The Raptors 905 had a nice week off, thanks to the All-Star game. Following the break, the team only had one game this week, at home against the Erie BayHawks. Ordinarily, this would be no problem for the 905, but they were down a couple of key players. Lorenzo Brown is still out with an ankle injury, while Aaron Best and Kaza Keane are currently playing with Team Canada for the FIBA Qualifiers.
As a result, the 905 brought back Roger Moute a Bidas, who made the team out of camp but was waived before playing in a game due to an ongoing knee injury. Here’s how things went down.
Wednesday, Feb. 21st — vs. Erie BayHawks
Final Score: 104-94 for the 905
The 905 opened this one with some strong defense in the first quarter, limiting the BayHawks to just 15 points. Given the shortage of point guards, Kethan Savage got the start and had three huge blocks to help keep the 905 in front.
The 905 had a bit of a rocky 2nd quarter, but after halftime, the squad outworked the BayHawks on all aspects of the game, led by Malcolm Miller’s dominating performance. Meanwhile, Erie was just outmatched in the paint by Kennedy Meeks and Shevon Thompson, and newcomer Malachi Richardson chipped in with a productive offensive game.
Malcolm Miller Makes A Statement
With Brown still injured (and Bruno Caboclo gone), Miller has been asked to do a lot more for the 905. For long stretches of this one, the offense went through Miller, and the 905 would always look to find him open early. He did a great job of making cuts towards the basket for easy layup attempts or fake cuts for eventual 3-point shots.
In addition, Miller’s defense has been extremely solid, even with the 905 playing him at power forward. But still, it was his offense that carried the day: 28 points, 8 rebounds and a steal in 34 minutes of play. Miller has easily been one of the best 905 player over the past couple games, and it looks like there is no sign of him slowing down.
Need a Double-Double? Call Meeks
Kennedy Meeks is hands down the best centre in the G League in my opinion. From watching him every game, Meeks does all the little things right and works hard to control against all opponents. Meeks ended up with another monster performance here with 12 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists in 31 minutes.
Notes
- Malachi Richardson struggled in his first outings with the 905, but the week off looks like it did him a favour. Richardson shot the ball much better — 3-of-6 from 3 — and played an all-around better game. He finished with 13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in 26 minutes.
- Shevon Thompson needs more minutes. In just 15, Thompson put up 13 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. I know Meeks takes up most of the centre minutes, but Thompson is too good to be playing 15 minutes a night.
- A refresher on Roger Moute a Bidas: he made the 905 out of camp, but a knee injury kept him from playing, before he was waived for Kuran Iverson. After being cleared to play a couple weeks ago, it made sense for the 905 to bring him back and see what he can do. In his first game, Moute a Bidas made a good case to stay on the roster as he played 16 minutes, and chipped in with 7 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds and an assist.
- Iverson and Andre Washington sat with a pair of DNP-CDs in this one.
- Heads up: It’s reported that the 905 will no longer be playing in the Hershey Centre. Worry not, the team isn’t moving — the arena will be renamed Paramount Centre for the next 10 years effective July 1st.
Reminder: If you want to go see any 905 games this year go here and use promo code RAPTORSHQ905 to get discounts on 905 tickets all season long.