Santa Cruz Warriors defeated the Raptors 905 114-111

Congratulations are in order for the Santa Cruz Warriors guards Damion Lee and Kendrick Nunn who were named to the All NBA G League Western Conference Team prior to the NBA All-Star break.

Before the second half of the season begins, on today’s edition of TimeOut, I am going to give a recap of the Santa Cruz Warriors win against the Raptors 905, the G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.

One thing we know for sure as NBA fans is that anytime the Warriors face the Raptors, the game is tight and the winner is usually determined down the wire. This is no different in the NBA G League as the Santa Cruz Warriors had a 114-111 advantage over the Raptors 905.

Leading the Warriors on offense was Kendrick Nunn who despite shooting one of three from the three-point line, scored twenty-five points on eleven of eighteen shooting from the field. Nunn shot the best in the third quarter making four of his five shots majority of his shots in the paint.

The second highest scorer for the Santa Cruz Warriors was Darius Morris who was eight of eighteen on the road to scoring twenty points for the night was one of two players to make three three-pointers the other being Michael Gbinije.

Morris was aggressive in the third quarter attempting seven shots making three. Along with the twenty points, he grabbed four rebounds and dished out six assists which were the highest for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Despite the Raptors winning the rebound and assist race, the Warriors scored more points off the fast break (19-9) and ten more points in the paint (58-48). What was also apparent was the Warriors getting more opportunity at the free throw line.

The Warriors attempted 20 shots at the line and made fourteen of those shots which is great. Being able to make shots at the line will be helpful in the playoffs when games are on the line. Antonius Cleveland was the only player from the Sea Dubs to attempt more than two free throws and he was perfect from the free throw line making four of his four free throws. The team also has become more active having seven blocks for the night with Deyonta Davis and Antonius Cleveland having two blocks apiece.

Areas to Improvement

What the Warriors need to ensure that they avoid fouls and giving the opposing team more opportunities at the line. The Warriors had twenty-three foul called against them. Up to this point, the Warriors had 9.5 personal fouls called against them per game.

Foul calls can make or break a team in two ways: momentum and obviously points. Constantly having to stop a game just so a player can make free throws can damper a team energy wise especially when they are on a run because time has to be taken again to build back that momentum. In regards to points, if a team keep fouling their opponent and the opponent is behind points-wise, the free throws can help the opposing team win the game and the Warriors need to avoid that as often as possible.

The Warriors return to the court tomorrow Wednesday, February 20 as they face the Stockton Kings at the Stockton Arena.