Raptors 905 cobble together offence to eke out win over Boom
Chucky Hepburn does a lot for the Raptors 905. Injuries are a part of the game, and missing one player should never sink a team, but there have been notable changes in both the 905’s process and results over the last few games without their point guard.
Their assist to turnover ratio, amount of 3s that are assisted and points in the paint have all plummeted. All aspects of the game motivated by a lead guard capable of threatening dangerous areas of the floor with his dribble, like Hepburn.
More, the 905 have also been scoring less fastbreak points and allowing their opponents to score more in the paint – Hepburn’s heavy ball pressure helps force turnovers and better allows help defenders to limit the most dangerous types of drives.
“He’s the dawg, he’s the head of the snake, on both ends,” 905 head coach Drew Jones said of Hepburn after his team’s win on Tuesday. “He’s our point-of-attack (defender) on the ball. Luckily we’ve got a guy like Alijah who’s following right in his footsteps. He’s got the same mentality defensively. He’s physical, he’s active, he’s alert. So we know what we’re missing, but we’ve got guys that can fill in.”
The 905 moved the ball early in what was a grind of a game against the Noblesville Boom on Tuesday at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.
But it was via the pass, not the dribble, and the quality looks they got from 3 and at the rim weren’t falling. A get action for Alijah Martin and feed inside resulted in a miss. Olivier Sarr caught on the roll after a step-up screen, pinged a pass to the corner, and the ball caught iron.
Martin’s forceful play – pouncing on a steal the moment the dribble was vulnerable and running out for free throws – wasn’t rewarded with a one-for-two make at the stripe. He missed an open 3 the next trip down.
The 905 play dogged pressure defence, with aggressive help principles, and teams have started to take advantage, back cutting at the hint of overhelp. Samson Johnson had a clear 45 to the rim when Sarr got caught cheating. Noblesville also boomed four of their first five 3s to jump out to a 22-9 lead.
Julian Reese ran delay; Tyson Degenhart plodded into the paint off a handoff, and AJ Hoggard drilled a triple from up top. Hoggard finished in transition right after. They ran 77 shallow and AJ Lawson’s gravity created a wide-open dunk for Reese.
But a lack of sure-handed ballhandlers continued to bite. Degenhart and Tyreke Key made measured drives downhill on consecutive possessions only to throw the ball away.
Noblesville was able to navigate the teeth of the defence with aplomb, seemingly dribbling down low to their heart’s content and threading interior passes. Alternatively, the 905 were quickly stifled by the Boom’s collapsing shell the moment it was breached. Collapsing in on themselves like booby-trapped passageway, the 905 often failed to turn around and make the read to open shooters, instead losing the ball in the rubble.
Quincy Guerrier got the 905 running, going end-to-end off a missed free throw. They’re at their best in the open floor and attentive defence from Hoggard and Key piled on more transition paydirt – three straight possessions.
The 905’s best players also started to muscle them back into the game with shot making. Martin kept on a handoff play and finished a tough take through contact. Joiner stuck a turnaround to bail them out late in the clock. Lawson banged a corner triple after the 905 actively turned a Noblesville make into transition play, then curled off a high cross screen and drove (for a single free throw).
Guerrier was the motor oil. He kept things running. Transition finishes, putbacks, the real greasy, unheralded, work that goes a long way. He was banging down low. Martin and Lawson shifted into a higher gear, bringing the score to a 51-all tie at half, one drive at a time. Martin, Lawson and Hoggard tied for the team lead in scoring with nine apiece.
They also locked in on defence. Big time. Laser focus on the part of Key and Degenhart got them steals as they fought through screens and anticipated passes to Noblesville cutters.
“Urgency has been our theme for the last two days,” said Jones. “And with this team, with how they move, they play with great pace. You have to be on high alert. So going into practice the last couple days, that’s been our message. You’ve got to be urgent. Even if you’re not on the ball, you’re always in the action. And I think once we committed to that level of physicality off the ball, I think things kind of changed for us.”
Jones could be heard chiding his troops to stay “in the action,” after whistles.
The 905 finished the first half and started the second by forcing shot clock violations, their defence synchronizing like a well-rehearsed dance routine to plug all holes. Lawson picked up full court and Boom guard Kyle Guy dribbled off his foot and out of bounds.
But the defence started to waiver again. Cody Martin (that Cody Martin) blew by Hoggard and no help came from David Roddy or Sarr, incensing head coach Drew Jones and resulting in a timeout.
Side note on Jones, he won G League Coach of the Month for December after the 905 had a 12-1 record in the month, including the Winter Showcase final.
But the 905’s x-out coverage when rotating out to shooters faltered at times against Noblesville, with Martin, Jalen Slawson and Co. seeing a few too many lightly-contested looks. They had nine 3s to the 905s 4 midway through the third, shooting 40 per cent while the 905 were at 22.
The 905 kept lining it up and Guerrier kept hammering the nail. Then Alijah Martin got a stew going. A fader in the lane, a pull-up 3 in transition, driving for a free throw. After a brief hiatus, him and Lawson tilted the floor downwards again, using their dribble to access the rim with sheer force rather than create advantages for others. Martin led all scorers with nine in the quarter.
The 905 offence sputtered to start the fourth while the defence stood tall. Key had two outstanding shot contests to force late-clock misses. He also led the effort on the other end, first stepping back off a ball screen and sinking a jumper with a toe on the line (a lot of DeMar homage here lately) Then Key joined Lawson and Martin’s parade to the rim with a hard, curved drive from the wing that he finished over his head as he went into his defender’s chest.
Noblesville hung in with consecutive finishes at the rim – on a roll to the rim and driving a closeout. The two teams went punch for punch down the stretch. Martin relocated above the break off a missed lob to drain a 3. Taelon Peter canned a pull-up triple out of the pick n’ roll to answer.
In the final minutes, Martin blew by his man, dimed Sarr in the corner for an open 3, who instead hit a cutting Roddy for an open dunk. A moment of dribble-creation for others. But either way, the ball going through the basket doesn’t discriminate.
Roddy and Lawson connected for a give-and go lob running out off a steal the next possession. Martin exploded like a sprinter out of the blocks to the rim again. It was an insurmountable 13-point lead with two minutes left, as a result of what the 905 do best; hurtle themselves at the opposing rim with as much force as they can muster.
It was obvious the 905 missed Hepburn, but they were able to solve for the lack of point-guarding with brutish scoring on drives from their best players. Lawson got another layup and the game was over, 107-95. The 905 keep rolling.
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