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.
And then there were three…games that is. It’s the final afternoon for show up or shut up ball at the NBADL Showcase. About half of the scouts and GM’s have gone home, there were a lot of empty spaces at the court side set up for VIP’s.
Canton Charge – 118 — Westchester Knicks – 108: Keep Cook(in)
This was one of those games where, as a spectator, you feel like one team is very much in control and then you cock your head up towards the jumbotron and realize, dang, it’s been within 10 points for the entire time.
23 lead changes, 11 ties, but eventually the experience of John Holland and the expertise of Quinn Cook were the difference.
Westchester’s Kevin Capers was given the ominous task of slowing down the Duke alum. Well, Cook dropped 40, 19 in the fourth. And though Capers can’t be blamed for Cook’s closing time antics (he only played three minutes), although spidery in appearance, Capers was over matched. Cook exploited the match-up to the tune of 10 points and 2 assists.
I really like Cook, not only does he seem mature and self aware off the floor, on it he doesn’t need to be overly assertive to make an impact. The game comes to him. He makes quick decisions, avoiding getting caught in double teams, and when he passes out of trouble he does so to a teammate who is in a position to succeed.
It’s not just a one man show, the “big bro” and Cook’s best friend on the team, John Holland played well too. His 4-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers stood out, but he also contributed with 6 assists and rebounds.
On playing with someone that can lessen his burden Cook said, “He (Holland) makes everything easy, he’s a pro, an older veteran and he helps me so much. When he got here last year, I was probably the happiest person in Canton. He elevated my game.”
Note: Quinn Cook was named to the First Team All-Showcase Team, and John Holland listed as a Second Team All-Showcase Team member.
Reno Bighorns – 121 — Salt Lake City Stars – 101: Role Reversal
It was Reno that came out looking like stars during their last game in the Showcase. Shining brightest today was Lamar Patterson. Although the game was tight after the first quarter, Patterson himself didn’t meet much resistance — 10 points in the first quarter on his way to 34 points in 34 minutes.
The Pittsburgh swingman did it off the bounce, from beyond the arc, and even spotted Isaiah Cousins for the alley oop.
Patterson has fire power, there’s no denying that. He averages over 22 points a game, along with 6 rebound and 5 assists. However, his defense isn’t even close to the top 100 players in the D-League. After being drafted in the second round in 2014, Patterson opted to go overseas, where he played in Turkey but only managed 11 minutes per game.
Next year he was with the Atlanta Hawks (traded from Milwaukee the year before) and had a steady diet of flex assignment, bouncing between the Austin Spurs and Canton Charge. He got used quite a bit, 23 minutes per game but in new systems with new coaches you don’t get the same shot at development.
This year he’s flourishing under head coach Darrick Martin, who said he’s glad to see his guys showing tangible improvements on the things they work at in practice. Now an affiliate player of the Sacramento Kings and firmly intrenched in the organization’s plans, at least for this year, Patterson is showing why he was named to the second team All-ACC by league coaches and media.
Oh, and hit your free throws young man! Patterson hits just 77 percent of his free throws.
L.A. Defenders – 128 — Texas Legends – 115: Defense, D-What?
We knew the Defenders were ironically named, I talked about it after their last game. It’s a good thing that their offense is potent enough to put up enormous numbers.
This season, L.A. has 10 games where they’ve scored 125 points or more, two of them losses. They are the best scoring team in the NBADL, and in a league where it’s easy to find yourself in 1-on-1 situations, the Defenders also share the ball really well, ranking first in the league in assists.
Josh Magette gets an enormous amount of credit for that, and today he was next level — 15 assists to go along with 15 points. Through the last nine games, Magette has had double-digit assists six times.
Take look for yourself.
Magette is certainly not flashy, and doesn’t have a ton of flare, but he’s reliable, stable, and consistent. I love his little one handed bounce pass that he navigates through traffic, in pick-and-roll, or across the paint.
Magette has good instincts, and since he spreads the ball around pretty evenly I applaud his ability to understand the tenancies of his teammates. It’s not easy to anticipate the moves and reactions of those around you in reactionary situations.
As for the Legends, man Manny Harris did everything he could possibly do! Scoring 41 points, with 6 assists and 6 rebounds in the loss. It’s the third time this season he’s reached the 40-plus plateau.
Next: NBA D-League Showcase 2017: Day 4 Recap
He’s a volume shooter with high efficiency. His 3-point averages, are fine, but with some more games like today (4-of-7 on 3s) he could inch closer to the 40 percent mark.