Welcome to the Raptors 905 weekly preview!
This is a piece that will drop every week, previewing what is to come throughout the next seven days for the Raptors 905.
Let’s start with last week, however, when the 905 kicked off a four-game road trip with a back-to-back against the Maine Celtics.
The wins improved the junior Raps’ record to 4-2 in the newly minted regular season, as the transition from the G League’s Tip-Off Tournament to the regular season schedule has been a positive one, winning 121-119 in overtime in game number one and 116-99 in game two.
One of the biggest reasons for the recent success has been the reinforcements sent down by the big club, including Jamison Battle and Jonathan Mogbo.
The second-rounder in Mogbo stood out, particularly on defence. The 23-year-old, over his latest four-game stretch with the 905, averaged 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds (second in G League among non-bigs), 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks. Mogbo was efficient on offence and locking up on the other end, going 48.1 percent from the field and finishing with a 97.0 defensive rating (first on 905 and 25th in the G League).
The undrafted sharpshooter Battle also did his thing over this stretch, averaging 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. The 23-year-old also barely missed, hitting at a 58.1 percent clip from the field, a 68.8 percent clip from distance (4.0 attempts per game), and finishing with a 75.8 true shooting percentage.
In other news, Toronto, Ontario, raised Eugene Omoruyi became the second call-up from the 905 this year, earning a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors. He continued to play down with the 905 last week, however, as his clutch free throws secured the overtime win against Maine.
Raptors 905 schedule for the week of January 13 to January 20:
Date | Time | Opponent |
Mon, Jan 13 | 8:00 pm ET | @ Oklahoma City (Thunder) |
Thu, Jan 16 | 7:00 pm ET | @ Grand Rapids (Nuggets) |
Sun, Jan 19 | 2:00 pm ET | vs Valley (Suns) |
The 905 continue on their four-game road trip, heading west to visit the Oklahoma City Blue and Grand Rapids Gold before returning home to close out the week against the Valley Suns.
Beginning with the Blue on Monday, the matchup could feature a couple of familiar faces in Branden Carlson and Jahmi’us Ramsey. Carlson began the season as a 905er but was then picked up by OKC a couple of weeks into the G League’s tip-off tournament. The seven-footer was recently waived by the Thunder but did get re-signed on a 10-day deal. It’s unclear if he’ll suit up for the Blue to take on his former squad on Monday, but if he does, it should be a fun contest.
Meanwhile, Ramsey had a cup of coffee with the Raptors last year — playing seven NBA games and two G League games for the organization — before rejoining Oklahoma City’s affiliate squad this year. He’s played in all six regular season games for the Blue so far, averaging 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 43 percent from deep.
The 905 will end their road trip against the Gold, who feature one of the better players in the league in Trey Alexander and Canadian Charles Bediako.
In the regular season, the 21-year-old Alexander is averaging 21.4 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 42.9 percent from deep on 7.0 attempts per game.
Brampton, Ontario native Bediako is averaging 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks across seven games in the regular season.
The junior Dinos will end the week by heading home to take on another Canadian in Tyrese Samuel and the Suns. Across seven regular season games, the Lasalle, Quebec native is averaging 9.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 63.6 percent from the field.
Make sure to check back at Raptors Republic after every Raptors 905 game for the recap, and now every week for a preview.