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Raptors 905 weekly preview: Chomche’s tear fuelling blazing start to regular season

Another week of 905 hoops!

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 wrapped a four-game road trip with matchups against the Oklahoma City Blue (Oklahoma City Thunder G League Affiliate) and Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets G League Affiliate) before returning home to take on the Valley Suns (Phoenix Suns G League Affiliate).

The junior Raps began the week winning their third consecutive game for the first time this year, taking down the Blue 121-117 on the road. Two-way Canadian A.J. Lawson led the charge on Monday, finishing with a team-high 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go with nine rebounds. 17 of those points came in the first half as the Toronto, Ontario native started the game an impressive 7-of-13 from the field.

Next, the 905 would have their win streak snapped by the Gold 127-109, despite reinforcements. Draft picks in first-rounder Ja’Kobe Walter and second-rounder Jonathan Mogbo were down with the team, along with others, and were both super impactful. Walter finished with a team-high 20 points, six rebounds, and one assist. The 20-year-old started the game as the point guard and was efficient from three, going 3-for-6 from distance.

Mogbo had his best offensive game this season in the minors, finishing with a double-double, putting up 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists. He continued looking great on defence, coming off a four-game stretch where he put up a 97.0 defensive rating (first on the 905 and 25th in G League).

The 905 wrapped the week with a bounce-back 120-112 home win against the Valley Suns, which saw Lawson, Walter, and Jared Rhoden all have big nights.

The 905’s 6-3 start to the regular season is their second-best mark throughout the first nine games ever, matching the teams’ start in the 2020-2021 season. A big reason for that has been the big-time play by the big man, Ulrich Chomche.

The recently turned 19-year-old has been on a tear to start the regular season, especially defensively. Chomche is averaging 7.9 points, 9.1 rebounds (11th in the G League of players who have played seven or more games) and 3.4 blocks (second in the G League).

The centre continues to protect shots at the rim at a high clip while rebounding the ball better than he did during the Tip-Off Tournament.

Raptors 905 schedule for the week of January 20 to January 27:

DateTimeOpponent
Wed, Jan 2211:00 am ETvs Westchester (Knicks)
Fri, Jan 247:00 pm ET@ Long Island (Nets)
Sun, Jan 263:00 pm ET@ Long Island (Nets)

The junior Dinos will continue on their blazing start to the regular season this week, beginning with an early 11:00 am ET tip-off time against the Westchester Knicks.

It will be the first matchup between the Eastern Conference foes in the regular season, but the third contest overall on the year. The two squared off twice during the Tip-Off Tournament, with Westchester claiming victories in back-to-back matchups at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in early December, 129-109 and 119-114.

The key to the Knicks’ victories was T.J. Warren, who went for 30 burgers in each contest. Across the two games, the 31-year-old veteran averaged 30.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks while drilling nine shots from distance, going 50 percent from beyond the arc.

Stopping Warren should be key for the 905.

The 905 will close the week by travelling to Laval, Quebec, with a pair of matchups against the Long Island Nets at Place Bell.

These two teams will match up for the third and fourth times this year, with the season series currently tied 1-1. A.J. Lawson will be playing against his former team for the first time, starting the year in Long Island before being signed to Toronto.

Make sure to check back at Raptors Republic after every Raptors 905 game for the recap, and now every week for a preview.