Initially starting as “The Rookie Challenge” this All-Star weekend event has undergone a number of format and style changes to The Rising Stars are broken into four teams, constructed of a variety of players across the league, mostly rookies and sophomores.
Murray-Boyles was part of Team Melo, while Alijah Martin suited up with the G-League squad, Team Austin.
CMB didn’t have much of an opportunity, only seeing a little over a minute of playing time and leaving the stat sheet empty, missing his only shot attempt. Of course, with a lingering thumb injury, that shouldn’t be much of a disappointment. Just being selected and touching the floor is a nice nod to the work he’s been putting in this year.
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Fellow Raptor Martin’s night was different as he started the game, playing solid single coverage despite the limited defence we usually see during All-Star weekend. Martin, and the rest of the G-Leaguers had a difficult time scoring from beyond the arc to start, but it didn’t take long to find rhythm. He cashed in a pair of 3s in back to back possessions, then delivered a perfectly placed pass to the hands of Yang who was able to finish the go-ahead layup. After a brief rest he was back in to grab another rebound and set Yang up for a dunk. To Raptors 905 fans, none of this is a surprise the way he’s been navigating the floor this season. He finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists despite playing a little over 10 minutes total.
If you’re a fan of the CEBL, you probably recognized another one of the starters on Team Austin, the other number 55, Sean East II. He had a phenomenal summer with the Edmonton Stingers, carrying their offence for much of the season. He showed flashes of that game tonight as well, with solid ball-handling, speed, and passing.
Despite a solid effort and leading for a good part of the game, team Melo was able to come from behind and reach 40 first, eliminating Martin, East II, and the other G-Leaguers.
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In the final, CMB didn’t touch the floor at all, but still made sure to cheer on the team from the bench while chatting with coach Melo. Unfortunately, they fell to Team Vince, but not for lack of effort.
The future for Toronto is bright, and it was nice to see the nod to both Martin and Murray-Boyles as they set foot on the court tonight.
Martin, and the Raptors aren’t done for the weekend though, as Scottie will represent tomorrow in the Shooting Stars competition that will start after 5pm ET. Then, Martin will appear in the G-League Up-Next game, this time alongside teammate A.J. Lawson at 2:30pm ET. The weekend will then be finished off with Scottie and Ingram in the All-Star game on Sunday starting off at 5pm ET.