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Road To The Six: Week 12 Recap

Francis Chow - Raptors905.com

Just two games on the road for Raptors 905 this week, we saw the club run away with a franchise record 56 point victory in Texas followed by a nine point loss in Oklahoma City. Both of these performances were quite impressive considering the team was without Ronald Roberts for most of the trip due to a hip contusion and Bruno Caboclo was the only Raptor assigned to Raptors 905. Coach Mermuys felt that heading into the west coast trip that having a long break would be beneficial for the group:

Player Watch

Greg Smith had a solid weekend, putting up exactly 16 points and eight rebounds in both games. The former Dallas Mavericks’ centre felt right at home in Texas and found himself open on his pick and rolls and even knocked down a few jump shots. Smith was a reliable option in the post and was able to convert on hook shots from up to 12 feet out. Smith stepped up and filled the interior scoring and rebounding void left by the absence of Ronald Roberts.

Scott Suggs led the charge in Texas, pacing the team with 24 points including four-for-six from beyond the arc. Suggs also had a pretty good weekend passing the ball, totaling six assists in two games. It may not be a huge number but it shows that Suggs is capable of facilitating and getting shots for his teammates once he gets himself going. Suggs is one of Raptors 905’s most consistent threats from long distance and he gets our vote to win the NBA D-League three point contest on Saturday afternoon.

Axel Toupane continues to play well regardless of how many minutes he gets. The versatile swingman played just 19 minutes against Texas but still put up 10 points to go with seven assists and three steals. Toupane received more minutes against Oklahoma City and responded with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Coach Mermuys has experimented with Toupane playing point forward and it has paid off, as he continues to show great decision making with the ball in his hands.

We saw two players of Indian origin match-up against each other for the first time in NBA history with Sim Bhullar taking on Satnam Singh. Bhullar easily got the better of the matchup, putting up a double double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and one blocked shot. Bhullar also had a solid performance in Oklahoma City with seven points and 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes of play. The big man has now played in five straight games and it’s looking like the staff are satisfied enough with his conditioning to allow him to play big minutes on back-to-backs.

The Assignees

Bruno continues to struggle with consistency but when the young forward is on, he really feels it. Caboclo stuffed the stat sheet in Texas and looked like the team’s best player. He put up 22 points, 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. Caboclo was everywhere and converted on eight of his 12 shot attempts. Caboclo had one of his better all-around games and led the team with a +/- rating of +35. Caboclo came back down to earth in the next game, shooting just three-for-12. Most promising however, was that even though Caboclo did not contribute much scoring-wise, he was able to pull down seven rebounds and block three shots.

Looking Ahead

Raptors 905 will have a lengthy break but we will continue to see action as Scott Suggs, John Jordan & Ronald Roberts head to Ricoh Coliseum for NBA D-League All-Star. Suggs will be participating in the three point contest, newcomer John Jordan will participate in the slam dunk contest and Ronald Roberts will play in the afternoon’s marquee event, the All-Star game. NBA D-League All-Star is set for February 13th with all the festivities beginning at 1:30pm.

Raptors 905 will return to action following the All-Star break on February 17th in Westchester for a 7pm tip-off. The lone February home game will be played back home at the Hershey Centre on February 21st at 6pm against the Canton Charge (Purchase Tickets).