Fred VanVleet and Bruno Caboclo are going to have company at the Hershey Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The Toronto Raptors have assigned Jakob Poeltl to Raptors 905 of the D-League, the team announced.
The move always seemed logical if the parent club didn’t get back from their five-game road trip too late, as it presents an opportunity for Poeltl to get some work in on a day the Raptors wouldn’t be doing much anyway. This could be a trend all week, with the Raptors and 905 both at home and their scheduled overlapping.
Sat – 905
Sun – both off
Mon – Raptors
Tue – 905
Wed – Raptors
Thu – 905
Fri – Raptors
I’m not sure the team will get as aggressive as sending Poeltl up and down each day, but it would make sense as long as he’s not needed in the NBA rotation. VanVleet and Caboclo could be recalled for the home games, as well, and all three might wind up sharing rides for a schedule something like this if the Raptors want to get really aggressive maximizing their practice time:
Sat – 905
Sun – Raptors practice
Mon – 905 practice, Raptors game
Tue – Raptors practice, 905 game
Wed – 905 practice, Raptors game
Thu – Raptors practice, 905 game
Fri – 905 practice, Raptors game
In any case, Saturday is a good chance for Poeltl to get on the floor, something he hasn’t done much of since Lucas Nogueira took the backup center job back. The No. 9 pick has looked solid in his 132 minutes this year, showing encouraging signs as a rangy, versatile defender with some nice instincts on the offensive glass, but Nogueira’s been deemed a better option behind Jonas Valanciunas for the time being. As a result, Poeltl’s played just 16 minutes since Nov. 9, all of them coming in a game Nogueira missed due to the birth of his child.
In eight games, the Austrian is averaging 3.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 16.5 minutes while shooting 46.2 percent.
The 905 are now insanely deep at center for Saturday, to the point that they may deploy Poeltl or Yanick Moreira at power forward at some point. Outside of Moreira and Edy Tavares, the 905 have been aggressive going smaller and positionless, and they’ll probably be comfortable going big and positionless, too, so long as the Maine Red Claws don’t gum up the lane by cheating off of a trio of bigs who aren’t established as outside threats. Defensively, Poeltl and Moreira both have the range and lateral quickness to play at the four some, and with Maine not possessing a hefty bruiser outside of the 6-foot-8 Dallas Lauderdale, the 905 might be able to get away with it. It will be interesting to see how head coach Jerry Stackhouse manages the rotation.
He was only willing to tease about it before tip-off.
“I was just out there asking can any of them play the three? I’d like to put all three of them out there, Yanick at the three,” he said. “It’d be crazy. Everybody stretch they arms out and nobody can get to the rim. Put Brady and Fred out there, and it’s over.”
For Poeltl, he’ll just be looking to show what he’s shown when given NBA time – that he can defend in a variety of ways. Beyond that, holding his own in the post on defense and improving his finishing around the rim would help, though those are likely to develop quite naturally as he gains experience and strength. The rookie is good, and the benefit of the 905 is that he can keep his confidence up while shaking any rust off in case he’s called upon to contribute at the NBA level again soon.
“Drop it in the post, baby. That’s what the expectations are. We’re gonna get it to him,” Stackhouse said before the game.
Saturday’s game tips off at 2p.m.
(As a programming note, like with VanVleet and Caboclo, we likely won’t write a post for each up and down, especially if they’re only for practices. We’ll alert you to any assignments or recalls that could have an effect on either game – look for those in the pre-game news & notes on the Raptors side, or possibly as their own post if they’re deemed significant enough.)
