A work in progress
He was ‘two years away from being two years away’ when he was drafted. Bruno Caboclo is still a bit of a mystery
The first shot of the game was a silky smooth three-pointer, high arcing, good extension, a shot any NBA player would be happy to unleash.
What followed was about eight minutes of disengagement, with no glaring errors and no glaring contributions.
Then three more shots after halftime, a three in traffic, another smooth corner swish, a quick release for the third.
An uneven performance, enough to intrigue, not quite enough to anger, but a true sense that something was just a little bit off. Another night in the slow growth of Bruno Caboclo.
His night Thursday for the Raptors 905 in their 103-91 win over the Oklahoma City Blue in a D-League game at Mississauga’s Hershey’s Centre — the team’s sixth victory in a row — was what some
“They said they wanted me to be one of the franchise players in some years . . . I will do all I can.” BRUNO CABOCLO RAPTORS FORWARD
have come to expect.
Caboclo scored 13 points in 20 minutes on four three-pointers and a free throw, with a blocked shot, just two rebounds, a turnover and a steal. He was noticeable at times, invisible at others.
Caboclo is, as he has always been, something of an enigma. He has the body — six-foot-nine, 218 pounds — that should allow him to be an impact player in any game. He is long and quick and his shot is smooth. But he is still a kid, a young 21still getting used to life in a foreign land.
“He is young and I had to take that into account dealing with him, understanding everything that he goes through, try to put myself in his shoes,” said 905 coach Jerry Stackhouse.
“What if they took me as a 17-, 18-yearold and stuck me in Brazil with no Portuguese, not knowing how to speak the language and saying, ‘OK, deal with it, you’re pro?’ Now learn how to play basketball under those circumstances.”
What should the expectations be for Caboclo? And are any of them fair?
He was the 20th pick in the 2014 NBA draft — a shock selection, for sure, but it was the spot in the draft where teams aren’t afraid to gamble. But because no one had heard of him — and because the guy doing the selecting, Masai Ujiri, has a reputation for making the right moves — Bruno became a thing.
Fans took to him, his expressive doe-like eyes, his smile, the fun he seemed to have, the little lost-boy vibe. People wanted to see him succeed. Caboclo felt it then, feels it now.
“Just think positive and they give me a lot of support, too, so that is good,” he said. “It’s not people hating you, or ‘boo’ all the time, they help me and that’s very good.
“I think there’s a lot of expectations. They said they wanted me to be one of the franchise players in some years, but I will do all I can and see how it goes.”
The Raptors have been patient with Caboclo, and why not? It’s not like he’s filling some roster spot they need, it’s not like he’s crippling them financially with his salary. And if he’s “two years away from being two years away,” as analyst Fran Fraschilla suggested when he was drafted, what’s the big deal? There may come atime to fish or cut bait, but that time hasn’t arrived. Yet. “There’s a time frame to get better,” Stackhouse said.
“We have to hold him to the fire, hold him accountable for what he can control. There’s a lot of things he can’t control but there are quite a few things he can control and that’s making sure he focuses, lets me know when he understands something and when he doesn’t understand something.
“And I think he’s gotten better at that. He’s gotten better at communicating, he’s gotten better at taking information — whether it’s in practice or on the drawing board — to the actual game. I’ve seen improvement in that.”
Is it enough? Still too early to tell.