It takes a small window to establish a scoring run, and a good team can stretch that run and maintain their lead throughout the game.
After Drake Jefferies was penalized for trying to act like our beloved rapper with the same name, Memphis Grizzlies assignee Jake LaRavia hit a technical free throw to inch within one point. 4 minutes and 16 seconds left in the first half.
The 905 went on a 15-0 run to close the half, and never looked back. The Nowell-Simmons-Winslow-Mo G-Porter lineup helped establish this team, and each player on this lineup finished the game in double-digit scoring, including Kevin Obanor.
Justise Winslow stood out in this 15-0 run. He took point guard duties, attacked the rim, drew a foul, and made his free throw. Then, he took a charge (a pass-and-crash) from LaRavia. On the next defensive possession, Matt Hurt tried to go up for a two-handed dunk on the left side of the basket, but Winslow swooped from the weakside, and the southpaw used his left hand – his hand further away from the ball – for a massive swat. Not fouling Hurt was just as impressive as the block. Defence leads to offense, and this initiated Jontay Porter’s transition 3 while Winslow gave Hurt the stare down.
Winslow got a similar block later in the game too.
Defence was also fuelling offense for Mo G. He had a three-point block on Davon Reed, and then flushed it down on the offensive end.
At the start of the third quarter, Jason Preston made his free throw to complete the and-1, and back-to-back threes from LaRavia made it a 13-point game, but that’s the closest the Hustle ever got.
In the final frame, the 905 maintained their lead. Memphis only got within 15 points at the very end of the game.
The ball was hopping for the 905 in the first quarter
Porter made his first 3 (he went 4-for-5 from deep) because Kevin Obanor created a better second look for him. Markquis Nowell attacked the rim, and swung it to Porter up top, but he didn’t get the look he wanted. So he swung the ball out to Obanor, who took two dribbles to attack the paint, drew Hurt slightly off Porter, and dished it back for the 3.
Later on, the ball made a full clockwise turn, starting with Kobi Simmons’ pass to Makur Maker in the corner, and the ball ended back into Simmons’ hand in the dunker’s spot, where he dished it to a cutting Myles Burns.
Markquis Nowell
By now, we all know how good Nowell is. Nowell had 11 assists, four of them to Porter. But his potential assists – his passes that could have turned into assists – are just as impressive. In the third quarter, he took one dribble slightly outside the arc to gain momentum, and took one strong dribble inside to attack the rim. He threw a precise hook pass right into Simmons’ shooting pocket on the weakside wing. Teammates must love Nowell for his ability to set them up for great looks. Executing plays like this helps build on-court chemistry.
But Nowell isn’t just impressive on the offensive end. He plays with defensive tenacity, be it closeouts or deep inside. On one defensive possession, he played locked down 6–foot-8 LaRavia, who has more than a foot over 5-foot-7 Nowell.
Adonis Arms couldn’t make the post-entry pass into LaRavia because Nowell was full-on pestering. The ball was swung up top to Hurt for an attempt at a high-low, but Nowell fully fronted LaRavia, and nullified a potential mismatch. Defensive possessions like this may not make the highlights, but teammates and coaches definitely notice.
Jontay Porter
Porter was one rebound shy of a double-double, led all scorers with 22 points, and shot 9-for-13 from the field. What stood out the most to me was his quick three-point shooting release. 4-for-5 from downtown is impressive, but it’s still too small a sample size. Porter shot 28% from downtown on 6.5 attempts per game for Motor City this Showcase Cup, so his improvement in this domain could get him a potential call-up.
Other notes
Mo G had 16 points, and displayed an elite shot altering move at the basket in the first quarter.
He continues to be an elite rim finisher (68% rim finisher per broadcaster), and elite three-point shot blocker.
It’s hard to top a 29-point game performance. But Kevin Obanor still finished with 17 points and 12 boards. Someone in the comments section suggested Norm Powell comparisons, but I think he should aspire to be like Kevon Harris. He continued to be aggressive even after turning the ball over, even after a four-point first half performance on 2-for-7 shooting. In the third frame, he pushed a 13-point lead to 19 as he muscled his way inside, and completed a four-point play after going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. He showed no hesitation in pulling that three, and made the free throw.
Despite an abysmal 4-12 Showcase Cup season, the 905 proved to themselves that they can compete in Orlando. They will take four days off, and hit the reset button as the first of their 34-game regular season commences on Wednesday, December 27th against the Showcase Cup champion Westchester Knicks.
Merry Christmas!
