If you’ve been checking in on Raptors 905 occasionally, you’ll be forgiven if the recap that follows gives you a strange sense of deja vu. Saturday’s afternoon tilt against the Delaware 87ers followed a familiar formula, with the 905 coughing up a significant first-half lead at home for the second consecutive meeting.
This time, the 905 pushed their lead to as large as 20 before letting it slip away for a disappointing 124-115 loss.
That lead was built on an incredible offensive first quarter, possibly the team’s best of the season, as the 905 shot 68 percent from the floor to take a 41-36 lead.
The defense was leaky early with the pace getting a little out of hand, but things settled when head coach Jesse Mermuys opted for a smaller lineup with only one traditional big man. The move put an additional ball-handler on the floor and allowed the team’s guards and wings to switch more freely, an absolute must against the destructive attacking duo of Sean Kilpatrick and Jordan McRae, a pair who torched the 905 for 68 points and 12 assists on Nov. 29. Defensive ace Axel Toupane helped settle things on that end, Bruno Caboclo got hot on the other side, and the 905 entered the break with a 71-57 lead.
Mermuys opted to stick with the successful five-man group from the second quarter, the one that helped hold Delaware to 21 points, to start the second half, shifting Keanau Post to the bench. The unit didn’t respond, and what had been the team’s cleanest half of ball control (three turnovers) gave way to a giveaway bonanza. McRae and Kilpatrick combined for 16 points in the quarter – Kilpatrick would put up 20 in the second half and 28 overall while McRae finished with 27 – and the 87ers pulled to a draw entering the fourth on the back of a 37-23 quarter.
It was a frustrating turn, as the 905 appeared to have ironed out their early defensive issues. They were getting higher on defensive pick-and-rolls, holding the 87ers to shots later in the clock, and declining to give them easy transition points. As the offense stumbled, it made things tougher on the defense, with some poor shot selection and a few over-aggressive passes leading directly to points the other way.
Still, they entered the fourth in a draw, with a good opportunity to learn how to close out.
Things didn’t play out that way, as the 87ers pulled away late. The 905 went 1-of-9 from outside in the final frame, committed three more miscues, and surrendered a few open threes that they had done well to eliminate earlier. Mermuys has talked about the necessity of teaching through losses but acknowledged after Wednesday’s win that victories can help galvanize and drive points home; learning how to close out a game seems like one of those lessons that will only be taught once they actually accomplish it.
“I’ve seen that movie before,” Mermuys said after the game. “Part of it is learning how to win. We’re not there yet. You’ve gotta learn how to win with a lead, how to play with a lead. And clearly we’re not there yet.”
For the second meeting in a row, the 87ers erased a major deficit to steal one at the Hershey Centre and leave the 905 searching for answers. Ronald Roberts, who scored a franchise-record 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in yet another monster performance, plans to make sure the 905 have their energy up late to prevent a third straight disappointment when the teams meet again Sunday.
“We want it really bad,” Roberts said. “It’s a matter of who wants it more, who has more energy. That’s the best way I can put it. I gotta talk to the guys, maybe I gotta talk a little more. Because they just have more energy than us at the end of the game.”
That might seem reductive, and the 905 may be guilty of playing with a bit too much of the bad kind of nervous energy, but perhaps the collapse fresh in their minds will prevent it from happening again and keep them sharper late. It has the potential to do the opposite, too, but there’s reason to think the 905 could be steadier Sunday.
That’s in part because Norman Powell played a somewhat uneven 41 minutes in his 905 debut. Assigned to the D-League late Friday after the parent club’s back-to-back, Powell got just four hours of sleep and then played 41 minutes, more than he had totalled at the NBA level since Nov. 13. For as talented as Powell is – and to be clear, he absolutely grabs your attention with his speed, athleticism, and energy, and he did some encouraging things Saturday – he’s played sparingly this year, and the adjustment to a full workload can be a tough one for even the most prepared players.
“A little rusty,” Powell admitted. “I felt it.”
There’s also the possibility he tried to do a bit too much. His two turnovers came on difficult passes to 3-point shooters off of baseline drives, and despite being lauded as a high-end defender, Mermuys pointed out some defensive miscues on Powell’s part.
“I thought he did some really good things with aggressive, physical play. That’s what he brings to the table,” Mermuys said. “I thought he had some bad defensive errors. Probably part of that is he hasn’t played major minutes in some time. 41 minutes, that leaves a lot of room for error.”
Along with the odd defensive lapse, Mermuys also pointed out Powell’s shot selection, which saw him take a few too many pull-up jumpers for the coach’s liking. He finished 9-of-22 from the floor for 23 points with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and when he was attacking the rim, the 87ers’ defense really broke down. Powell is a remarkably fast player and can put the ball on the floor with a north-south head of steam or attacking closeouts from the corner, and Delaware had few answers when he made up his mind to get to the hoop.
He also does things like this in transition:
Powell also made some solid defensive plays, and defense more than offense can be expected to have some rust without regular minutes. Mermuys and the organization correctly believe that Powell can be a high-end defender, but becoming one at the NBA level requires a great deal of experience.
“It’s going to take more than that to get a groove going,” Mermuys said.
To be clear, Powell played well. But assigned players are graded on a serious curve – Delon Wright had 12 points and 13 assists and the response to his outing probably would have been “shrug” – and expectations are understandably high. Powell needs some extra reps, and that’s one of the great benefits of having the D-League as an option for Powell. It should only help as he tries to carve out more minutes in Dwane Casey’s rotation.
He certainly has supporters rooting for him. Five members of the parent club – DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Bismack Biyombo, James Johnson, and Lucas Nogueira – showed up to root for their three D-League teammates, a surprise that really stands out to me. These guys just played the night before, on a back-to-back, and showed up for an early-afternoon game outside of the downtown area to support the younger guys. That speaks volumes to me, and it did to Mermuys, too.
“Those guys are awesome, big-time human beings,” he said. “For them to be here is a testament to the people that we bring in to this organization and the quality of people we have. Those are big time guys for showing up and we really appreciate it.”
Now it’s on the 905 to keep learning and building so that next time they show up, they’ll be able to watch their guys close out a victory.
