Dial 905: Assignee News and All-Star Roundup

There were no 905 games this past week as it was the D-League All-Star weekend. The 905 was well represented as John Jordan was looking to defend his dunk contest belt, Walter ‘Edy’ Tavares and Axel Toupane were there as players, and Jerry Stackhouse and his assistants were the coaches of the Eastern Conference team.

Something to keep in mind: the D-League All-Star game is much different than the NBA’s version. It is two 20 minute halves, in full intensity, with actual defense, as it is another chance for these players to get scouted.

John Jordan’s Air Show

Jordan’s first dunk wasn’t the best and it slid him into the number three spot. However the 5’10” guard put on a show for his second dunk of the first round and got a 50, pushing his way into the final round with Iowa Energy’s Troy Williams. Jordan’s final round was supposed to be a between the legs dunks, but he failed to do it in two attempts and settled for a lob to himself of the backboard for a 39. Jordan’s second dunk was a lob from Eric Moreland, a Canton Charge centre/power forward, but it was all put to rest when Troy Williams did a two-handed 360 dunk to seal it. A worthy effort nonetheless.

Edy and Axel Show Up

Stackouse rolled out Tavares as his starting centre and to no surprise, he dominated the post against much smaller bigs. Tavares scored 4 of the East’s first 6 points. In an interesting development, Tavares have been telling the media he has been working on his 3-ball shot in practice. He tried it here to no avail, air balling a wide open three. Tavares ending up finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds (a double-double in the All-Star game!), 1 block and a steal in 20 minutes.

Toupane, meanwhile, had missed the last couple of 905 games with an injury and it was unknown if he would play. As a chance to showcase his skills Stackhouse played Toupane but for only 7 minutes. Toupane added 1 point, 1 rebound and 2 assists, but his appearance suggests he should be back with the 905 once the regular season resumes.

Notes

• Jerry Stackhouse is 1 for 1 in his All-Star game coaching career as the East won 105-100
• Bruno Caboclo, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are all assigned to the 905 for Thursday’s home game. In a funny turn of events, this would mark Siakam’s D-League debut after being pushed into the Raptors starting lineup for a sizable chunk of the season.
• Canton Charge’s Quinn Cook took home MVP honours for the game.