Atlantic Notes: Caboclo, Embiid, Parker, World Peace

The Raptors have seen just glimpses of what they expected from Bruno Caboclo, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Now in his third season with the organization, the Brazilian small forward still sees most of his action in the D-League. He has played just three games for Toronto this season, bringing his career total to 17 after being taken with the 20th pick of the 2014 draft. Still, the organization showed confidence in Caboclo, picking up his option for 2017/18 in October. “There’s a timeframe to get better,” said Raptors 905 coach Jerry Stackhouse. “We have to hold him to the fire, hold him accountable for what he can control. There’s a lot of things he can’t control but there are quite a few things he can control and that’s making sure he focuses, lets me know when he understands something and when he doesn’t understand something.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

• Joel Embiid didn’t enjoy being used at power forward in his first game starting alongside Jahlil Okafor, according to Jessica Camerato of Philly.com. Embiid was stationed far from the basket most of the night and looked uncomfortable in his new role. “I’m not a 3-point shooter and I don’t want to take a lot of threes,” Embiid said. “I want to be dominant on the block. But last night was kind of frustrating because I wasn’t as much on the block. But I’ve just got to find my spots and get into the flow of the offense.” The Sixers are trying to find playing time for Embiid, Okafor and Nerlens Noel.
• Tony Parker briefly held a Celtics cap during the 2001 draft, relays ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. Boston was considering using the No. 21 pick on the French point guard before opting to go in a different direction. Instead, the Celtics took Joseph Forte from North Carolina, and Parker fell to the Spurs at No. 28.
• As he nears the end of his NBA career, Metta World Peace still regrets not being able to begin it with the Knicks, writes Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. The team passed on the New York City native, then known as Ron Artest, with the 15th pick in the 1999 draft to take Frederic Weis, who never played in the NBA. “Obviously I wanted to go to the Knicks, but St. John’s was the closest that I could get to bringing that fire back to New York City,” World Peace said. “As a kid, New York was in my blood, and that was it. I got a chance to play for the Knicks, so it was cool, but it was towards the end of my career. It wasn’t when I was the best defender and everything. But that was my goal, man: to bring a championship to New York City. It just didn’t work out that way.”