Raptors 905 land early knockout punch in blowout win vs. Squadron
For weeks, Raptors 905 head coach Drew Jones had been asking his squad for the same thing.
“Throw the first punch.”
A clear yet simple message he gave to his players before they fell behind early to the Salt Lake City Stars and eventually lost in the Showcase Final.
It’s also a mantra Jones has preached repeatedly, to the point where he’s shown his team clips of the iconic 1985 Marvin Hagler vs. Tommy Hearns bout to emphasize the value of not only punching back, but also punching first.
Why? Because getting down early and rallying from behind has become somewhat of a trademark for this year’s 905 squad. In each of their showcase games en route to losing in the Final, they trailed after the first quarter. And it was that same habit of starting slow that ultimately cost them in a loss to the San Diego Clippers — the 905’s only loss on record to this point.
And it’s not to say that the message has fallen on deaf ears necessarily, but, when there’s an abundance of talent — namely three highly-skilled two-way stars in Chucky Hepburn, Alijah Martin and A.J. Lawson — routinely turning early deficits into wins, there’s not exactly a sense of urgency.
This is a team that’s lost all of two games in just over two months of G League action this season, after all. They haven’t really needed to worry about their slow starts.
Which is why Sunday’s effort, a dominant 118-73 win over the Birmingham Squadron, was an especially welcomed change of pace.
As the Raptors 905 were without any of their two-way players for just the second time all season, and tipping off a seven-game road trip, they made sure to heed their coach’s words and throw the first punch.
Spoiler alert: It was an immediate knockout blow.
The 905 faced no concerns of getting burned by an early deficit on Sunday, as they brought down plenty of rain in Birmingham. The dinos opened the contest on a roaring 34-4 run, as part of a 44-11 first quarter in which they splashed 9-of-14 triples.
All the while, the Squadron were limited to just 3-of-17 shooting from the field in that span.
The onslaught only continued from that point as the 905 finished the first half with more made triples (15) than the Squadron had field goals (13). Birmingham would eventually take the lead in that battle, but only just. Birmingham finished with 22 made field goals (on 30 per cent shooting) to the 905’s 19 made threes (on 42 per cent).
Spearheading that effort from beyond the arc was the duo of Tyreke Key and Olivier Sarr, who each had 16 points at halftime and were a combined 7-of-10 from distance as the 905 led 72-38 at the break. Key finished with a game-high 25 points and was a plus-42 (!) while Sarr stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
They were two of six double-digit scorers for the 905 on the night, with AJ Hoggard chipping in a career-high 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep and seven assists off the bench and David Roddy adding 15 points with three made triples. Meanwhile, Quincey Guerrier put up the game’s lone double-double effort with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
And although the 905 didn’t dominate quite as much throughout the second half as they did through the opening 24 minutes, they were never in danger the rest of the way. The dinos won the third quarter by a modest 13 points — relative to the 33-point margin they dominated the first quarter by — as they held the Squadron to just 15 points in the frame on 5-of-15 shooting.
Meanwhile, as the night was filled with a heavy dose of baskets that felt rather ordinary considering the 905 were playing with a 30-point cushion practically the entire time, there was one basket that got the 1,329 in attendance and those of us watching at home to refocus a little.
Right before Roddy banked in a jumper to put the Raptors 905 at 100 points with just under two minutes left in the third quarter, he made Birmingham’s Garrison Brooks touch the earth with an ankle-snatching crossover.
The burly 24-year-old who could easily be mistaken for a fullback rather than an NBA forward has really picked up his game during the absence of Martin and Lawson on the wing. In Friday’s lop-sided victory over the Noblesville Boom, for instance, Roddy chipped in 26 points, eight rebounds and a season-high eight assists.
The 905 led by as many as 52 points throughout the second half before hitting cruise control and settling for a 45-point win.
It was domination in all areas. But let’s highlight a few just for fun.
The 905 made more field goals (40) than Birmingham attempted threes (38). They also finished plus-21 on the glass (not totally surprising when the opponent misses 51 shots) and were plus-11 on second chance points. And aside from holding the Squadron to 22-of-73 from the field and 8-of-38 from beyond the arc, the 905 did plenty of damage in between shots as well, with 31 points off 20 turnovers.
And while an identity isn’t changed after one game, Sunday’s effort — in the form of a thundering right hook that their coach had been pleading for — was certainly a major step in the right direction.
The now 8-1 Raptors 905 stay put in Birmingham for a rematch against the 4-7 Squadron on Tuesday.
The post Raptors 905 land early knockout punch in blowout win vs. Squadron first appeared on Raptors Republic.