Road To The Six: Week 20 Recap

Francis Chow - Raptors905.com

Raptors 905 closed out the season at home this week, going 2-0 and wrapping up the inaugural campaign by winning seven of the last eight. Though the club failed to make the playoffs, they finished with a 23-27 record, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference and the best record for an expansion team in NBA D-League history.

Player Watch

Scott Suggs has been the most consistent player for Raptors 905 all season. The franchise-leading scorer was on fire this week, taking it to the next level to close out the season with averages of 28.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Suggs began the season as more of a spot-up three-point shooter, but has since evolved into an all-around offensive player. Suggs has been using a variety of step back moves and flip shots in the paint to get himself open shots. He’s shot great percentages from everywhere on the floor, shooting 13-for-19 on his two-point attempts and 8-for-19 on his three pointers. His driving ability has also caused defences to collapse on him, enabling him to lob up easy alley-oops or find open shooters.

The two newcomers, E.J. Singler and Davion Berry made a huge impact since their acquisition. Scoring comes easy for Davion Berry. Since arriving from Maine, Berry has scored double figures in every game and put up a total of 44 points in two games this week. Berry is a knock-down three-point shooter, closing out the season by making 14 of his last 18 attempts. There’s much more to Berry than just three-point shooting though, he’s attempted no more than three triples in his last four games and finds his baskets by slicing into the paint and finishing lay-ups. Berry has a versatile arsenal of dribble moves such as this hesitation move that got him wide open for a jam:

E.J. Singler has shown that he’s so much more than just a dead-eye three-point specialist. Singler’s hustle and defensive attitude have been invaluable to the late run by Raptors 905. Singler once again put up well-rounded numbers this week with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game. Coming off the bench, Singler has been the type of player to provide instant offence as well as making the right play to find open teammates and pull down key rebounds that he has no business being able to grab. Of course, we still have to mention his exceptional three-point shooting, knocking down seven of his 12 three-point attempts in the two games this week.

The Assignees

As it’s been all season, Bruno Caboclo saw two different types of games this week, but there were many positive takeaways. In the first game in Grand Rapids, Caboclo had arguably one of his most well rounded games of the season. The Raptors sophomore put up 27 points to go with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Caboclo played a season-high 46 minutes and was very much the key factor in the victory. He shot nine for 14 from the field and made three of his seven three-point attempts, but what was more impressive was his ability to finish consistently in the paint, often with a thunderous dunk. Caboclo was able to take advantage of his huge wingspan all night to grab rebounds and finish over any defenders in the paint. Caboclo struggled with his three-point shot in the season finale, making only one of his eight three-point attempts. As with the previous game, he saw the most success when he was driving in, capping off the night with a huge baseline dunk and putting together a solid performance with nine rebounds and six blocks despite only scoring 11 points.
Caboclo has taken strides from what we’ve seen early in the season and we could even argue he’s ready to see some minutes in the NBA.

Looking Ahead

Next week on the Road to the Six, we’ll be recapping the Raptors 905 season, taking a look at some of the best moments, plays and the development of the assigned players.