Dial 905: Frantic February in review

Amid all the roster movements, the Raptors 905 arguably had their best month of the season.

When the Raptors 905 step on the court tonight, the roster will look different, especially if you haven’t followed the team lately. That’s excusable — the team hasn’t been winning at a decent rate this season and will likely miss the playoffs. However, February was a breath of fresh air for those who keep up with the Raptors 905, as it’s arguably their best stretch of 905 basketball.

The Raptors 905 will wear a special jersey tomorrow as they host their third annual International Women’s Night game, honouring the local women for their accomplishments and contributions to the community.

Despite the horrendous season, the Raptors 905 have been spitting some fire threads this season. Just look at the Chinese New Year and Black Heritage Month jerseys this season. This time, we have the “Matchless Six.”

Player Movements

The Raptors landed Kira Lewis Jr. in mid-January, but he was traded to Utah at the trade deadline.

Makur Maker returned from a month-long injury due to a heel contusion, but Jontay Porter’s presence and Mo Gueye’s emergence significantly reduced his minutes since his return.

Justise Winslow and Mo Gueye earned a 10-day contract call-up with the main club, leaving the Raptors 905 depleted for a few games. They picked up Armon Fletcher and Yor Anei off the available player pool but were not kept for long once Gueye and Winslow got assigned back to the 905.

Jontay Porter’s injury and the Kelly Olynyk trade pushed Porter down the depth chart, so it made sense for the Raptors to send him down to Mississauga to get some playing time.

The Raptors 905 waived Jaysean Paige, as he’s probably heading back to LNBP, which will start in a couple of months. The 29-year-old had a combined stats (Showcase+Regular Season) of 11.1 points while shooting 34% on 5.8 attempts from the perimeter. The team’s best pure shooter struggled with inconsistent role and minutes, but he had a few games where he flashed his shooting prowess, including his season-high 36 points while making seven trifectas.

The Raptors 905 quickly moved on and claimed guard Xavier Pinson from the available player pool in late February, as Markquis Nowell remained on the shelf due to his hamstring injury.

Speaking of Nowell, the Toronto Raptors made the tough decision to cut him to make room for Mo Gueye and DJ Carton, who were both signed to Two-Way contracts.

The Raptors recently picked up Jahmi’us Ramsey, and he’s expected to play for the Raptors 905 tonight.

Kira Lewis Jr.’s Hello/Goodbye

The Pascal Siakam trade’s ripple effect brought Kira Lewis Jr. to Toronto for a cup of coffee and was immediately sent down to the minors, where he played seven games for the Raptors 905. He had a decent stint for the 905, putting up 12.1 points and 4.6 assists, but that was well below his average of 22.3 points and 6.7 assists for the Birmingham Squadron prior to getting traded.

Lewis Jr. was just in Mississauga before getting traded, and his Squadron eked out a win against his future teammates. Despite an inefficient stat line, he played well down the stretch to help steal a victory on the road.

After joining the Raptors 905, he had to find his place between Markquis Nowell and Javon Freeman-Liberty, two players that overlapped his skill set and position. It was starting to get interesting, as his last two games had him shooting 7-11 from the perimeter, which got me thinking that the Noah system and Noahlytics probably work.

Mo Gueye Promotion

Despite a series of bad-to-questionable decisions by the Toronto Raptors’ front office over the past two years, they corrected one thing this year, for sure. In the past, the main club had no roster flexibility to reward its Two-Way contract players and regular Raptors 905 players who had excellent seasons. This time, not only were the Raptors able to “promote” Freeman-Liberty, but they were able to reward Mo Gueye with a Two-Way contract.

Gueye’s major counting stats relative to his position increased in contrast to his rookie season with the Texas Legends. As a 905er, he’s averaging 14.4 (+5.8) points, 8.3 (+3.2), and 2.7 (+0.8) blocks per game. The 25-year-old was previously rewarded with a 10-day contract, as his length, motor, and effort make him an intriguing prospect. Hopefully, the main club can help him improve his shooting, as he’s only shooting 19% from behind the arc, and his free throw shooting dipped to 48.9% this season.

With ten games left, Gueye could beat Chris Boucher’s 116 blocks this season and move into second place behind Raptors 905 legend Edy Tavares. Gueye is sitting on 93 blocks as of the time of this writing.

Javon Freed and Rewarded

Javon Freeman-Liberty’s been killing it in the NBA G League. He’s in the top three in regular-season scoring per game and the top five in total points. He’s been on a tear this February, averaging 26.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.1 steals. Ever since Nowell got injured, He’s taken on the primary point guard duties for the Raptors 905 and provided stability in the position, which led to a successful month of February.

Freeman-Liberty’s been the heart and soul of the Raptors 905 and their designation “do something” when coach Eric Khoury’s team is in a pinch. Because of that, his efficiency and shooting are not too great, but if you watch him play, there’s no doubt he’s playing balls-to-the-walls and refuses to lose without giving it his all. That’s why it’s frustrating to see Freeman-Liberty not get any burn, especially when the Raptors were racking up “no-show” losses.

Thank God coach Darko Rajakovic realized that he’s got this player on his roster. He was the lone bright spot when the New Orleans Pelicans slaughtered the Raptors the other night.

Farewell Nowell

Fan-favourite Markquis Nowell’s road to the NBA is on hold for now, as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury. He hasn’t played since he got injured against the Delaware Blue Coats last January 20th, and the injury forced him to miss out on the NBA All-Star festivities despite getting voted in to play on the Up Next Game alongside higher-profile rookies and sophomores.

Nowell averaged 15.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.9 steals in 20 games for the Raptors 905 this season. There was an expected transition period for him, especially in the Showcase Cup part of the season, as he had to face bigger, stronger, and more athletic players while juggling a new offense that doesn’t rely much on the point guard to generate offense in the halfcourt setting. Nowell got comfortable as the season went on and took advantage of the team’s injuries, which allowed him to play to his strengths in the halfcourt setting.

According to Spotrac, DJ Carton signed a 2-year deal, and Gueye’s promotion meant an odd man out since Porter did not get elevated to a standard contract. However, coach Darko Rajakovic’s offense and Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley eating up point guard minutes meant that there will be no reps for a traditional on-ball point guard any time soon. Perhaps this is a course correction, a realignment of sorts from the front office, as it’s apparent that the ideal third ball handler on this team is a combo guard who can score on and off the ball. That probably explains Carton’s and Jahmi’us Ramsey’s signing.

We’ll do a deeper dive on Nowell’s 905 tenure when we give out their grades for the season.

February, Best Month of the Season

The Raptors 905 finished with a 4-5 record in February, which felt like a 73-9 season if you compare it with the 0-8 record in November, which felt like ages ago. Record-wise, December was better, as they finished 4-4, thanks to the arrival of Jontay Porter. However, February has been the most fun and also the most competitive this team has looked all season.

There was only one instance in February when they weren’t in the game, and the Raptors 905 were depleted that time, as they had to call up a couple of replacement players. Even then, Kobi Simmons and Freeman-Liberty kept the Windy City Bulls engaged for the entire game.

What’s impressive is that they did all of this without the only point guard on their roster. Nowell missed the entire month of February, and the Raptors 905 were 2-10 when he didn’t play heading into February. Worse, the team looked disarray without a point guard on the floor. Heck, there were games back in November and December where they couldn’t get the ball across the halfcourt line without turning the ball over.

For the first time this season, the coaching staff found a formula that worked despite the injuries, and here are some of the things that helped them right the ship:

Omari Moore’s minutes: after losing his minutes due to injuries and Justise Winslow, Omari Moore’s minutes are on the uptick again. He may not be getting 35+ minutes per game like at the beginning of the Showcase Cup, but he’s doing a much better job finding his place in the offence and has leaned on his defense and transition work to put points on the board.

Plus defenders in rotation: While generating offense was a big issue early on, the team could not consistently put up a fight defensively for an entire game. The current rotation remediates that issue, considering the plus defenders on the following depth chart:

• Guards: Freeman-Liberty, Moore
• Forwards: Winslow, Moore, Obanor, Burns, Morsell, Gueye
• Bigs: Gueye, Porter

All of a sudden, they have the length, athleticism, and positional versatility defensively to slow down most teams. Now, if they can just come up with a better defensive scheme to defend the perimeter….

Javon Freeman-Liberty, lead ball handler: Aside from Nowell and Lewis Jr.’s cameo, the Raptors 905 didn’t have a backup point guard on the roster, probably by design, as even their moves revolved around not getting a traditional point guard. Kobi Simmons, Drake Jeffries, and even Xavier Pinson are much more dangerous in scoring the ball rather than facilitating and managing the halfcourt offense. Freeman-Liberty’s emergence as a combo guard provided stability in the backcourt, and no offense to Nowell, allowed the Raptors to have more size in the backcourt, especially when Kobi Simmons or Omari Moore starts with Freeman-Liberty in the backcourt. Nowell’s absence also meant Freeman-Liberty got plenty of reps as the “do something” guy when the offence hits a snag, and he’s got the size, athleticism, and bag to finish over bigger defenders.

Jontay Porter, Cornerstone of the Offense: We probably wouldn’t be talking about a “successful month” if not for Jontay’s assignment to the 905. It hasn’t been that long ago that we were watching the Raptors’ putrid offense as coach Darko tried to run it through Jakob Poeltl and Precious Achiuwa. Similarly, the Raptors 905’s offense looked like a fish out of water when they tried to do the same with Makur Maker and Mo Gueye. Porter’s addition to the Raptors 905 back in December gave Toronto a glimpse of how Darko’s offense could look like, and the Raptors 905 had their first winning stretch, going 3-2 with him on the lineup.

Porter’s ability to make advanced passing reads, and his being a triple threat at the NBA G League level made him a big threat as the hub of coach Darko’s corner offense. He’s averaging 6.7 assists per game in the Regular season, and his presence improved the quality of shots that the Raptors 905 are getting in the halfcourt setting.

Part of the issues that the 905 faced this season was when they had to ask some of their players to extend their play and do something that was not part of their strengths. For example, Porter alone allows Gueye to play within his strengths. He’s not getting hammered too much as an undersized centre all the time, as Porter allows him to slide into the PF position. Also, Gueye’s on-ball decision-making is lessened, as those reps went to Porter. Gueye averages 1.7 turnovers per game with Porter and three turnovers without Porter.

Unsurprisingly, the Raptors 905 are 8-4 when Porter suits up. He’s not only that good, he’s a great fit for what the team is trying to do.

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The Raptors 905 are still at the bottom of the standings at 9-15, and will likely miss the playoffs for the second straight season. With the Raptors’ season heading the same way, expect Javon Freeman-Liberty and Jontay Porter to get more reps with the main club, and that’s unfortunate for coach Khoury, as he’ll likely miss two of his best players for the last stretch of the NBA G League season.