Raptors See New Confidence in Dalano Banton: Looks Like He's 'Ready to Crack the Rotation'
Dalano Banton would be forgiven if he needed a break to just catch his breath.
It's been almost 12 months of non-stop basketball for the Toronto Raptors second-year guard who bounced back and forth between the G League and the NBA last season, at one point playing four games in four days last season. That gave way to a summer filled with Summer League action, Rico Hines runs in Los Angeles, and a trip to Brazil to represent Canada at the FIBA AmeriCup.
Exhausted?
"I’m young and I’m loving it," said the 22-year-old Canadian. "Whenever I get the opportunity to play in a live game I’m all for it."
All that playing time has paid off for Banton who has been among the brightest stars for the Raptors so far this preseason. He's found a new confidence and poise in his game as he's learned to limit the turnovers and lead the offense while still maintaining that speed that made him such an intriguing prospect a year ago.
"He’s playing at the tempo he wants to play at and I think he's doing a little bit of everything, not only at the offensive end," said Raptors coach Nick Nurse following Banton's 11-point showing Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls. “I think he's playing in transition, he's running the team pretty good, and he's executing the sets. But he's really been good at the defensive end. He's really noticeable, getting his hands on the basketball and poking it away or reaching in from the weak side or stripping one away. He's done a good job using that length.”
Late in the third quarter Sunday, the Raptors sent a pair of screens to the top of the arc to spring Banton loose. A year ago, Banton might have panicked with the final seconds of the quarter winding down and tried chaotically to beat his man to the bucket. This time, though, he stayed calm, and when the Bulls switched the first screen and dropped on the second, Banton made the wise decision, finding Juancho Hernangomez for an open three-pointer.
Moments later, when Toronto ran the same action to start the fourth quarter, Banton saw a mismatch against Andre Drummon and decided to attack, using his speed to drive to the rim and flush a one-handed slam.
"It just feels like he’s reading the floor a little bit in his second go-around and we hope to continue to see him take strides out there," said Nurse. "I've liked the communication that he's had to get the rest of the guys into sets and organizing them and he's done some of that on his own"
"He just seems to be more comfortable with the reads, with the speed of the game,” Fred VanVleet said. “Obviously it’s going to be hard for a 6-foot-9 point guard not to have success in the NBA just with the size and the lanes that are available to him, being able to finish around the rim. He’s getting more comfortable with the jump shot, so it looks like a guy who has taken that step and feels like a guy that is ready to crack the rotation.”
With the injury bug already plaguing the Raptors this preseason, there's a good chance Banton does start the season in the rotation. Toronto had planned to lean on its size off the bench with Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, and Otto Porter Jr. leading the way, but a pair of hamstring injuries to Boucher and Porter have forced Nurse to tweak things a little as the regular season approaches.
Banton, though, will be more than ready when his number is called upon later this month. While the rest of the team is still ramping up, trying to work off the rust of a long summer, Banton's been ahead of the game, having never taken his foot off the gas pedal in the first place.
"I’m just putting my head down and continuing to enjoy the process and trusting in it," he said.
Further Reading
Raptors not concerned about preseason shooting woes following loss to Bulls
Justin Champagnie is ready to show he belongs as final roster cuts approach for Raptors
Raptors add state of the art screen to practice facility to help with analytics department
