Scottie Barnes put up a masterclass performance for the Toronto Raptors in a close win over the Portland Trail Blazers. I recapped the game the morning after, breaking down in great detail the multiple layers of Scottie’s game.
I also looked into the two-man game between Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl, as well as the bounce-back performance from Gradey Dick, who continues to earn his minutes regardless of whether he hits his shots.
Here is Louis Zatzman on Gradey Dick and his season thus far:
Coming into the Toronto Raptors’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto’s best high-minute lineup was an unexpected one. It included four starters, but the surprise addition was none other than quiet sophomore Ja’Kobe Walter. Though the Raptors have desperately needed RJ Barrett since his injury, Walter has replaced Barrett and in fact (statistically) dramatically improved Toronto’s start to games. The Wheel of Shooting Guard Fortune has spun in Barrett’s favour at the same time as it has been coming up Walter. Strange, that.
Though Walter himself has turned in quiet box scores as a starter, he has had impressive performances nonetheless. He was Toronto’s primary defender against Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson less than a week apart, and they shot 6-of-20 and 6-of-19 in those two games, respectively. On one possession against the New York Knicks, Walter pivoted with superstar Brunson through a patented step-through and blocked Brunson’s push shot.
Against the Portland Trail Blazers, Walter didn’t quite find that juice, at least not early. He had a highlight moment as he pressured the first pass above the break, tipped it away, and shoveled the ball to Immanuel Quickley for a transition triple. But there was no consistency in that first shift. His defence didn’t have its traditional teeth, and Portland found easy points, no matter where Walter was stationed on the defensive end.
So the Raptors just decided to start the game when — as has become tradition — the bench entered the game.
The odd man out during Walter’s surge up the depth chart has been Gradey Dick. Mired in the bottom of a pit of missed triples, Dick has seen his minutes, effectiveness, and even alacrity wane. In Toronto’s last outing, he didn’t even attempt a single triple — the first such game since Dick’s rookie season.
But Darko Rajakovic hasn’t nailed him to the bench. Dick has seen his minutes slip, but he’s had a chance in every game. If it’s not working, Rajakovic has gone elsewhere. But he’s giving Dick a chance to play his way out of this hole. That’s exactly what Rajakovic gave Walter early in the season, when it was Walter who couldn’t find his way. That has paid off and borne fruit since Barrett’s injury. Now it is Dick’s turn to reward his coach’s trust.
And, yes, Dick missed his first triple of the game against Portland. But he also followed that up by running in transition and finding a layup, then cutting to draw free throws. He dashed to the corner on a peel switch to steal a pass intended for a shooter, leading to an uncontested Toronto layup the other way. He attacked a closeout, spun in the middle of the floor, and drilled his fading mid-ranger. The jumper will come, or it won’t come. But Dick showed against Portland that he is going to find ways to win minutes regardless.
And about winning minutes? Dick has the best on/off differential on the entire team so far this season. He’s turned in the best differentials on offence and on defence. Sure, he’s in the middle of a slump. He’s won his minutes regardless.
