Bruno Caboclo starting to fit in with Toronto Raptors

The game on the court is just a small part of the transition to the NBA for the promising youngster, says Mahlalela.

“From the bus rides, to the planes to the games, to the pre-game warm-ups, to the food, everything is new. He’s never seen any of it before,” said Mahlalela on Thursday after the Raptors worked out at the Air Canada Centre.

The team has tried to give him as much support as possible, including intensive, daily English lessons.

“We have someone who’s full-time assigned to him, who can help him with his day-to-day things. So, really providing support for him, to make this transition. He’s moved into a condo now. He’s in his own place now, living independently, which is really good for him, ’cause he has to figure it out. And he’s doing well,” said Mahlalela.

Caboclo also has the benefit of fellow Brazilian Lucas Nogueira being on the team. Mahlalela says the veteran has also helped the youngster adjust to NBA life.

Caboclo had his Raptors debut Tuesday night in 15 minutes of pre-season action against the Sacramento Kings. While he wasn’t a huge factor in Toronto’s 113-106 road loss, he still showed flashes of why the team took him 20th overall in this past summer’s NBA draft. Caboclo scored six points, nailing his first two three-point attempts. (He also took a nasty tumble after going up for a rebound.)

In halting but already-improved English, a smiling Caboclo said Thursday that he enjoyed his first taste of action, and that he wasn’t overwhelmed.

“It’s different, but I feel OK. It’s normal,” said Caboclo. Figuring out how to spend his first NBA paycheque? That’s a much different story, he admitted, after having taken some good-natured teasing from Raptors assistant Jamaal Magloire over his impending riches during practice.

“I don’t know yet. It’s so much money,” said Caboclo, who signed a rookie deal with the Raptors through the 2015-16 season. There are two team option years after that.

His silky-smooth shooting has already impressed Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. But Casey also pointed to one of the areas where Caboclo could use some improvement: Size. While Caboclo is plenty tall at 6-foot-9, he’s a relatively slender 205 pounds. To survive the pounding of an 82-game NBA season, he needs to bulk up, says Casey.

“He needs to get stronger physically. The sky’s going to be the limit once he does, because he’s an excellent stand-still shooter,” said Casey. “Once the strength factor comes in is when he gets in trouble, and that’s correctable.”

The pace and sometimes-gruelling physical nature of the NBA game are the biggest on-court adjustments for the young Brazilian, says Mahlalela. But with a few more pounds and few more games under his belt, there’s no reason Caboclo can’t succeed.

“The more experienced he gets, the better he’s going to be. His upside is incredibly high. It really is through the roof, so we’re excited,” said Mahlalela.

INJURY UPDATE: Big man Greg Stiemsma sat out practice Thursday as a precaution after taking a hard fall against Sacramento. Patrick Patterson also sat out as he continued to recover from a hand injury, but is optimistic he’ll be back in time for the regular season. Terrence Ross is still recovering from an ankle injury, but took part in practice. Lucas Nogueira, however, stayed out, and is likely a few weeks away from returning to action, said Casey. “He’s got a very serious groin strain. What we don’t want to do is rush it back and get it reinjured.”