Photo credit: MattAzevedo.com
In just their second season of existence, Raptors 905 are headed to the postseason. For as large an accomplishment as this is, it’s almost an understatement. The 905 finished the 2016-17 season with the best record in the entire D-League and the second-best D-League record of all time. Naturally, then, they’ll enter the playoffs as a favorite, at least to come out of the Eastern Conference.
But the D-League playoffs bring with it some threats, and unlike the NBA counterpart, there’s far less assurance that the best team will move on if not properly dialed in. Head coach Jerry Stackhouse has quickly earned a reputation for having his charges permanently locked in, and with four days off between the regular season finale and Game 1 of their opening-round series, it’s a safe bet that Stackhouse and staff had the 905 back to their common two-a-days.
The goal here is a championship. Standing in the way of the 905 first are the Canton Charge, the D-League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here’s a look at how the series sets up.
The Format: In an interesting D-League wrinkle, the team with home-court advantage hits the road for Game 1 of each series before returning home for Games 2 and 3. With a best-of-three format, the D-League’s aim is to minimize travel, and that presents an unusual playoff format that has players and coaches a little split. The 905, with the best road record in D-League history (21-4), are supremely confident heading into another team’s arena and taking a game. If they do, they’ve got two chances to close out at home. Lost that first game, though, and suddenly you find yourself desperate, backs against the wall before you’ve even enjoyed the spoils of your home-court advantage.
The Schedule, How to Watch, and a Ticker Discount!): The 905 open on the road Wednesday before returning home for games Saturday and, if necessary, next Tuesday.
Game 1, Wed. April 5: 905 @ Charge, 7 p.m., on ESPNU and Facebook Live
Game 2, Sat. April 8: Charge @ 905, 7:30 p.m., on NBA TV Canada and Facebook Live
Game 3, Tues. April 11: Charge @ 905, 7:30 p.m., on NBA TV Canada and Facebook Live
Raptors Republic readers can use the promo code REPUBLIC905 for a discount on playoff tickets (if this link doesn’t work at any point, the code should still work at check out).
Season Series: The 905 and Charge met four times this season, with the 905 taking the season series 3-1. Here’s a brief look back at each game:
- Dec. 2 (Canton): 104-72 905 win. Axel Toupane scores 32 points. Recap.
- Jan. 4 (Mississauga): 109-99 905 loss. Quinn Cook scores 35 points. Recap.
- Jan. 31 (Canton): 93-86 905 win. Brady Heslip scores 22 points with six assists. Recap.
- Feb. 11 (Mississauga): 118-88 905 win. Jared Sullinger goes 16-10-5. Recap.
The Tale of the Tape: The 905 nearly drew Fort Wayne in round one, which would have made for a more interesting clash of styles. Canton is somewhat more similar to the 905, and frankly, they’re better than the Mad Ants, so that one-game separation fell the wrong way for the 905. Canton doesn’t rank too far behind the 905 in most categories, but they do rank behind them in pretty much everything. The 905 are the best rebounding team in the league, within a hair of being the best defense, and they move the ball and shoot threes better than almost anyone. The Charge do some of those things well, too, and were a better team than their record suggests, but it’s hard to find a distinct advantage for Canton unless they can really dictate the pace and get the league’s slowest team out of their comfort zone grinding things out.
NBA Assignees: There’s going to be a fair amount of NBA content in this series, which should make for a more interesting matchup. NBA teams have the option to assign players to the D-League for the postseason, and there are good arguments in favor of doing so, even if it does take some opportunity away from full-time D-Leaguers. For the 905, it’s been a steady up-and-down of with six different assignees this year, while the Charge have seen somewhat less involvement. While the 905 have gotten 64 games from NBA players, the Charge have had just 15. The Charge have had more success in terms of call-ups, though, with Quinn Cook (39 games) twice earning NBA looks, while the 905 only saw Axel Toupane get a few days with the Milwaukee Bucks. For this series, the Charge have but one assignee, the 905 two.
Kay Felder, Cavaliers assignee: The lightning-quick, fast-twitch, Twista of a point guard should pose a major problem for the 905. With no point guard on assignment from the Raptors, the task of containing Felder will fall to the whole team in support of Brady Heslip and John Jordan. Felder’s quickness in the pick-and-roll will challenge Edy Tavares, too. In 11 D-League games, Felder averaged a ludicrous 29.9 points, shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 36.4 percent on threes, and 82.6 percent on his 7.8 free-throw attempts. He also chipped in six assists and 1.5 steals. He’s a problem.
Larry Sanders, not assigned: There was some confusion and speculation as to whether Sanders would be available to Canton. At first, it was a no, then a yes, and now a no again – he’s been recalled as insurance with Tristan Thompson down with a thumb injury.
Bruno Caboclo, Raptors assignee: Caboclo will get his first taste of real postseason experience since his days in Brazil, a nice learning experience. The Charge figure to help off of Caboclo pretty freely at the offensive end, as the 21-year-old is yet to really refine himself as a weapon at that end of the floor. He is, however, shooting 33.1 percent on 4.6 threes per-game, so Canton will at least have to be aware of his quick trigger. Defensively, Caboclo has made a lot more strides. With a stronger build and improved awareness, Caboclo’s become a plus team defender and a quality check on the perimeter. He’s averaging more than a block and steal, and he’s gotten much better in help-and-recover scenarios and identifying opportunities to help the helper. Because of the injury to Will Sheehey, Caboclo may stand to play more small forward than power forward in this series. He’s here for the playoff long-haul.
Pascal Siakam, Raptors assignee: Siakam has been dominant whenever he’s been assigned. After spending the first half of the season starting for a 50-win NBA team, perhaps that’s not surprising. But Siakam also spent a long stretch on the bench without much D-League timer, and so it’s been encouraging to see him hit the ground running as a two-way force at this level. In five games, he’s averaged a team-high 18.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks, and he’s even hit 6-of-12 from long-range. It’s a small sample of time, but he leads a very good 905 team in PER, and the 905 have outscored opponents by a team-best 24.8 points per-100 possessions with him on the floor. He figures to remain on assignment unless something changes at the NBA level and his services are required.
Fred VanVleet, not assigned: Unless Kyle Lowry returns to the lineup by Friday, it seems unlikely that VanVleet will join the 905 for the postseason. If Lowry’s healthy, VanVleet returns to his fourth point guard role, but until that time, he’s on the fringes of the NBA rotation. The 905 could certainly use him, as Heslip and Jordan aren’t nearly the defenders he is, and the loss of Sheehey would make having an extra guard a nice luxury. But the NBA comes first, and VanVleet’s services are required up there for the time being. If he does draw the assignment at any point, he’d immediately slot back in as one of the team’s on-court leaders, leaning on ample NCAA Tournament experience in this quick-elimination format. In 16 games with the 905, VanVleet averaged 16.9 points, 7.6 assists, and 1.5 steals while knocking down 40.7 percent of his threes.
Depth Charts and Key Non-Assignment Players: With only three assignees between the teams, a big onus is obviously going to fall on the D-League regulars. The Charge have lost Cook to the New Orleans Pelicans, while the 905 lost the very important Sheehey to a dislocated elbow. It seems unlikely an NBA team would reach into the D-League for a call-up with fewer than 10 days left in the NBA season, but Toupane, Tavares, and John Holland would be poaching threats if a team did. Barring that, here’s how the teams stack up.
John Holland, Charge: Averaging 22.9 points on a 48.1/34.6/88.1 slash line, Holland represents a major problem as the team’s de facto point forward. The 28-year-old has the ball in his hands a lot, and he’s shown nice flashes as a playmaker in that role, averaging 3.1 assists and creating opportunities along the perimeter with the attention he commands on his way to the paint.
Eric Moreland, Charge: One of the D-League’s best rebounders (12.2 per-game), Moreland presents a nice battle opposite Tavares. Those two will be engaged in a war inside, and even though Tavares holds a major size advantage on the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Moreland, few players embrace that sort of challenge the way he does. He’s also shooting 56.1 percent from the floor, averages 2.7 blocks, and has really become a complete contributor. At 25, the former Sacramento King should be in the mix for one of those hybrid roster spots that are coming next year.
Justin Johnson, Charge: His role has been somewhat inconsistent and he’s dealt with some injuries, but in 20 games, Johnson is shooting 47.8 percent on 2.3 3-point attempts per game. Between him and Cameron Jones (43.8 percent), the Charge have some nice options to fire away if they need to come back quickly, though they’re a mid-level 3-point shooting team (36.5 percent) overall.
Edy Tavares, 905: One of the best performers in the entire league all season, the 905 have been able to capably gameplan around Tavares’ lack of foot speed on the defensive end and unleash him as a serious two-way monster. Tavares is a smart, game defender, even when pulled away from the rim some, and stretchier opponents than the Charge still haven’t been able to consistently take advantage of any matchup problem there. Tavares staying on the floor has been huge, because his per-minute production is incredible: In 23.6 minutes, he’s averaging 10.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks. He’s also shooting 59.1 percent from the field and is a capable enough free-throw shooter (71.4 percent) to neutralize any threat of a hack-a-whoever. Among 905 regulars, nobody has a better net rating than Tavares’ obscene plus-20.5.
Brady Heslip, 905: Only once in D-League history has a player drained more threes in a season than Heslip did this year. With the ball in his hands more as a point guard and a number of neat pet plays to get him clean looks (elevator doors, swoon), Heslip has a permanent green light and hasn’t been hesitant to use it. He’s hit 41.8 percent of his 9.1 (!) 3-point attempts per-game. His skills as a point guard have improved since the beginning of the season, too, and while Heslip still needs some help at the defensive end, he’s been able to post the second-best net rating among regulars (plus-14.6), finding a really nice chemistry with Tavares on the offensive end. If you’re Canton, you basically have to be selling out to keep Heslip off the line in this series.
Axel Toupane, 905: The recipient of a call-up in back-to-back seasons, the 24-year-old is really as close to the NBA as a player can be. He’s also the 905’s best player, a strong, quick, defender capable of guarding any position one-through-four. He’ll probably even see time helping out on Felder, shifting Heslip to a wing. Offensively, Toupane’s operated primarily as the leader of the second unit, coming off the bench in 23 of his 36 appearances and still putting up strong numbers. A terror in transition and a magnet for fouls, Toupane averaged 16.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while posting a 60.7 true-shooting percentage. When Stackhouse needs a basket, Toupane’s the guy he calls on, running their Loop 2 set frequently or having him inbound to Tavares at the elbow and immediately cut around him for a dish.
Prediction: 905 in 2.
Looking Ahead: In the other East battle, the Maine Red Claws square off with Fort Wayne Mad Ants in a battle of creepiest mascots in sports. Out West, the L.A. D-Fenders draw the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Oklahoma City Blue take on the Santa Cruz Warriors.
