MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Long and athletic. These are the two qualities every NBA team is looking for these days, particularly on the defensive end.
These attributes are a big reason why Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright were both taken 20th overall in the past two drafts.
Standing six-foot-nine and six-foot-five, respectively, Caboclo and Wright have the physical tools to become effective defensive stoppers for the Toronto Raptors, with both boasting excellent size for their positions, arms that seemingly stretch for days and good lateral quickness.
The pair were both in Mississauga, Ont., on Saturday afternoon to get some reps as Raptors 905 hosted Detroit Pistons NBA Development League affiliate Grand Rapids Drive, and while it’s true the potential is there to become strong defenders, they both look like they have a little ways to go.
Then again, just about every 905 player who stepped on the Hershey Centre court this afternoon was looking a lot like a human sieve.
Falling 128-99, 905 got shredded by Grand Rapids, allowing 51 per cent shooting, and turning the ball over 23 times, a major problem with the team so far this season.
“We want them to play aggressive basketball, and we want them to feel confident, and try to create something … but part of that is turning the ball over when they’re inexperienced, still young, mistake players,” 905 coach Jesse Mermuys said after the game. “We’ve got to coach them through that, and that’s with video, that’s with practice and we’re a long ways away from where we want to be there.”
Canadian Scott Suggs led 905 with 19 points.
In a contest like this, when the entire team’s defence has been flat-out awful, it’s hard to find positives, but Caboclo and Wright showed flashes. Therefore, for the sake of monitoring their development, let’s take a look at how they did in their respective matchups in a game where they knew their team was going to lose shortly after the start of the second quarter and scored only 20 points combined.
Matched up against Grand Rapids wings Drew Ebanks and Duran Hilliard for most of the contest, Caboclo held his own for the most part, despite a box score that says otherwise.
His biggest problem coming into Saturday was his inability to contest and try to contain guys without fouling and definitely improved in that area, picking up three fouls in 22 minutes played – an improvement over the four per game he’s been averaging.
Ebanks was a former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010 and had a stellar college career at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to two NCAA tournament appearances during his two-season tenure – including a Final Four berth in 2010.
At six-foot-nine and 215 pounds he’s of a similar physical stature to Caboclo, but at this point in the two players’ careers, he certainly seems stronger. Ebanks finished with 21 points on the afternoon, mostly in transition where he was able to get a head of steam and blow by anyone in his way.
Against Hilliard, however, Caboclo looked better, mostly because he was seeing him one-on-one more often, holding him to mostly contested jumpers and awkward drives into the lane, despite the former Villanova product’s game-high 31 points.
Hilliard was the Pistons’ second-round selection in this past June’s draft, and enjoyed an excellent four-season career with the Wildcats that saw him earn first-team all-Big East honours in his senior season and an NCAA tournament appearance in every year he was there, except his freshman one.
Still, that’s a fair amount to have hung on you, and while there was improvement there to be in the right spots and to contest without fouling, he’ll still have to complete the defensive possession and stop his guy from scoring.
Conversely, Wright was pretty solid in his matchups against Drive guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Ryan Boatright, although there is room for improvement.
Holding those two to just nine points when individually matching up against each other, Wright was getting the contests Caboclo was, and was able to force misses.
With that said, the Drive pair did cause problems for Wright in the pick-and-roll. Wright’s length and aggressive defensive instincts can be a definite asset, but in this case, they worked against him as he got caught up on screens at times, allowing Dinwiddie and Boatright to take open looks or find shooters in the corner after getting into the lane.
As was explained after the game, however, playing the pick-and-roll as aggressively as he did is actually what the 905 want to see more of from Wright.
“Delon Wright was much better at getting into the basketball on his pick-and-roll defence and that was an issue in his first two games,” Mermuys said. “I can visibly look in my head right now, watching him defend pick-and-rolls, seeing him more aggressive into the basketball, which is a big positive for our organization. That’s a pretty quick turnaround in a short amount of time.”
Dinwiddie was the Pistons’ second-round pick in 2014, and he comes with a strong pedigree as a first-team all-Pac-12 selection in 2013. He was likely relegated as a second-rounder because of a career-threatening ACL injury he suffered in January 2014.
Boatright went undrafted and was acquired by the Drive a little before the D-League season. He spent four years at UConn, where he won a national title in 2014, playing alongside current Orlando Magic guard Shabazz Napier and former Raptors second-rounder DeAndre Daniels.
Considering the fact that Saturday’s game was a wash very early and that all of the 905’s focus just wasn’t there, there’s something to be said of Caboclo and Wright both fighting and trying to make a difference in their individual matchups.
The desired result wasn’t always there, but if they keep up that kind of attitude, their killer potential on defence will surely become a reality.
