going, like, that’s the fundamentals.

Being able to hold onto the ball, hopefully that’s just something that can be easily tweaked and fixed.

Okay, so the other piece, though, is the three-point shot.

I actually don’t even know that that is anything to do…

I think it goes back to the half-court offense.

I think because of our lack of half-court offense, he ends up stranded out on the three-point line in the middle of the offense so many times that he ends up being the guy who couldn’t and the shot clock comes down.

I couldn’t agree more.

I could not agree more because this is why Raptors fans grew, like, so tired, you know, before we traded him in the championship year.

Raptors fans grew so tired of Jonas Valanciunas shooting threes.

And while he was still a Raptor, he’s now in the Celtics.

That was the same thing with Chris Boucher.

We always felt we, and I think we, like all Raptors fans, think the same, and they don’t.

In fact, a lot of Raptors fans don’t think at all, but that’s a different conversation for a different day.

Yeah, I think you’re 100% right.

I think that, like, when you get a guy who is not known for shooting threes, most likely a big, most likely a big lumbering big, like Klayon, it is not necessarily a choice.

It’s like a breakdown or a failure of the half-court offense.

And the thing is, I think that when Scoot comes back, it’ll change, but not for the reasons you think.

I don’t think Scoot helps spacing at all, but I do think that there’s going to be, I think having Scoot, okay, follow me around the room here.

I think having Scoot back is going to make Danny a better passer.

And also, what the, okay.

Yes.

You knew we were going to, okay, okay.

So you know where I’m going.

I just realized this.

What the fuck was that late end-of-game thing that Danny Avdia did?

Like, was he trying to, like, do a dame?

Like, it looked like he was trying to do a walk-off dame, Oklahoma City.

Like, this is my hero moment.

And it’s like, no, just go.

Just go.

We needed one point.

We only needed one point, whether it came from the free throw line.

And it wasn’t even a good three.

And also, Danny Avdia is big and bruising.

Go get fouled.

What the fuck are you doing?

Yeah.

Yeah, no, I don’t want to talk about that.

It was infuriating to watch.

I was so upset for you.

Okay, so with that as the room board, last topic for Portland, then we’re going to pivot to the Raptors.

But I want to say, first of all, we should have won that game.

Second of all, we should have won the game against the Lakers.

And third, we should have won the game against the Magic.

All of those games were 100% winnable.

And two of them, Dallas and the Lakers in particular, they were so depleted.

Like, they were running their third-string players, and we still couldn’t beat them because we were so off because we’re in the middle of a long road trip and we’re young.

Yeah, but also, is that playing down to love your competition?

Yeah, absolutely.

Good teams beat bad teams.

That’s something I’ve heard my entire life, and it’s true, right?

It’s not fun when an Oklahoma City goes to, like, fucking Brooklyn or something like that.

Or Portland.

No, Portland’s not a bad team.

Okay, so we agree.

You and me and three guys from the YMCA would take Brooklyn to, like, a seventh game.

Probably.

Yeah.

Anyway, all that to say, if those games had gone the way that they were trending and should have, and we had a more mature team that, you know, had better, you know, end-of-game play.

I don’t like this framing.

I think that the framing should be, next time, we will know how to.

Yeah, no.

And I’m just doing this because, like, I think you need those losses so that the coach can be like, remember Los Angeles?

Didn’t do that tonight.

Way to go, right?

So I think they’re necessary losses.

They’re learning experiences.

I don’t forget the losses.

That’s not what I’m saying.

My point I’m trying to make is if those games had gone the way they should have gone, Portland would be 9-4 now, which would put them, you know, third or fourth in the West, which is a different conversation.

Right now they’re 9th, and that’s fine.

And obviously we’re still only a fifth of the way through the season, and we’ve got, like, a quarter of our roster and our fastest part of our roster out, and they’ll be back by January, all of them.

So, you know, it’s going to look kind of scary come the New Year.

Yeah, no, I like what’s happening in Portland.

So let’s go to Toronto for a sec.

Your snapshot of the Raptors really quickly.

So before the season, everybody asked me, and by everybody, I mean, like, four people, they asked me what I thought about the Raptors' chances this season.

And I said, so the East is kind of depleted.

Obviously Boston has a weird year because Tatum’s hurt, and Indiana has a weird year because Halley’s hurt, and, you know, Cleveland has all the talent in the world, but there’s a reason nobody believes in them.

I don’t know what it is, but there’s a reason that nobody believes in them.

And so what do you think about the Raptors, Dave?

And I said, okay, so glass half full, like, really half full, fourth in the East, second-round playoff loss.

Glass half empty, eighth in the East, first-round playoff loss.

And the reason I said that is because I didn’t know which Raptors team I was going to get.

So if you look at the way that the Raptors are constructed, everybody’s concerned with spacing and offense in the half court.

Now I’ve always been a Brandon Ingram fan.

I was really, really happy about the trade.

I was really, really happy that he signed here because I think that half-court offense runs really smoothly if you have, like, you know, that floor general point guard type, right?

Or a team like of true veterans who, like, execute flawlessly, like the Celtics of the last handful of years, like Oklahoma City, right?

Because Shea’s not a real point guard, right?

Like Shea is a two who is playing the point because that’s just how it is.

And so I was, like, I don’t really worry about the fact that Emmanuel Quickly is not really a point guard because it doesn’t seem to worry Oklahoma City, right?

So if we can get to that place where everybody on the team is, like, it’s like point guard by committee based on who’s in.

Like, Scottie loves to – Scottie’s a pass-first power forward, right?

Like Brandon Ingram is a bucket, but he – and I’ll get into this in a second.

Like Brandon Ingram won that game last night against Charlotte for them.

And everybody’s going to remember a handful of things.

Everybody’s going to remember him absolutely crowning Ryan Kalkbrenner.

It was a tremendous dunk.

But the thing that I’m going to remember is the fact that Brandon Ingram hasn’t looked like that in, like, two years.

His athleticism looks better.

His compete level is high.

And the thing that I have always said about Brandon Ingram that a lot of people have argued with me with, they’ve been delightfully wrong, and I’ve told them.

Brandon Ingram looks like this sleepy, laconic, like, yeah, I just love being an NBA player for the threads and for the money and whatever.

Brandon Ingram is fucking psychotically competitive.

And he was stuck on that team in that city where NBA prospects go to die.

There was a moment where everybody’s like, oh, the Pelicans are the team of the future.

They have all these – they got Trey Murphy’s on the up and Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

And, oh, now we’re going to trade for Dewante Murray.

And they can never do anything.

And Willie Green just paid the price.

And I’m actually happy because Willie Green should be on a good team’s bench as an assistant coach.

Right.

Because they failed him.

Like the ownership – and fucking don’t even get me started on Dumars, man.

Like they traded – I still can’t believe how badly Dumars and Troy – it’s Troy Weaver, right?

The guy who was formerly in Detroit who’s now jamming over.

I can’t believe how badly they fucked him.

Anyways, Brandon Ingram came to Toronto and everybody like made all their Brandon Ingram jokes and whatever.

And I was just like, just you watch.

Just you watch.

Oh, you Again, Scottie’s a franchise.

Ingram is a huge max-ish deal.

You know, Emmanuel Quickly, max-ish deal.

Pearl’s making $20 million.

R.J.

Barrett is making like $25 or something like that.

We have our core locked up.

So what are we going to do?

Oh, we’re going to supplement or complement them with people like Shedd and like Colin Murray-Boyles and like Grady Dick, role players.

I think Colin Murray-Boyles has a star upside, but these guys are really, really good NBA role players.

And I’ve been talking for a while, so I’m going to let you just talk.

Yeah, so one thing you mentioned about Brandon Ingram that I was going to get to before you started going on your rant was one of the other things I love about Brandon Ingram is that he loves to have the ball in his hands, but he doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands.

You know, a guy that looks to pass.

I mean, you said this already, but I mean, you see it.

A lot of stars don’t have that, do they?

No, no.

He can be a star without having – I think you said it.

He wants to win, and he’s now in a position where games can be won, you know, being in that outcast team for so many years, lost in the desert, whatever.

But now, you know – and I think Scottie’s the same way.

And so to have two guys on the same team that literally can get a bucket any time you put the ball in your hands and say, get me a bucket, but then also to have that attitude that’s like we care more about winning than we do about making sure – Individual stats.

Like they got paid.

He got paid.

Right.

He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody.

He can just hoop.

Right.

And, you know, you said Brandon Ingram won the game, and he did, that last game.

But they could have just as easily called Scottie’s name, and it could have had the same result.

And I’m guessing Ingram would have been just almost as happy, you know, if Barnes had won the game for them.

The thing is, like, I think that – look, one of the things that I really like about Portland and Toronto is that people forget about them, so we can just watch them.

We’re not sitting here like, look, Blazers fans are not expecting this team to win the championship.

Raptors fans aren’t expecting this team to win the championship.

But if we have, like, a – I don’t know, like a 46-34 season.

No, 46-36 season.

Yeah.

Like, I remember what it was like when the Lowry, the Rosen teams started having the 40-44, 46, 48, 51 win seasons, and you were building towards something.

Also look at the East for a second, okay?

Like, in the East, like, the Pistons have been tremendous.

I’ve loved watching the Pistons.

I’m so happy for that franchise and for that city.

And I think we’re going to wrap it up soon, but one of the things I did want to talk about is the growth of Jalen Turin because if he doesn’t win most improved player, I don’t know what the point of that award is because Jalen Turin looks like a fucking superstar right now.

He looks – like, yesterday – this was November 17th.

If anybody wants to go and look, it was like – I think it was like two minutes left in the second quarter.

Jalen Turin, big lumbering Jalen Turin, did some pretty nifty, very confident dribbling and then shot a 17-footer, and it was just like, wait, he can do that?

Because the thing is, like, it’s only a little bit more space before – like, mark my words, Jalen Turin is going to start shooting threes before the end of the year, and he’s going to start hitting them.

You heard it here first.

You heard it here first.

Right now, Jalen Turin, 20.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, a steal, a block.

He’s shooting 67 from the field, and Cade’s been hurt.

His true shooting percentage is 72.

We’re looking at the next great American big man.

But again, anyways, so Detroit’s up there.

Detroit’s leading the East right now.

Cleveland’s right behind them.

Toronto’s right behind them.

Atlanta and the Knicks are right behind us.

So right now, the East is Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, Atlanta, Knicks, Sixers, Heat, Bulls.

And then the teams on the bubble are the Bucks and the Magic.

Now, the Magic have a lot of talent, but once again, like the old Raptors, they can’t hit threes even though they have Devin Bain now, and they can run off in the half court.

I don’t know why, but that’s the situation.

The Bucks I don’t believe in despite the fact they have Giannis because I like Ryan Rollins just fine, but he’s not the starting point guard on a great team.

The Bulls are weird, man.

The Bulls sometimes look so bad, and then last night they beat Denver in Denver, right?

Miami, again, Miami’s got a whole lot of talent, and they don’t tank, right?

They reload.

Jaquez, Wiggins, Norm Powell, Davion Mitchell, Kalel Ware, Bam, Nikola Jovic, Peli Larson is pooping like crazy.

Kasparov, Siak, Giannis hasn’t even played a minute in the NBA yet.

But my point was just going to be who’s better?

Like really, as a Raptors fan, as a Raptors fanatic, who do I think is really, really, really, really, really better than us in the East?

I think Detroit’s better.

I think Cleveland’s better.

I think the Knicks are better.

And I don’t know that I’m going to put anybody else above Toronto right now, right?

Which is not to say that when Boston gets Tatum back, they’re not going to be better.

It’s not to say that when Atlanta gets Trey back, they’re not going to be better.

It’s not to say that if Philly had a healthy Embiid and Paul George, they wouldn’t be better.

But right now, there are no more than three better teams in the East, both statistically, based on record, but also based on the eye test, based on everything I’ve seen.

And I’m an insomniac who watches three games a day because I have League Pass now.

They should really compensate me for talking about League Pass this much.

I’m just – I’m so happy.

So I agree with you.

I mean I agree with you on that general consensus of the teams that are better than the Raptors, with the exception of the Knicks.

And the only reason I say that is one thing that Toronto has that you haven’t mentioned at all is they – yes, they need Ingram and Barnes healthy to win.

But if any of the other players go down, Toronto is going to keep rolling, right?

The Knicks are just one injury away, as you can see right now with Jalen Brunson out.

They are just one injury away from – Well, Jalen Brunson is not the only one out.

Right, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

Their roster is thin when it comes to who they need on the court, whereas I feel like – tell me if I’m wrong, but I feel like the Raptors can take a couple of hits and keep rolling.

I mean like I see your point.

You’re not wrong.

But like Jalen Brunson, no Giannanobi.

Like hang on.

Let me just double check something with the Knicks just so I’m making perfect sense when I say this.

Make perfect sense, Dave.

So the Knicks are 8-5, right?

And they score 121 points a game, right?

They score 121 points a game.

And if you take away Giannanobi and Brunson, that’s – let’s see, 28 plus 16, right?

So that’s 44 points right there.

The third of their scoring goes away.

This means that guys like Jordan Clarkson have to pick up this flack.

Mikael Bridges has had a fantastic season so far.

He has to keep playing out of his mind while they have Brunson and Giannanobi out, right?

And Brunson is an ankle and Giannanobi is a hamstring.

But we’re also seeing – the Knicks are deceptively deep too, right?

Josh Hart can become a starter again.

Jordan Clarkson was a starter and he was the sixth man of the year.

Landry Schammett scored 33 points the other day.

Myles McBride always cooks on Jalen’s out.

Mitchell Robinson, Kirsten Yaviselli, Tyler Kolek.

This is a deep team and they’re free – I think that you need to get out of the idea that we’re thinking about the Thibodeau Knicks, right?

Because Thibodeau never played his bench.

So when the two starters went down, it’s like, oh my god, what do we do?

But these are the Mike Brown Knicks.

They do play the bench.

Schammett has been big.

McBride has been big.

Josh Hart has been big.

Jordan Clarkson has been big.

So I think the Knicks are better than you think because for the first time in a long time, you can actually see and watch their depth.

And I think depth is what wins long term.

I suppose.

But I also think they’re also older too and older players are more prone to injury.

Hang on.

I’m going to write this down.

Older players.

Anyway.

I think you might be right.

Yeah.

So I mean I think that’s – I mean again, on paper, yes, I believe the Knicks are a better team than the Raptors.

I mean you can look at …much detail, but suffice it to say there’s been stuff going on in our individual lives.

And I never want to be one of these guys who like, oh yeah, we record a podcast episode when we feel like it every now and then.

You know, like, we want to be able to, like, for the handful of people who listen to this, I actually don’t know how many people.

And John, please don’t tell me because I don’t ever want to know.

But we want to do one of these every week.

It’s just circumstances have conspired in both of our lives independently to deprive us of the opportunity to do that lately.

So as of today, November 18, 2025, we’re hoping to record one of these every week, bare minimum, and hopefully get to the point where people like the podcast enough that they ask us to record another one.

But I’m not going to do something like that unless people like we really like the podcast, because John and I can talk on our own time without being recorded.

But from Toronto, I’m Dave.

From Portland, he’s John.

We really, really love doing this.

So if you got friends who like basketball podcasts or podcasts or like, you know, need help going to sleep at night, redblack.fm, that’s R-E-D-B-L-A-C-K.fm is our home and you can subscribe to us wherever you subscribe to podcasts.

I don’t really know what people do.

All right.

See you.

See you.