Raptors 905 77, Iowa Energy 104 | Box Score
Let’s start with some positives for Raptors 905 from Saturday, because who wants their Sunday to start off on a negative? Apologies for the delayed recap, but little sleep Friday, more half-marathon prep Saturday (17km, nearing my career high!), and Raptors-Heat going to overtime left me too zonked to watch this game last night. I haven’t even watched the WWE Network special yet.
Anyway, the positives:
*DeAndre Daniels was cleared to play with the team for the first time. He grabbed six rebounds in 14 minutes, and while he shot just 1-of-3 with two turnovers, it was clear he was geeked up for his debut and is going to bring a lot of energy to the team over the last few weeks of the season. He’s probably the reason to tune in between now and April 1, suddenly the most interesting piece on the team and quite a curiosity to Raptors fans nearly two years after he was drafted.
*Michale Kyser had another solid game with 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench, including a major put-back dunk in the first half. I mentioned early in January he was someone to watch if the 905 lost players, as the organization is pretty high on him defensively. He’s had a nice run over the last two weeks.
*E.J. Singler and Davion Berry had inefficient offensive nights but have hit the ground running in their first two games with the team. Berry even started Saturday, a night after Singler was a huge difference-maker in a win.
*For the second night in a row, the 905 made a stretchy Energy team do their damage inside the arc, closing out in a timely manner and getting hands in the way of 3-point looks. There were a few exceptions, but for the most part, Iowa’s 9-of-29 night and 19-of-61 weekend were indicative of improved effort in an area of weakness for the 905.
*Greg Smith got a second 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
*Axel Toupane scored eight points and had three steals in 19 minutes with Denver, his fourth good game in five appearances with the team. It also came in a win against Washington, which hurts the draft pick situation but, y’kno, take that, Wizards. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get another 10-day deal with Denver – his expired yesterday, and the Nuggets play again tomorrow, so check back here Monday for word.
*They get to play at the Air Canada Centre on Monday (at noon), which is probably pretty cool for them. It’s also convenient for your boy.
*The parent-club Toronto Raptors won an exciting overtime game against Miami.
If that seems like a lot of non-game positives, well, yeah. Save for a nice burst after getting down early, the 905 had one of their worst collective showings of the season. Here’s some of the bad:
*They scored nine points in the third quarter. I wouldn’t have guessed that was possible.
*Scott Suggs, who is probably nipping at a call-up, went 2-of-10 from long-range. I didn’t think any of those shots were particularly bad – sometimes you just have a bad night – and the 905 offense was playing poorly enough that they often had to toss it to their poised veteran to make chicken salad with only a few ticks on the clock. Sometimes, star players’ numbers look worse because of the load they face, and the 905 asked Suggs to do an awful lot against the league’s No. 2-ranked defense.
*Mardracus Wade, who got away with giving a “Suck It” crotch-chop after a three on Friday, got to trash talking again Saturday, and the 905 didn’t have enough to stop him (15 points), or D.J. Stephens (24). When you get rolled but Iowa’s best player, James Ennis, is fifth in team scoring, it’s a good sign there were failures all over the floor.
*The 905 still don’t have much of an answer for these five-out teams when Sim Bhullar is on the floor. That’s obvious and understandable, and opponents have been attacking Bhullar not so much by putting him in the high pick-and-roll where he’s forced to rumble backward, but by putting his man on the 3-point line and making the 905 choose rim protection or an open shooter. Bhullar can take advantage at the other end thanks to a major size advantage, but he’s not responding well to the active hands of smaller defenders and his overall impact has regressed over the last three or four games. It will be interesting to see if head coach Jesse Mermuys tries to surprise Fort Wayne on Monday by bringing Bhullar off the bench, allowing Mermuys to better pick and choose Bhullar’s matchups and avoid starting games at a defensive disadvantage.
*Bruno Caboclo was 3-of-10 for a 10-4-4-2-4 line. I’m not even sure if this should in the negatives because he did a lot of non-scoring things, bringing some quality help defense and making a few nice finds off the bounce. The shot selection, though, continues to be a work in progress.
*Twenty team turnovers, 11 of them live-balls, for 28 opponent points. You just can’t make things this easy for the other side. But we’ve talked about that after almost every game this season, so let’s not rehash it.
They’re back at it early Monday from the ACC. Enjoy your Sundays, everyone.
