Raptors are watching Jeff Dowtin heavily in Summer League play

The Toronto Raptors pulled off an impressive victory in their Summer League debut against the Philadelphia 76ers, as Armoni Brooks’ hot shooting and Christian Koloko’s solid defense helped pave the way for a win. Jeff Dowtin played a nice part in orchestrating the offense.

Dowtin recorded 13 points and nine assists in just over 25 minutes on the floor. One of many Raptors who were able to impress offensively, Dowtin showed the blend of quickness and mid-range scoring skill that he became known for in his very brief NBA tenure.

The Raptors have their fingers in plenty of pots as Summer League action kicks into overdrive, but they are keenly monitoring the play of Dowtin. On a team who lacks guard depth, any available hands on deck could earn a shot at some rotation time.

“Dowtin is a quality player that’s in on the Summer League team with also a lot of eyeballs on him,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “We’re really evaluating him strongly.” After averaging 17.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in the G League last year, it looks like Dowtin is ready to make the leap.

The Toronto Raptors are studying Jeff Dowtin.

After averaging 14.6 points per game during his last two collegiate seasons at Rhode Island, Dowtin has been shuffling along the familiar G League track for the previous few years. The Warriors and Magic gave him some chance to get NBA minutes due to COVID-19 absences.

While Dowtin scored just 2.2 points per game and shot 31% from the field in nine games, it’s hard to make tons of solid observations from that stretch due to the lack of playing time. His college and G League numbers indicate that he can get to the rim and make solid passes.

That’s all you need to beat out competitors for rotation minutes on this Raptors team.

Dowtin faces a ton of competition to make the roster, as Dalano Banton and Armoni Brooks are likely ahead of him in the pecking order. His most realistic bet for sticking around with Toronto may involve latching on with the G League team and figuring things out from there.

Starting Dowtin over Brooks could have been a sign that Nurse wants to get a longer look at the former Rams point guard over a known commodity like the sharpshooter from Houston. Dowtin may be a Raptors 905 star this year with room to grow in the pros.