In Gradey Dick’s first ever preseason game, he was left to zone up the weak-side of the court — cover two players at once, split the difference between them, and make a move once the ball gets passed — and a player tried to make the 45-cut to drag Dick into the paint. That’s the correct move, that’s a scripted cut in the NBA. Dick obliged and followed him in, Jordan Poole tried to make the skip pass over the top, and Dick reached up to intercept it. Dick covered the cut and the corner perfectly. We’ve all watched Dick struggle on defense in his time as a Raptor, but we’ve also all seen stuff that makes you say: “hmm.” Not there, not close, but flashes are where everything starts.
Near the end of the first half, the Nuggets tried to run a pick n’ roll into a post-up for Nikola Jokic. Recognizing what was happening, Dick shaded hard to Jokic and disrupted the post entry pass before sliding back over to his check, Russell Westbrook. Knowing his check was Westbrook, Dick played off of him heavily and into the passing lane where he would jump Michael Porter Jr.’s cut, Jokic’s pass, and he’d steal the ball. Hmm. Hmm, indeed. Oh yeah, and that play put a bow on his 5 stocks in the first half. 5 stocks.
He’s active. Coming into this game against the Nuggets, Dick was the 5th in the NBA in miles traveled per game. He was leading the NBA in screens as the off-ball cutter (133). He’s always doing stuff.
Not to mention, he led the Raptors in scoring in the first half with 16 points. He took the most difficult shots on the floor, as always, and he displayed a level of touch that few players have. He swung the ball to the corner to find Ja’Kobe Walter for the first made three of his career. He came off a simple pin-down and canned a triple over two pairs of extended arms. The Nuggets broadcast saw a fun performance from him a few days ago, and they still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The word “star” rolled off their tongues very easily. They also added: “He’s got one of the quickest jump shot releases I’ve ever seen.”
So, what happens on the first play of the second half? Well the Raptors find Dick after some baseline-side-top passing action and he bangs a triple from Kansas. Then he played a game of cat & mouse around an in-the-way Jakob Poeltl before taking the handoff and hitting a pull-up middy. I’ll be honest, on a court that had some really great players on it, there were periods of the game where Dick looked like the best player out there. Warping every single play on offense, making reads on defense, extending himself everywhere he can so that his influence reaches every corner and every action.
All of that activity and Dick looked absolutely gassed. So many screens on offense, the Nuggets running him through a bunch on defense, and it culminated in an offensive possession where Dick missed two triples in a row. But then, drawing from a well that seems to never run dry, he hit a triple on the next possession to extend the Raptors lead back to double-digits. The mind, it boggles the mind.
No man is an island, of course, and it’s been awhile since the Raptors have been able to ask a single player to deliver wins. Davion Mitchell was almost note-perfect relative to what you’d expect from him and relative to what you’d need from him. Feisty, disruptive on-ball defense. A little bit of three-point shooting, and a great sense of when to take it to the cup and when to defer. With Barrett struggling to finish — at the rim or from deep — it was all hands on deck for offensive production and Mitchell brought it.
Ochai Agbaji, who has played so well off of whoever the star of the night is, cut well off of Dick’s gravity. He slithered to open spots on the court for open jumpers, he made things happen. Poeltl was, as always, central to what the Raptors were doing on offense as a major hub. He was also the only real size the Raptors could throw at Jokic. In other words: completely essential.
To start the fourth quarter, the two stars sat: Jokic & Dick.
What we got for the beginning of the fourth quarter? It would be hard to describe it as anything other than YMCA hoops. Nothing looked smooth, nothing came easy, we were in the thick of 2-man actions with Jamal Shead and Jonathan Mogbo. Westbrook captaining possessions on the other side. You’ve seen it before. Real grinder season.
With 9 minutes left, Dick checked in. With 8 minutes left, Poeltl & Jokic checked in. Buckle up.
The first action? A DHO where Dick lobbed Poeltl who brought the ball down first, and finished. Then a missed shot that Poeltl corralled and put back in. A 9-point lead with 7 and a half to go. Jamal Shead, whose whole shot chart is basically made up of exclusively short mid-range push shots, hit a push shot and-one in the screen and roll. Then the Raptors ran a screen to let Dick catch and prepare for an angled pick n’ roll (this is a staple of their playbook) and he rejected the screen to get downhill for the layup. Great hoops.
Remember how completely essential Poeltl was to the gameplan? To the health of the offense? To the very specific matchup with Jokic? Well, he fouled out with 3 and a half minutes to go. We got two straight turnovers from Dick after the Nuggets ratcheted up the ball pressure on his actions. No more playing it conservative, they were jumping him. He’s not all the way there, of course. He would turn the ball over again once more before the game was over. The growing pains, we’re watching them. It’s not easy to be the first option in a flat play with a set defense. Just you, your defender, and a blitz coming your way if you bring a screener into the action.
However, with all of that stuff going poorly, the Raptors battled and bashed their way to transition opportunities and free throws to try and match steps with the surging Nuggets, who took a 1-point lead into the final 30 seconds, and it brought about the free throw game. Julian Strawther, who was pretty awesome in this one, stepped to the line and split a pair.
Raptors down 2. Time for Coach Rajakovic to perform some wizardry on the white board.
They flattened out for Barrett, he made Peyton Watson touch the earth and Watson grabbed frantically at Barrett for the take foul. We go again. The ball went to the corner, to Barrett, who brought it up above-the-break, launched a step-back, and as if it were the inverse of Kawhi Leonard’s 4-bouncer, Barrett’s shot touched every part of the rim before spilling out.
Another close loss to the Nuggets, who sweep the season series against the Raptors. They slowed the game to a halt. They applied a lot of pressure to Barrett & Dick, and they managed to clamp things down and trudge forward with Jokic leading them. They figured out how to win.
As fun as the Raptors are, they’re still figuring out that formula. It should be a lot easier to sort out once they’re healthy. And Dick, who finished with 26 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks? Well, he felt the pressure of a gameplan trained on him. He showed his flashes, his star flashes, and he came up short. That’s okay. He’s 20, and already farther along than anyone expected.
Have a blessed day.