Raptors 95, Rockets 87 – Box Score
The story of the summer league so far had been Norman Powell and it continues to be so. He had 19 points, 5 rebounds and shot 7-11 FG as the Raptors survived a lethargic start where they were down a dozen early to come back and take care of the Rockets. They were without rookie Delon Wright (sore right hamstring), and it looked early on that the shaky point guard play might cost them the game, with the Raptors committing 14 turnovers and giving up 17 points off of them inside the first 10 minutes.
Things soon normalized as Houston couldn’t keep up their frenetic early pace and pressure, and the Raptors talent helped them ease ahead. The game got tight late but some key plays from key players gave the Raptors enough of a push to see through, even though they ended the game on a low. I think Blake has pretty much covered all that’s needed to be said about Powell, so I’m left with scraps to work with. Hence, I’ll resort to video to paint a picture of what the Raptors, and specifically Powell, were up to.
We’ll start with Bruno, who misses a shot here but man, is this guy playing with some confidence? There’s no hesitation in his catch-and-shoot moves, and he’s comfortable going left when the defense shades him that way.
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Here’s something you would’ve never seen last year – Bruno catching it, nailing it, and then staring down a bench.
Speaking of going left, here’s Powell who is simply more mature and experienced than anybody else on the court. Back-to-back Sweet Sixteen experiences and that senior pedigree is paying off. I realize that he’s “supposed to” be better than a lot of these players just based on experience, but he’s looking like a man amongst boys out there in terms of skill, composure, and even athletic ability. I had picked him to be a non-factor in summer legaue and I was flat-out wrong.
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If end-to-end drive’s are your thing, he’s got you covered. I don’t think it’s premature to say that he’s impressed enough in just three games that if he doesn’t land on the Raptors roster, he’s going to find a home on an NBA team, so with two spots remaining, I say they belong to Roberts and Powell.
Andrew had made a great point on the latest podcast about how his 6’4″ height doesn’t really matter on account of his reach and wingspan, which stands at 6’11”. There’s no better play to illustrate that than this block he got at the end of the half despite being in a disadvantageous position. He also pulled down some contested rebounds and really surprised everyone with his activity levels, even though after two games they should’ve seen it coming:
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And if that sort of athleticism isn’t enough, he took it to the next level on the break by cocking it back and tomahawking it, which put any questions about his lack of height being an issue to bed when it comes to finishing hard:
Glen Rice Jr. (7-18 FG, 11-11 FT, 28 points) kept the Rockets in it and they were hovering around 7-10 points, but it was plays like these that helped pull the Raptors through. First, some great big-to-big passing between Roberts and Noguiera, which materialized in a great bucket after the former attacked the open space at the top of the key:
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There was Bruno actually venturing inside the paint and getting a fortuitous put-back:
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Here’s my favorite play, though. Bruno tries to dribble it up the court, gets trapped and loses it. Instead of pouting about a foul, he charges back and gets a great block and makes it look rather easy:
The Rockets made a run to cut it to three, but it was Lucas Noguiera that had the final say. First, after finishing again on a big-to-big pass with Roberts, and then staying home and making a sound defensive play – both of which are seen in the video below:
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Some quick thoughts:
Powell: Great at driving, excellent composure and seems to be a step ahead of everyone in reading what’s happening on the court. He only had one assist, and honestly, probably didn’t look to pass much either. He’s very hesitant on his three-point shot and prefers to drive, but I don’t think it’s going to keep him from the NBA this season. I would’ve liked to see him cover Glen Rice Jr. and see if he could bother him on defense, and it would allow us to get a slightly better sense of his defensive abilities, but really, he’s shown enough already.
Bruno: Long, lanky, full of confidence and totally afforded to play through his mistakes. He’s like a free-range cow, allowed to roam and do whatever he wants in the interest of getting fat, and it’s great. A poor shooting game from him (3-11), but at least he doesn’t look like completely lost out there. He moves his feet well on defense, and you can tell that he’s being coached to play the angles so that he can make use of his reach to contest the shot. Would like to see a bit more drive from him instead of settling for that three, but that very well could just be instruction as integrating him as a 3-point shooter is probably the easiest thing for the coaching staff to do at this point.
Bebe: Very active, positionally aware, and staying home on defense (4 blocks). The timing is a bit off on the rebounds but it doesn’t really show in summer league where he can just reach over guys to get the rebound as he did 13 times tonight. In the NBA, he’d get pushed around a lot more and definitely needs to get stronger to compete in the paint more. His mobility is great and he was able to pressure guards up top and recover, but that could be a false positive since the offenses here aren’t exactly efficient and take forever to move the ball, affording Bebe ample time to recover and setup.
Roberts: Smart player, willing passer, and very aggressive in tight quarters. He’s perfect end-of-the-bench material. Sorry, Chuck, but you’re out.
Honorable Mentions: Gary Talton had a nice run, finishing over traffic and setting up Powell a couple times. Phil Scrubb had his best game going 3-5 for 10 points, and doing some excellent ball-handling all game long, and negotiating Houston’s pressure well. Good luck to the Canadian.
Opposition: Obviously, Glen Rice Jr. stood out with his shooting and ability to draw fouls using that fake. Montrezl Harrell started slow but persisted and his physical presence is such that once the Raptors defense wore down, he was able to chew them up inside as Houston guards drove to deliver short passes in the paint. The guy could end up being a beast in the league and reminded me a little of a young Ben Wallace, or maybe Nene. I don’t know, it’s 1AM and Ramadan is kicking my ass.
Summer league has a five-game guarantee, so two more games to go at the minimum.
Last but not least, there were a couple Raptors fans in the arena who were loud and clear with their chants, purple jerseys intact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNE7IWgHAlU
They also interviewed Jonas Valanciunas in the first half and the big man spoke about extending his range, which was cute. It appears he’s being encourages to become a “modern NBA center” and move his game away from the rim. I honestly don’t know how I feel about that, except I don’t feel too good because we might be doing a square peg/round hole thing here.
Update: Full Norman Powell and Lucas Noguiera Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTwgb1A4_fM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-icMeBrJ-3k&feature=youtu.be
