Short-handed 905 come up short in last Showcase Cup home game

The College Park Skyhawks led the entire game, minus a brief one-point lead through the 905 early in the first quarter.

The 905 were down nine points at the end of the first and moved within five points several times in the second. In the third they got to within seven, but that was as close as it got.

After the game coach Khoury spoke about how the 905 never gave up and despite being down the entire second half they never seemed discouraged.

The 905 had shrunk to a roster of seven and David Johnson got his fourth foul early in the second. That forced Hassani Gravett to play more minutes, who finished the night with a solid 20 points in 8-for-14 shooting. Both teams were missing their two-way players, and Justin Champagnie was the sole NBA representative.

Morale wins don’t exist, but playing with the intensity last night against a top-ranked team like the Ontario Clippers and Rio Grande Valley Vipers was a positive sign.

After the game, Champagnie spoke about the time it takes to grow together as a team. Last Showcase Cup season, the 905 finished 4-8, but finished the regular season 24-8 with an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Other 905 players have recently mentioned spending more time off the pitch to get to know each other. Hopefully this will lead to more Ws on the hardwood in the regular season. After a six-game losing streak, the 905 have won three of their last five Showcase Cup games. They even tied the series 1-1 with the Showcase Cup-tied Maine Celtics.

Last night the 905 suffered from the same issue affecting its parent team. They couldn’t hit 3s. They shot 10/42 (24%) from behind the arc, despite shooting 58% from two-point range. The 905 have shot a miserable 28% (151 to 536) from three-pointers this Showcase Cup season and they either have to just start hitting them or rely more on the anti-analytic middle class when it does Teams like College Park pack the paint.

Three-pointers aside, another area of ​​improvement will be defense under pressure. Coach Khoury admitted it was difficult to match the Skyhawks’ speed and power last night. Champagnie, who finished the game with 31 points and 16 boards in G-League career, hit a first-half floater with 2:24 left, putting the 905 within five points. But allowing Brampton’s AJ Lawson to paint, having Perry ambushed by Armoni Brooks, and back-to-back triples from Jared Rhoden quickly led to a 14-4 Skyhawks run (with only Perry scoring for the 905).

How the addition of Guard Darryl Morsell and 6’10” Aaron Epps (a really tall one) affects the 905 will be worth keeping an eye on. The 905 will play two games at Mandalay Bay before starting the 32-game regular season against the Iowa Wolves on Thursday, December 29.

NBA clock

Reggie Perry was a penny short of a triple-double last night (28, 10 and 9). He’s averaging 22 and 9 during the Showcase Cup season, but what really stood out last night was his passing.

When Perry attacks the paint, good things happen. In the first quarter, he played a nice pass from the wing to the weak corner, which went straight into Devon Daniels’ shot pocket. Later in the fourth he drove and dealt it to him when Daniels cut to the basket.

Perry and Champagnie had great chemistry last night, trading post-entry passes between themselves. Perry threw a beautiful lob into the champagne early in the third. In the same quarter, he threw another to Champagnie after what appeared to be an inverted set of horns.

Perry also continued to show that he can leave the post. In the third, he drove the lane, settling briefly in the post and tossing a one-handed, Jokic-esque pass to Ryan Hawkins on the weakside corner (Hawkins splashed it while the aforementioned former receiver was far from so)

gab brown had an off-shoot night and shot 2-for-10.

As Warren Ward repeatedly said on the show: Hassan Gravet can create recordings for himself. While not as explosive as Saben Lee, he gets to the basket easily. To be 6ft 2in without a dead three-point shot or crazy athletics, and maybe make it a long way back to the NBA. But he’s been there before, having signed two 10-day contracts with the Magic last season.

AJ Lawson may not play for the 905, but it’s from the 905: Brampton. Playing in front of family, friends, and his agent Elias Sbiet (one of the brothers who founded North Pole Hoops and played a huge part in building Canada’s basketball scene), he posted a career-high 32-21 shooting (4-for -7 behind the arc) with nine rebounds. It’s easy to cheer for him – he’s still 22 years old, recently played for the Timberwolves as a two-way, has added muscle to his once branchy physique and has played for the Guelph Nighthawks. Hopefully he’ll play for Team Canada very soon.