TORONTO – As evidenced by the struggles seen from some members of the Toronto Raptors and other teams, life in the Walt Disney World bubble can get tough as the monotony of doing the same thing every day over the span of two to three months will grate on just about anyone.
However, in just a one-month sprint, the comfort of a routine could actually be seen as something of an advantage.
Especially when part of that routine has been “winning a basketball game,” as has been the case for Raptors 905 all season long.
The best team during the G League regular season, the 905 opened their playoff pursuit of a championship in impressive fashion blowing out G League Ignite 127-102 Monday afternoon.
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With the win, the 905 advanced to the G League semifinals, a game they’ll play Tuesday night at 9:15 p.m. ET on Sportsnet ONE against the Delaware Blue Coats and their G League MVP frontrunner Paul Reed.
Led by Henry Ellenson’s game-high 35 points, the 905 showed exactly why they were the No. 1 seed coming into the G League playoffs, flexing their top-rated offence’s muscle to the fullest against an Ignite team that was simply overmatched from opening tip-off.
“I was able to get an iso layup in the first play of the game and it’s always nice to see one go through,” said Ellenson after the game. “That’s kind of always been the way it’s gone for me, if I see one go through I kinda get on a little roll and a little rhythm and I was able to knock down my first three.”
In addition to putting up big scoring numbers, Ellenson was efficient while doing it, to boot, going 12-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-9 from deep.
His strong game is indicative of the kind of tear Ellenson’s been on to close the regular season. Raptors 905 finished the regular season on an eight-game win streak that saw Ellenson averaging 23.3 points per game on scorching shooting splits of 52.5 per cent from the floor and 48.6 per cent from three-point range (on close to nine attempts from distance per game).
“He’s a talented young man, he’s bought into what we’re saying and then he’s just willing to help us out with his talent,” said 905 head coach Patrick Mutombo of the hot streak Ellenson’s been on. “I wish I could take credit but I won’t because it’s not us, it’s Henry just feeling free and feeling good about his game and just playing the best way he can. I’m very happy for him. We needed every single bucket he gave us.”
Though he was most brilliant, Ellenson wasn’t the only 905er who shone brightly on Monday. Matt Morgan recorded a new G League career-high, scoring 25 points on incredible 9-for-11 shooting, Canadian Nik Stauskas scored 23 points and Alize Johnson finished with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.
This is the kind of offensive balance that’s allowed the 905 to run away with the best offence in the G League, posting an offensive rating of 118.6 in the regular season – more than six full points per 100 possessions better than No. 2.
“There’s nothing I think I was forcing out there, it’s all within the rhythm of the offence and that’s why I think our offence is really good because it’s very unselfish and you can get shots up but you don’t have to try to go one-on-one,” said Ellenson. “We can all play together and get open looks. So, yeah, I had the high number but we had a lot of other guys scoring the ball tonight and that’s what makes us really good. That’s why we’re the top team.”
Of moderate concern for the 905 heading into the playoffs was the team’s defence. Finishing as just the 15th ranked defence (of 18 teams) in the G League, there were question marks if they could get the stops needed to let their high-octane attack take over, but those fears appeared to have been allayed by the team’s ability to put the clamps on the Ignite in the fourth quarter, holding them to just 17 points and 7-of-17 shooting in the period.
“I do like the fact that we only conceded 17 points in the fourth quarter, but also there were spurts where we really needed to get stops and break their momentum, and we were able to do that,” said Mutombo. “We were able to execute some of our schemes precisely, and that’s encouraging, that’s something we can build on.”
Despite the wide margin of victory in the end, Ignite did look like they would threaten the 905 at times, entering the fourth quarter down only 13 thanks to an amazing buzzer-beating heave of a three from top draft prospect Jalen Green – who finished the contest with 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
However, as a testament to their improved defence, whenever the Ignite looked to have some momentum on their side the 905 managed to string some stops together consecutively and punished the Ignite for their empty trips on the offensive end to pump the lead back up.
“I think we just locked in,” said Morgan of his team’s defensive performance Monday. “We bought in defensively and we knew we just had to get some stops. We score at a really high rate so if we can get some stops, the other team might panic a little bit.”
That’s exactly what ended up happening to the Ignite, who just couldn’t stop the snowball effect that getting stops and cashing in on the other end tends to cause.
Looking ahead at the 905’s next game – and even beyond to the championship game if they make it that far – this is blueprint to success it’s what’s been pounded into the players from the outset of the season.
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“What we tried to do early in the season is keep talking to them. We were sticklers at training camp about what we were gonna stand for,” said Mutombo. “That gave us time that allowed us then to keep reminding them. And they got tired of it. They got sick of it. But we had to just, every day, every day, they keep hearing the same thing, the same message, and we just let them know we’re not gonna quit.”
Pounding home the same message, again and again, does come with it the risk that players will eventually tune it out, but in the truncated season that the 905’s played it’s worked out well.
Finding routine and sameness every day the team’s pursuit of a championship has taken the 905 this far, so something is clearly working.
Whether it’s Ellenson and Morgan playing video games in their downtime or the coaching staff sacrificing sleep to prepare for a game the next day – as will be the case Monday night heading into Tuesday night’s contest – the 905 have found a winning routine for themselves that figures to see them lifting another trophy by Thursday evening.
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