Raptors Report: Malachi Flynn passes the second-year player test at Summer League, rookie injuries and more

LAS VEGAS, NV - AUGUST 12: Malachi Flynn #22 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball against the Houston Rockets during the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League on August 12, 2021 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
By Blake Murphy
Aug 13, 2021

LAS VEGAS — Will Weaver has what you might call a reputation. An excellent coach in the G League and Australian league with several stops as an NBA assistant on the resume, Weaver can run hot. Malachi Flynn may want to heed that warning, as the Raptors point guard was a thorn in the side of Weaver, the Houston Rockets’ Summer League coach, all game Thursday.

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The Rockets entered the game as reasonable favourites. The Raptors were on a back-to-back and had turned in a rough-looking performance Wednesday, and the Rockets came in at 2-0 and had looked dominant early in the tournament. Armed with No. 2 pick Jalen Green, fellow rookies Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher and some experienced rotation players, the Rockets are exactly the type of explosive team that can often out-talent their way to wins in this environment. The Raptors, meanwhile, look a little less glossy on paper.

Enter Flynn, who is passing the highest-fidelity Summer League test there is: the second-year first-round pick test. He was instrumental in the Raptors’ 92-76 mini-upset victory.

That test is the caveat to the idea that Summer League results aren’t particularly helpful. The common line of thinking in Las Vegas is that this environment can weed out bad players but doesn’t necessarily tell you who is good. That’s an oversimplification. There is some statistical relevance to Summer League performance, and more data (statistical or eye test) should always be helpful. Norman Powell bursting on the scene as a second-round pick alerted everyone that he was ahead of his perceived draft stock, for example. Really, though, certain players should be really good in Summer League, either because of pedigree or experience or both.

This is where the 2Y1P Test comes in. In theory, a player who was a first-round pick and has a year in the league under their belt should be polished enough to lead a team, if not outright dominate for stretches. That rule might not be as effective this year with no 2020 Summer League and condensed NBA and G League seasons. Flynn, who played just six G League games and was used sparingly in the NBA until the homestretch of the season, has passed the test with flying colours.

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Flynn’s value was as noticeable when he sat the first two games as when he played. Toronto’s offence struggled to get coordinated without a lead hand, and Flynn’s emerging shot is one of the few 3-point weapons on the roster. He put up 39 points over the first two games, largely controlling the pace in the half court and being relied on to steady things amid tough spacing.

He was even better Thursday despite a more modest stat line. Flynn was completely in control of the Raptors’ pull-ahead stretch in the second quarter, leading the way at both ends of the floor. There was a strip on a drive, a defensive rebound after his own stop and pressure that forced a Weaver timeout. There was also a funky, out-of-control finish for an and-1, a 3 off of a Freddie Gillespie block sequence and a hesitating, tempo-shifting drive for another bucket. It all pushed the Raptors ahead by 15 at the half, and Flynn quickly helped pushed the lead to 20 in the third with another 3 that forced another timeout from Weaver.

All told, Flynn finished with 13 points, three assists and an eye-popping plus-23 in 32 minutes. Flynn hasn’t blown opponents away with any major addition to the repertoire, and the turnovers will need to come down in time. Mostly, Flynn just looks like a player who has a year of learning, making mistakes, being mentored and growing under him. He’s taken on a quiet leadership role with the Vegas Raptors, to where the team should be growing confident in his ability to be a big part of their second unit in 2021-22. He might still need some help creating offence for those units depending on how the rotation shakes out and the 3 remains a work in progress, but he’s looked like he’s supposed to here. For a low-fidelity environment, that’s about as ringing an endorsement as you can get.

Earlier games: Koreen on Scottie Barnes’ debut | Murphy on Precious Achiuwa’s debut

Too many injury updates

• Scottie Barnes left the game in the first half after tweaking his left ankle. He returned later in the half and ended up playing 23 minutes. That was a bit surprising since he’s a No. 4 pick, on the second night of a back-to-back and the Raptors have a few players they haven’t gotten much of a look at yet. Barnes needs the reps right now, so you can understand the risk tradeoff, though hopefully he’s headed for a day by the pool Friday.

• David Johnson suffered a sprained right shoulder in the second quarter and did not return. It’s a tough break for Johnson, who battled left shoulder issues in college and who is said to have been having a really strong camp, at least at the offensive end. The Raptors have a history of shoulder injuries in Vegas. He’s headed for an MRI.

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• Matt Morgan rolled his ankle in the second half and, after asking to stay in the game, eventually relented and went to the locker room. Morgan dealt with persistent ankle issues during the 2019-20 G League season. So, yeah, not the best night for Raptors 702, even if coach Patrick Mutombo sounded optimistic about Barnes and Morgan.

• Ashton Hagans (ankle) has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. He suffered the injury before the team’s first game, which is always extra unfortunate timing since he had no on-court opportunity. After missing almost the entirety of last year, too, Hagans could be headed for a G League prove-it season.

Scouting notes

• It was a tough night for Barnes beyond just the ankle tweak. He finished with eight points on 2-of-7 shooting and had a really tough time finishing inside and out. He also looked a bit fatigued at times, lacking some of the burst he showed earlier in the tournament. The dunk on Garuba would have been cool. Alas. On the bright side, Barnes still showed a nose for the free-throw line and was a tone setter defensively with his full-court aggression, there’s just been a bit of a coming back to earth after an impressive debut.

• Precious Achiuwa hit a pair of 3s on his way to 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. A 1-of-5 mark at the free-throw line prevented him from an even more impressive night. There’s not much to say here I didn’t say after Wednesday’s game — Achiuwa has a really intriguing skill package for his size, and the Raptors’ development system is as good a bet as any to turn that into a more refined, effective centre.

• Ishmail Wainright did my favourite Summer League oddity: He picked up six fouls but didn’t foul out. Players are allowed 10 fouls here, so Wainright didn’t have to tone down the physicality or intensity at all. And it’s a good thing, too — Wainright led the team with 20 points and added seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Projecting ahead to the training camp battle, Wainright shooting 4 of 6 on 3s really stands out. There’s not much question he can provide toughness, physicality and some smarts in the open court; if he can prove a capable threat from the corners, it gets really easy to see where he fits.

• It’s been a tough couple of games for Freddie Gillespie. … Justin Champagnie had his best performance of the tournament so far, with a number of standout defensive and hustle plays that he did well turning into offence the other way. … It was another fun one for Dalano Banton, who is what we’ve come to call a “high-event player” around these parts. Always a lot happening, most of it good Thursday. … Everyone healthy got to see the floor in this one. It’d be nice to get a longer look at a few of the players, especially Zaccheus Darko-Kelly, even just to see how NAIA dominance translates.

• Yuta Watanabe sat once again. As Eric wrote about Thursday, Watanabe has had a whirlwind couple of days coming back from the Olympics. It’s nice he’s here and able to spend time with the team, but there’s no real reason to push it at this stage in the offseason.

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Miscellaneous

• Nate Bjorkgren has been here in Las Vegas with the Raptors. It remains unclear at this point whether he’ll return to the Raptors in some capacity this year, but it’s little surprise to see him around with Nick Nurse and staying in the mix with the team.

• Anas Mahmoud and Ishmail Wainright will be headed to Rwanda to play in the AfroBasket tournament with Egypt and Uganda after Summer League concludes. Achiuwa is not sure yet whether he’ll head over there to play with Nigeria.

• There was a marriage proposal at halftime of the Pacers-Blazers game earlier in the day.

The Raptors next play the Hornets at 7 p.m. (ET) Saturday. My time here in Las Vegas is up, but I’ll still have you covered for that game and the to-be-determined fifth and final Raptors game.

(Photo: Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)

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