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 won a slugfest against the Westchester Knicks, before splitting a pair of games with the Long Island Nets in Laval, Quebec.
A goliath matchup in the East between the 905 and Knicks got hairy towards the end. The 905 should have won more comfortably, with the Dinos just needing to inbound the ball and play the foul game up three with 11 seconds left. However, Frank Kaminsky was called for a foul and head coach Drew Jones took a tech. However, Westchester missed the technical free throw and a potential game-tying three for the 905 to squeak out a 117-114 win.
The 905 then hit the road to Laval where they were technically considered the road team, though it did not feel as though. Coming into the game, Long Island held their opponent to under 100 points in their last three games, winning by an average margin of victory of nearly 17 points over that span. The 905 nearly breached that 100-point mark through three quarters but still found themselves down heading into the fourth. The junior Dinos would come out firing, beginning the quarter on a 13-4 run to tie the game up at 106 with just over seven minutes to go. From then on out, however, it was all Nets. Long Island would smother the junior Raps, holding them to 16 points the rest of the way while going on a 25-16 run to end the game and winning 131-122.
The 905 would then bounce back in their second and final game in Quebec, taking the victory 122-118 behind a strong performance from Eugene Omoruyi. The Toronto, Ontario raised forward put up an efficient 24 points (10-for-14), two rebounds, two assists, and one steal all of the bench.
Heading into the week, the Raptors 905 hold the third-best regular season record in the G at 8-4.
Raptors 905 schedule for the week of Jan. 27 to Feb. 2:
| Date | Time | Opponent |
| Wed, Jan. 29 | 7:30 pm ET | vs Birmingham (Pelicans) |
| Fri, Jan. 31 | 8:00 pm ET | @ Memphis (Grizzlies) |
| Sun, Feb. 2 | 12:00 pm ET | @ Motor City (Pistons) |
The junior Dinos’ first game of the week and only game at home will come against the Birmingham Squadron. The two teams met to begin the regular season a little over a month ago, with the Squadron pulling out a thrilling 111-108 overtime win. The Mississauga squad led in paint points, second chance points, and transition scoring by significant margins, took 17 more shots than Birmingham, and played better defence.
The 905 will seek revenge before hitting the road to take on two new opponents this season in the Memphis Hustle and Motor City Cruise.
Starting with the Hustle on the last day of January, the 905 will travel to Landers Center to take on Memphis who currently reside out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference (4-6).
The team features two former 905ers, Myles Burns and David Johnson.
The former 47th overall pick by the Raptors, Johnson played two seasons with the 905 and has been playing a significant role with the Hustle for the past two years. Across six games, the 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 14.3 points, 2.8 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 stocks. The former Dino has also been efficient, going 45.2 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from distance.
After being waived by the 905 earlier this season, Burns has only appeared in three games for the Hustle while seeing limited playing time.
Motor City is also out of a playoff spot (5-7) and also features a former 905er in Ron Harper Jr. The 24-year-old began the year with the Maine Celtics, being limited to only four games due to injury. The son of NBA champ Ron Harper then joined the Cruise and has since played seven games, starting in six. The wing is averaging 13.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 stocks with Motor City.
Make sure to check back at Raptors Republic after every Raptors 905 game for the recap, and now every week for a preview.
