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  November 14, 2018 5:08 AM EET

  LAS VEGAS - Nearly a month into his unorthodox NBA journey, with less than three games of Summer League experience on his brief resume, Bruno Caboclo sat on the Raptors bench, towel draped over his head as he wiped the tears that were building up in his eyes. Its been a week of firsts for the young Brazilian, a roller coaster of emotions that culminated in a frustrating evening. Five days ago he signed his first NBA contract, a "dream come true" as he described it. Three days ago he played in his first NBA game - scoring the first bucket for Torontos Summer League entry in Las Vegas - and on Monday he had his first real NBA learning experience, one he wont soon forget. With his team down by almost 30 points late in the third quarter, frustration already starting to boil over after committing his seventh turnover, Caboclo went up to contest highflying Mavericks rookie C.J. Fair, who would end up putting the 18-year-old on the wrong end of a poster. To make matters worse, he was assigned a technical foul for his reaction after being dunked on. Still unfamiliar with all of the leagues rules and hindered by a significant language barrier, Caboclo believed he had been ejected, heading straight to the bench where he remained for the duration of the game. "I wanted to get him back in the game," said Jesse Mermuys, Raptors assistant and Summer League head coach, following his teams lopsided 88-57 loss to Dallas. "I wanted him to get back out there but he was definitely overwhelmed at that point." For all the upside and the justifiable excitement surrounding the intriguing, albeit mysterious Brazilian here at the leagues annual summer tournament - his athleticism, competitive spirit, impressive defensive instincts and a wingspan you have to see to believe - this served as a reminder. Nothing about his learning process is easy, there are going to be bumps along the way. "Weve got to remember Bruno is 18-years-old," Mermuys cautioned. "He is a kid who does not speak English, this is his first experience. I cant tell you guys how proud I am of that kid." "Im super pleased that he was put in this position, the fight that he showed and that he showed an emotion and you could tell how much he cared and how much he felt bad that they were losing like that," Mermuys said of the Raptors 20th overall selection in last months draft. "You find out what a kids like and what a players like in those types of situations, you really find out who they are. And we have a great kid and a great competitor. And so from that standpoint today was a big success." With the exceptional, life-changing opportunity Caboclo has been offered by Masai Ujiri and the Raptors, comes the challenge - in his case, a unique challenge - that inevitably goes with it. Caboclo, the leagues youngest player, is just weeks into the extensive and trying process of learning the game, his coaches, teammates and a new language in a continent hes only visited once before. His translator and closest advisor Eduardo Resende has returned home, leaving for Brazil on Sunday after helping to ease Caboclos transition. Now, hes on his own. "The best way to learn is by being thrown into the fire," said a member of the Raptors front office, who has been impressed and pleasantly surprised with Caboclos quick progress. Through three games in Vegas, Caboclo is averaging 11.3 points, 1.0 steal, 3.7 turnovers and 5.3 fouls, shooting 41 per cent in 25.0 minutes per contest. He has been confident and assertive, showing flashes of what he can become with some seasoning, hard work, and added muscle. On the court, communication issues have been noticeable, as you might expect. Often, his coaches will point to the spot on the floor hes expected to be, with teammates directing him and screaming out his name. Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, his teammate and countryman, has been an asset, serving as a translator on the floor and relaying information to Caboclo in his native Portuguese. Sitting next to an emotional Caboclo on the bench, Nogueira was the first to console the Raptors forward, offering him words of encouragement and advice. "Its American basketball, its not Brazil, its not Europe," the 21-year-old Nogueira told Caboclo. "Here, everybody [can] jump. Keep playing, think about [the] next play. Dont think about the last play. If youre thinking about the last play, you are giving up. Never give up. Use that dunk on you [to] grow up. Mermuys admits he may have overextended Caboclo a bit in the second half but didnt want to take him out of the game because he was playing so hard. Although the frustrations of the moment and the high standard hes set for himself may have played a part in Caboclos emotional outburst, Nogueira offered up another interesting explanation. "In Brazil you dont have athletic players like C.J. Fair and other guys," Nogueira said. "Americans are amazing, its amazing, everyone can jump here. In Brazil, no. Nobody dunk on him there, because he is big and hes athletic. And hes 18-years-old, so its normal he is sad." By all accounts, Caboclo is a sponge both on and off the floor, eager to learn and highly motivated to get better. Hes about three weeks into his English lessons, spending 90 minutes with his tutor almost every day before games and practices. In the hopes of better communicating with his coaches and teammates, the first sentence he asked to learn was, "Where do I go?," a question he asks frequently in practice, to the delight of the team. A lesson is only as good as what youre willing to take from it. The Raptors are confident that Caboclo will continue to evolve with each roadblock he faces. As for the emotional outpour, they see it as positive quality rather than a sign of weakness. "I just think the kid has a big heart," Mermuys said. "He tried to put us on his shoulders, he was battling out there and his emotions came to the surface because of the situation we were in. I would be frustrated if I was him too, I was frustrated as the coach. We didnt get much fight, we were down 30 and thats a tough situation in front of a crowd for your third NBA game. Its tough." "I think Bruno, he has a good head and I think thats going to help him to grow up," Nogueira echoed. "I know he is young, but a great guy. I think that play will help him in the future. He is never giving up." Cheap Packers Jerseys Free Shipping . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. 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"We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. Alex Light Jersey . Wiggins, who had been seen as a contender for a podium finish in Paris, was one of about 20 riders caught near the back of the peloton with 38 kilometres to go in the 218-km flat stage from Le Mans to Chateauroux.Ever since Curtis Lazar moved into the Phillips family home last weekend, the Internet has been filled with jokes and one-liners about the unique living arrangement. The @Capital_Gaines65 Twitter account received a lot of notoriety for its fake picture of Phillips giving Lazar a piggyback ride in the park. The two are often viewed as having a father-son relationship - in the same way that Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson were portrayed a few years ago. And now a new Twitter account has been created that is a parody of the texts that Chris Phillips allegedly sends to Curtis Lazar on a daily basis. The description of the @phillipstexts account is: These are texts from Chris Phillips to his young houseguest Curtis Lazar. @phillipstexts has taken off in the last 48 hours, quickly gaining over 1,000 followers -- including Lazar, who started following the account himself last night. I looked at my feed and saw that a couple of people were re-tweeting it. I didnt think much of it, but now it seems like its really taking off and I cant help but laugh at it, Lazar told me today. The two of us are getting a pretty good laugh out of it. Heres a sampling of some of the @phillipstexts tweets -- with all of them poking fun of Phillips age: @phillipstexts: hey have you seen my palm pilot @phillipstexts: missing a couple friends dvds in case u have them. season 3 @phillipstexts: what does yolo mean @phillipstexts: just fyi for next time the #1 dad mug is not 4 guests. lol ur not even a dad... r u @phillipstexts: r u out with karl?? as ur mentor i should kno if ur out with karl @phillipstexts: because i wld love to go out with karl sometime Lazar told me this morning that those last two tweets above were his favourite so far. But how does Phillips feel about being portrayed as the old man who texts a bunch non-sensical stuff to a teammate almost half his age? There are a lot of creative people out there.dddddddddddd What can you do, but laugh? I think its pretty funny, Phillips said with a big smile today. It sounds like Ive got one foot in the grave and Im 36 years old. But I guess when you look at the difference in our ages it makes for a good joke. It definitely makes me feel a little older than I am. Phillips wife Erin has been getting a good laugh from the account and so too have a handful of teammates. Even Bobby Ryan started following the account on Twitter yesterday and this has the potential to become Ottawas version of the @boringmonohan account that has brought a lot of laughs to Flames fans. There is also a parody account showing the texts going back the other way -- from Lazar to Phillips. @curtistxtschris doesnt have quite the same following, but Phillips told me he got a real kick out of the following fake text: @curtistxtschris: Got your note in the kitchen about leaving the milk out. Not sure what an icebox is though, just gonna put in fridge for now. The question now is who is behind the @phillipstexts account. Lazar said the first thing he did was check to see who the first couple of people that @phillipstexts was following - because that is often a dead giveaway of who really is behind the account. If thats the case, @wtyky, @bonksmullet and @senschirp are three prime candidates. The theory was also floated out by Patrick Wiercioch that perhaps the account is being run by a teammate inside the dressing room. A couple of years ago, several Sens teammates were in on a parody account of former player Jim OBrien. But this time around, Lazar isnt so sure thats the case with this @phillipstexts handle. The rumour floating around is that its somebody inside the dressing room, but I really dont think theres anyone in here who is smart enough to come up with some of those tweets. 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