When Dalano Banton is in a groove, the Toronto Raptors elongated point guard looks like he can hang with just about everyone down at Las Vegas Summer League.
In the third quarter of Toronto's Summer League opener this past weekend, for example, Banton was the difference for the Raptors. He flipped the script for Toronto with 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the third frame, turning a three-point Raptors deficit heading into the half into a blowout victory for Toronto.
It was, for a moment, a beautiful mix of poise and mayhem. He'd jettison up the court with those long strides, beating his defender, and making plays around the rim. He even mixed in a pair of three-pointers, a point of emphasis for Banton this summer as Toronto tries to make him more of an off-ball threat this year.
"That's the strength of Dalano, that he can create, get past his man, and get it in the paint," Raptors Summer League coach Trevor Gleeson told reporters in Las Vegas. "Now he's got to make a good decision once he gets in there. So he's either got to finish at the rim or make that assist pass."
The problem, however, was the lowlights, especially in the first half. Banton racked up seven turnovers for the game, repeatedly getting ahead of himself and coughing up the ball with ill-advised dump-off passes in the paint.
Balancing his speed and composure is going to be the key for Banton heading into his sophomore season. Ideally, he can be a change-of-pace guard off the bench for the Raptors, spelling Fred VanVleet for stretches, and ratcheting up the chaos when he checks in. Last season, it worked early in the year, but the madness eventually caught up to the young guard and the turnovers did too, forcing Toronto to look for other options.
The highs with Banton have always been impressive, but when Game 2 of Summer League rolls around for the Raptors at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday night, it's limiting the lows that will really show just how far he's come.
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