Photo Credit: Matt Azevedo/MattAzevedo.com
Raptors 905 103, Fort Wayne Mad Ants 121 | Box Score
Assignees: Bruno Caboclo, Fred VanVleet, (905), None (Mad Ants)
It turns out an early-season loss to remind them how far they still have to go wasn’t a preventative cure for future poor showings for Raptors 905. Coming off their first loss of the season, the 905 spent the bulk of their Tuesday on their heels at the Hershey Centre, with the visiting Fort Wayne Mad Ants opening an early lead and seeing it swell over the course of the game.
The 121-103 loss is not only a secondary reminder that the sophomore 905 are not quite at the level their 3-0 start might suggest, but that they have a long way to go before head coach Jerry Stackhouse is pleased with the performance on the defensive end. The Mad Ants shot 51 percent in this one, led by 23 points each from Travis Leslie and Alex Poythress, and the 905 struggled to contain the 3-point line basically from the word go. The Mad Ants would finish hitting an unsustainable 15-of-32 from long-range, but a fair number of those were clean looks, and Stackhouse is sure to point to the transition game (11 fast-break points and 22 points off of turnovers) as an area for improvement.
To be clear, the Mad Ants can score. They improved to 6-0 with the victory and came in averaging 117 points and 24 assists. They stood as a solid test for what’s been a strong 905 defense to date, even with room for improvement. But that improvement didn’t come Tuesday, an issue exacerbated by some poor defensive rebounding and a poor comfort level for three of the starters. They got out to a 15-6 deficit, and once they settled in, Fort Wayne had found a groove. The starters cut the lead from 15 to nine early in the second half with Stackhouse tweaking that group (Edy Tavares and Jarrod Uthoff started for Yanick Moreira and Bruno Caboclo) and leaning on some key stops to push the transition game and Tavares’ gravity inside, only for the lead to jump back to 20 as the bench filtered back in.
At least there was still reason to tune in as the game wore on and the lead ballooned, courtesy of Tavares.
Caboclo, in particular, struggled in this one, shooting 1-of-6 from the floor and making some shaky reads as he oscillates between the forward positions. He also made a few curious decisions borne of the right intent, like saving a ball under the opposing basket or over-helping off of his man to try to make a play. Stackhouse has been clear that starters will be determined by defensive performance, and Caboclo sitting to start the third quarter was likely a message about his attention to detail and engagement. There’s not really a deeper Caboclo analysis to make here – his shot wasn’t falling, and he was a non-factor on defense. That’s fine sometimes, but it’s at least a little disappointing to only see him impact the game in a major way in really just one, maybe two games out of five so far.
The lone starters to find a groove were Fred VanVleet and E.J. Singler, who scored 19 and 17, respectively, but couldn’t play to a positive. Singler’s shooting was the team’s primary offense as they sputtered out of the gate (he scored 11 in a hurry in the first quarter), and VanVleet’s attacking mentality was a big factor when the offense stalled out. The message will likely be that defensive performance is shared across everyone, though, and there’s little getting around the lack of groove these two could score the team into. The 905 tried to mount a comeback late as Stackhouse went deeper on his bench, but they weren’t able to gain any traction, even as they slowed the Mad Ants offensively down the stretch.
These nights happen in the D-League, as much as it can seem dismissive to write off a poor performance to that reality. The 905 had their worst defensive showing of the season to date against a very good offensive team, and they now know they’ve got some ground to make up before they can trade elbows with the D-League’s elite. Like the parent club they mimic, offense is going to come given the talent, and the 905 need to be permanently aware of fighting off the urge to engage in a shootout or rest on their scoring. These aren’t crimes of laziness or preparation, of course, they’re just part for the course over 50 games. Given how Stackhouse has quickly earned a reputation for his tough practices, Wednesday’s final practice ahead of a Thursday-Friday practice figures to be more arduous than their recent team-building Zumba excursion.
The 905 are still off to a good start at 3-2, and they’ll get another shot at the Mad Ants on Thursday at 7:30 at the Hershey Centre. It stands as a nice test of how much a team can learn from one game and how quickly they can change the script with a better foot forward. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of lessons you want guys fighting to learn, anyway.
Notes
- I watched on delay due to a scheduling conflict, so apologies for the late recap. This was…not the best game to fire up at 10:30 p.m., that’s for certain.
- I’d expect Caboclo and VanVleet to be recalled for tomorrow’s NBA game, then re-assigned Thursday. The decisions get dicier, at least in the case of VanVleet, come Friday, when the Raptors will have to decide whether he heads out on the 905’s first road trip of the season or remains with the parent club for additional depth.
- Update: They’ve been recalled.
- Axel Toupane sat due to an ankle issue, and the team really missed his defensive versatility. Will Sheehey had earned the chance to start with his play off the bench so far, but he didn’t have his sharpest offensive game in response. His activity in passing lanes and as a general annoyance around the ball continues to impress, though.
- The bench unit as a whole was decent once again, although this may be the first time almost every reserve played to a minus (save for Antwaine Wiggins, who was foul-prone in this one but looks like a legitimate defensive prospect). Whether propping up the second unit or as a starter bridge between groups, the 905’s reserves struggle some without Toupane to work across positions and as a secondary ball-handler.
- That’s not to discredit the performance of Jarrod Uthoff, C.J. Leslie, and Brady Heslip, who all had strong offensive showings but couldn’t find their usual groove defensively. Leslie continues to be a presence inside and out and even flashed some intriguing passing skill in this one, while Heslip hit four threes en route to 16 points and Uthoff was a foul magnet in putting up 16-and-8.
- Former Toronto Raptors Julyan Stone was pretty great in this one, dishing 13 assists as he broached a triple-double with an 8-7-13 line. He’s really improved the release on his jumper and his vision as a ball-handler since we last saw him. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone kicks the tires on him during 10-day season.
- Lucas Nogueira was in attendance for this one, taking photos with fans during halftime. Pascal Siakam was in the house, too.
- There was a long delay coming out of half due to a clock issue. The scorer’s table than ran the shot clock with a stop-watch and yelled out the count from 10 seconds down. The D-League, man.
