This week is the NBA D-League Showcase, a five-day event featuring all 22 D-league teams playing multiple games. The event, hosted in Mississauga, Ontario (home of the Raptors 905, Toronto’s affiliate), is a chance for NBA teams to scout potential talent and roster additions all in one place. It’s also an all-day basketball buffet.
You can find our daily recaps of the event here at The Step Back and check out the complete schedule to see what’s coming up. For more coverage of the NBA D-League Showcase, be sure to follow Ashley Docking on Twitter and Instagram.
Westchester Knicks – 118 – Erie BayHawks 114
No Lead Is Safe
This morning was a far cry from the 36 point, first quarter outburst the BayHawks enjoyed Wednesday afternoon against Westchester.
Early morning games can have that effect on some. So with a quick shot of espresso and the crust out of their eyes, in the second quarter, Erie picked things up and escaped the first half with a five point lead over the Knicks.
The Hawks would erect a 15-point lead but squandered it away after a timely 13-0 run initiated by a balanced Knicks attack. With the score 89-88 after three, the game was ever so slightly leaning in Erie’s favor.
Finally, Westchester was able to get over the hump and a shot by Von Wafer at the 1:18 mark would serve as the game winner. Wafer cracked the 20-point plateau off the bench (23 points, five rebounds and five assists) as did Courtney Fells (22 points, 2-of-4 from 3) to complete the comeback win.
For the BayHawks, Gabe York was lights out. Bills not paid, hydro cut off, need some kindling, lights out. Hitting eight 3s, good for a game high 32 points in the loss.
Anthony Brown had 19 points, but was -16, in large part because he was defending Fells who has been playing really well lately. Regardless, Brown remains a key component in Erie.
When his shot failed him early on, strong defense was still apparent. I particularly liked his pick-and-roll defense. He takes good angles, doesn’t die on screens and continues to move his feet to get back in the play.
In 2015 Brown was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.
Born and bread in Cali, Brown told me it was almost unbelievable that he found himself in the same dressing room as Kobe Bryant right out of school.
“It was a little too good, it was a little too dreamy for me, you know being from L.A. I’ve been watching Kobe since I was like three or four. Having him in the locker room and being right next to him, I learned a lot. They can never take that away from me, so it’s one thing I’m always proud of.”
Speaking of proud, puff your chest out young man! It is required for players shooting over 47 percent from beyond the arc and 46 percent from the field while averaging 21.6 points per game.
It’s only a matter of time before he finds a place in the NBA to stick.
Iowa Energy – 104 – Salt Lake City Stars – 98
Diamond In The Rough
Drafted by the Pelicans after a one-and-done stint at Maryland, Diamond Stone was traded to the Clippers on draft night.
He’s here at the Showcase, on flex assignment. This time, he’s playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, who are the Utah Jazz affiliate (Stone had an assignment in Santa Cruz earlier in the season as well).
It’s not an easy situation to be in. Not only is Stone trying to acclimate himself to the NBA, but he also has to learn multiple D-League systems and assimilate quickly. On top of that, the new systems will be foreign, since he’s not with a team affiliated with the Clippers, using the same vocabulary and schemes.
Luckily, or maybe predictably, depending on how familiar you are with him, Stone is making the transition seamlessly.
Averaging 13.6 points and 7.8 rebounds, he stepped up in every regard this week. In his two games at the Showcase, he’s not only double-doubled both games (14 points, 13 rebounds vs. Santa Cruz and 27 points, 14 rebounds vs. Iowa) but he’s done it in less than 30 minutes on both occasions.
Stone told The Step Back he is comfortable moving from program to program, and the Clippers do a great job checking in with him to make sure everything is kosher.
Even though they lost today, Stone’s shown he knows what he needs to do to be successful, and contribute, no matter what jersey he’s wearing.
Delaware 87ers – 115 – Greensboro Swarm – 111
Two Thirds
A lot of stock is put on prospect lists.
In the D-League there is actually a panel and a scoring system in place to determine who the Top 25 guys are, and who you should have your eyes on.
That means sometimes there are players who are overlooked, however unfair, it’s a reality.
Today, Delaware benefited from even scoring from every spot, which made it easier to withstand the 32-point fourth quarter push from the Swarm, their highest 12 minute total of the game.
The 87ers shot 54 percent from 3 (13-of-24). That was the difference considering the Swarm popped 22 more shots than Delaware, and shot a respectable 44 percent from the field.
The regal James Webb III (anytime there are numbers after a name I suggest you pronounce it with a British accent), was 4-of-7 from deep, finished with 17 points and added a game high 11 rebounds.
David Laury III didn’t have a good offensive day, shooting just 20 percent from the floor and limping to five points, but he did what good players do, they contribute other ways. The 6-foot-9, sturdy forward had six assists (tying a career high), a number matched only by Greensboro’s Aaron Harrison. He also jumped on 10 rebounds and, for good measure, snaked two steals.
For what it’s worth, he shot 100 percent yesterday on his way to 16 points.
Laury isn’t exactly in my cross hairs, but he rose to the occasion when facing some self imposed hurdles in one of the larger job interviews of his life, and that counts for something.
Austin Spurs – 106 – Northen Arizona Suns – 101
Thus My DJJ Obsession Continues
Can you just give him the ball? All day. Everyday. Just so we can see what he does with it. There is a legitimate 80 percent chance whatever he does is going to be athletic and exciting!
Jones was 9-of-20 for 23 points. Hitting 3-of-7 from 3 helped, and by the way he has a 45 inch vertical in case you forgot!
But you can’t win em’ all and at the 50 second mark above, yikes, Cory Jefferson gets up! Don’t worry Jones got redemption the very next play (see above video at 00:51 seconds).
For the Spurs, Dejounte Murray was busy drawing everyone’s attention away from Nikola Jokic on Thursday, in his third career start (thanks to a Tony Parker injury).
That actually made way for Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova) who slots back into the starting lineup when Murray is up with the Spurs.
Arcidiacono has 12 starts on the season prior to tonight’s game. He’s led the team in assists seven times. Austin head coach Ken McDonald said Arcidiacono did a good job, and more importantly didn’t try to do too much.
It’s a tough balance to strike when playing in front of NBA GM’s. These conditions can cause some to come down with a bad case of ‘hero ball’. Symptoms include driving into traffic, taking contested shots and firing at will early in the possession.
Back to Arcidiacono because we always think about the guys that get the call up. On the other side it can be just as tumultuous and emotional for those with increased exposure directly tied to the success of others.
According to McDonald, there’s no place for hard feelings in this franchise.
“Arc (Arcidiacono) and Murray were together during training camp, and that helps, there’s a relationship. And then Arc has to learn, you know professionally, be ready when your number is called and that’s hard. Dejounte could be there one day, he could be there three weeks.”
That goes for all the Austin guards. Be ready when Murray’s gone, but the tough part is to also be humble and gracious when he returns. The preparation should be the same whether you’re playing 30 minutes or four minutes in either level of the NBA.
Raptors 905 – 111 – Long Island Nets – 104
Unsung Hero
Listen, I know that Jerry Stackhouse’s lineup concoctions are working, because the 905 are the best in the Eastern Conference at 18-7 after tonight’s win.
Minutes are split pretty evenly among the main rotation guys and for the most part everyone hits the floor. They have a lot of nice pieces.
Axel Toupane for starters. Everyone will be writing about him after this week, he’s criminally underrated on the D-League prospect list, for what it’s worth.
C.J. Leslie was on an earlier piece on The Step Back outlining players who deserve more playing time. He double-doubled tonight with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
With that being said, can we #FreeWillSheehey?!
Disclaimer — these highlights are from Dec. 1, 2016 since the D-League hasn’t posted any recent montages. How disrespectful…
Freeing Sheehey may be a selfish request and the team as a whole is marginally better with him on the floor but, I just really enjoy players who do the dirty work and make those hustle plays, like Sheehey. He’s not worried about looking dumb and goes balls to the wall every second he’s on the floor.
Next: How NBA players tried to ruin the All-Star game
Forgetting about the Toronto Raptors; assignees, Sheehey is fourth in field goal percentage (48 percent), which is second best among the 905 guards. Just behind the aforementioned Toupane. He averages 10 points per game while playing 23 minutes a night.
Sheehey’s numbers won’t jump out at you, but he does a lot of the little things right and he’s sneaky athletic. Straight up, he’s adds a spark for Raptors and I don’t think anyone can disagree with that.
In every game that I’ve been to this year, Sheehey has made a play. Key steal, “momentum” shifting corner 3, or diving on the floor to procure a loose ball. He does the dirty work and I like it.