Photo by MattAzevedo.com
Raptors 905 135, Grand Rapids Drive 122 | Box Score
Assignees: None (905), None (Drive)
Raptors 905 were not going to let the Grand Rapids Drive ruin another major event for them.
After the Drive rained a ludicrous number of threes to blow the 905 off the floor at their Air Canada Centre morning game earlier in the season, the 905 were sure to push the Drive early at their D-League Showcase encounter on Wednesday. The second game of the entire tournament saw the two assignment-free teams wage war in an all-offense affair, with both sides neglecting defense out of the gate. The Drive leverage the speed of Ray McCallum, the scoring of Kevin Murphy, and the Steezusness of Jordan Crawford to pile up points, and the 905 entered knowing their best defensive efforts may still require a lot of points in support.
Consider the 905 willing. An even first half saw the 905 build a 36-33 lead, an edge they’d push to six points at the half. It was coming out of the break that a flip got switched and their defensive intensity started to mimic their offensive approach. Head coach Jerry Stackhouse leaned on his ample depth to keep the energy level consistently high on the floor across all positions, and the 905 shooters found a nice groove thanks to some terrific drive-and-kick ball movement.
Almost in a blink, the 905 were up 20, with six players in double figures halfway through the third quarter. With E.J. Singler and Brady Heslip spacing out and knocking down far-too-open triples, Axel Toupane was able to attack seams, Edy Tavares and C.J. Leslie got to work around the basket, and Will Sheehey filled in the gaps. Jarrod Uthoff made it seven in double-figures shortly after. For as good as the 905 have been this year, it sometimes gets lost in the individual numbers just how much talent here, and it’s fitting that the dominance of Stackhouse’s all-for-one approach was on full display at the Showcase. The team’s depth doesn’t mean the individuals aren’t thriving, and with the ball touching three or four sets of hands each possession, each contributor was able to show a little bit in front of an indeterminate number of scouts and executives.
It’s the Showcase for the Drive, too, though, and they refused to wilt. The back half of the third quarter saw them chip the lead back down to 11, and with the amount of scoring firepower they possess, that’s a scary margin. Crawford started gunning – shocking, right? – and the Drive offense took advantage of the early-fourth bench-heavy group. Ismael Romero kept things rolling with a steal, a transition dunk, and then another dunk from a post-up, Ray McCallum followed with an impossible and-one, and Crawford forced Stackhouse to burn a timeout to settle things after a double-pump dunk in transition.
It was with the lead back down to single-digits that the 905 founds their close-out gear (Heslip’s pull-up threes over screens in semi-transition are the clutch, if you were wondering). The Drive had left themselves too big a hole, and the 905 were unwilling to offer them a hand out, even with both of their centers fouled out of the game.
It’s perhaps not the way Stackhouse would like his team to win, preferring a more staunch defense-first approach, but the coach is also realistic about the opponent and the environment they’re playing in. Even with 122 points allowed, the 905 did some things better, holding the Drive to 9-of-24 from the 3-point line after they hit 24 in the previous outing. They also hit 15-of-30 on their side of things, a nice supplement to the 53 free-throw attempts they tallied as their ball movement scrambled the Drive defense.
“Not really,” he said when asked if the intent was to match threes with threes. “Our plan was just to share the ball and take what the defense gives us. That’s a really tough offensive team. I thought we did a good job of making them make tough shots on us, and we did a good job of sharing it ourselves.”
The sharing manifested itself in 26 assists and the seven players in double-figures, and their bigs, while available, helped swing the rebounding edge strongly in the 905’s favor. Heslip kicked in six assists to go with his 19 points, Toupane lived at the line on his way to 23 points, Tavares had a 16-and-11 double-double, and it continues down the line. The 905 were no different than they normally are, leaning on depth and cohesiveness over any individual dominance, even in the Showcase, and that speaks to the thorough commitment to the approach and the belief that a rising tide will lift all of these boats.
“Nothing really changes for me,” Stackhouse said. “The ball is moving. A lot of guys are getting opportunities to showcase themselves. It’s what we’re here for…Everybody is here watching these guys and seeing that they can fit in a team concept.”
A month after being summarily out-shot in a game that meant a lot to them, the 905 flipped the matchup and won an even more important rematch, at the same time beating Grand Rapids at their own game but staying staunchly themselves. As far as showcasing the story of the 905 season so far, it would be tough to imagine a better game.
Notes
- I’ll be writing about this in greater detail tomorrow, but if Axel Toupane isn’t signed by an NBA team in the next few weeks, I’d be shocked. His game is so smooth, his defense so versatile that I don’t see why another NBA team wouldn’t take a shot.
- It’s hard to know exactly how much to put into this type of thing, but in talking to a handful of attendees at the Showcase, the name that came up the most was definitely Edy Tavares. He would probably stand to benefit from continued development in the D-League, as the work the 905 have been doing with his defense remains in-progress, but at his size and with his touch around the rim, it’s easy to see why people are at least curious. After Toupane, he may be the most likely to get a call with the 10-day window open.
- Elsewhere, Ray McCallum has to be pretty close to the top of the list if an NBA team needs a point guard. He’s really, really good.
- The Raptors opted not to assign any players for the Showcase, feeling it’s an event meant for the D-Leaguers to get noticed. That is, in my opinion, the right approach, though other teams who have chosen to assign players for work are certainly within their rights to have done so. Bruno Caboclo, Fred VanVleet, and the rehabbing Delon Wright are all with the parent club on the road as a result, with their next chance at getting in 905 game coming Jan. 25 in Mississauga.
- If you wanted to go to said game – or the 905’s Friday night Showcase game – you can go to this link and use the promo code REPUBLIC905 all season long, as the 905 are hooking RR readers up with discounted tickets (including for the Air Canada Centre game in March).
