MAHLALELA GETTING NURSED ON RAPTORS’ WAY
NBA Summer League is chiefly about getting young players invaluable experience, but that logic also extends to coaches.
For Jama Mahlalela, the Swaziland-born, Toronto-raised new head coach of Raptors 905, that is certainly the case.
Mahlalela has been working alongside new Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, but it’s been more of a partnership than a traditional delegation of duties, which makes sense, since the plan is to make the 905 system a complete extension of what Nurse and his staff do in Toronto.
“I think what’s going to be exciting is Nick and myself working hand in hand and that’s been the case in Summer League and will be the case in our seasons,” Mahlalela said after a practice at a Las Vegas high school.
“We’re definitely fully in the midst of it. It’s been a really good learning curve in terms of me getting up to speed with what the Raptors team is going to be doing and then we emulate that for our 905 team, but the working relationship is fully in place and that will continue as it gets toward the regular season.”
Mahlalela was moved from his spot as an assistant coach with the NBA club to the G League team’s bench boss in June and is approaching the job with his customary enthusiasm. There is a definitive way both Mahlalela and Nurse will expect their teams to play on both ends of the floor.
“Defensively there’s a major focus on using our hands and getting deflections and by doing that we’re going to create turnovers, and by doing that we’re going to get more possessions in the game,” Mahlalela said.
“If we have more possessions we’re going to win more games than the other team so for me it’s about managing possessions, gaining possessions through our defensive intensity and owning the ball that way.
“On the offensive side, we’ve got to play with pace. We’re going to run a similar offence that the Raptors run. We’re going to fill the corners, we’re going to sprint, going to cut, drive, kick, swing, try to score the ball as quickly as we can and from the spots we want to shoot the ball from.”
It sounds like a plan, though Mahlalela won’t have the likes of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, or OG Anunoby to help everything run smoothly in Mississauga.
Some of the players competing for Toronto in Vegas could end up with Raptors 905. Undrafted free agent Rawle Alkins and fellow guard Jordan Lloyd seem like good candidates, while Mahlalela has been impressed by another, 6-foot-2 guard Giddy Potts.
Potts, who hails from Athens, Alabama and played four seasons at Middle Tennessee, is a strong outside shooter and rebounder. “Giddy Potts has been a real sort of standout for us in the course of the Summer League. His ability to use the body that he has and bounce people off has been impressive. I think that’s an underrated skill,” Mahlalela said.
“Even though he’s a shorter player, he’s still able to use his strength to get into the paint and make things happen. And then you need someone who can create shots and Giddy has shown that he can do that. He’s not scared to shoot the shots, he’ll take them and he’ll make them…”
Potts scored 15 points off of the bench on Monday, but still isn’t satisfied with his work so far.
“I’d say I’ve been doing all right, but I can still do better,” Potts said.
Potts said making shots is increasing his confidence, but people already knew he could hit them. More surprising was his chase-down block.
“Hopefully I’ll get more of them,” said a smiling Potts.