Playing at the Air Canada Centre in front of about 10,000 kids who luckily got the day off school as part of the team’s “school day basketball game” initiative, the Toronto Raptors‘ NBA Development League Affiliate, Raptors 905, took on the Maine Red Claws on Friday, and lost in heartbreaking fashion, 96–95.
Despite the result, this game was one of the 905’s better efforts on the season. Here are a few takeaways from the contest.
Bruno’s most complete game
It’s fair to say that Bruno Caboclo’s career thus far hasn’t inspired much to justify him going 20th overall in 2014, but on Friday, the 20-year-old made a good case for his NBA future.
Caboclo has been more apt to show flashes of brilliance, combined with long stretches of head-scratching confusion. On Friday, however, the Brazilian looked to put it all together, playing his most complete game as a pro.
Finishing with 19 points on a respectable seven-for-15 shooting (including four-for-nine from deep) to go along with five rebounds and three steals.
Caboclo was hot in the first half, scoring 16 points, and carried that momentum into the second half with a spirited effort on defence that saw him pick up two blocks, get some deflections and, most importantly, contest without fouling.
From a physical standpoint it’s easy to fall in love with what Caboclo could be—he’s six-foot-nine, has arms that could seemingly wrap around the globe and boasts naturally smooth shot mechanics—but his actual developmental path has gotten in the way of that dreaming.
On Friday morning, he took a big leap toward where his potential could eventually lead him to.
Scott Suggs should be hearing from NBA teams sooner than later
While players like Caboclo and Delon Wright capture all the headlines surrounding 905 because of their status as Toronto’s last two first-round picks, quietly, the team’s best player has been 26-year-old Scott Suggs.
On Friday he poured in 13 points, but on the season Suggs has been very good, averaging 17 points per game, and he should be getting some NBA consideration.
This season with Raptors 905, Suggs is shooting a strong 39.6 percent from three-point range and has shown some acumen putting the ball on the floor and getting it to the weak side, in addition to playing sound defence.
Will he be a superstar? No, but he can be a strong three-point-specialist role player. And that alone makes him worthy of a shot at the next level.
Deja vu
Friday’s game was the fourth time, already, that 905 has matched up against Maine, and they’ll play them two more times this season.
Maybe I’m just more used to the NBA scheduling, but seeing the same team four times in 10 games seems a little much. The good news on that front is these two teams won’t see each other again until March.