The Toronto Raptors suffered a bad hand in the second half of the season, losing Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl to respective hand injuries. The streak of misfortune continued in Toronto’s game against the Denver Nuggets on March 11, as they lost key starters Gary Trent Jr. and Immanuel Quickley. For a Raptors team that has struggled as of late, facing the defending champion Nuggets at full strength seemed to indicate that another blowout defeat was imminent.
But to everyone’s surprise, the Toronto Raptors managed to keep the Denver game within their reach, even leading by 22 points at one point in the second quarter. Still, you can never count on a game against a Denver Nuggets team with championship spirit, as they fought hard after halftime to win the game. 125-119. It was a tough loss for a Raptors unit with a fighting spirit in its own right, however, the loss was far from heartbreaking as it highlighted three key positives for Toronto’s future.
It was a standout night for young Gradey Dick in the Raptors-Nuggets game, as he took it upon himself to dish out a new career-high seven assists. Dick also didn’t display any troubled IQ on the court, as he only committed one turnover for the entire game, showing that his ability to be a playmaker has the potential to be another nifty tool in his arsenal.
This DIME of @gradey_dick ! ???? pic.twitter.com/BfmS55Jflv
– NBA Canada (@NBACanada) March 12, 2024
Gradey Dick’s rookie campaign got off to a very rocky start, with the Raptors still figuring out which direction to take the team. far from being a pivotal piece in the Raptors’ rotation, but now that the team is fully committed to going young, the rookie is taking every opportunity to showcase his well-rounded skillset as a versatile player.
With significant NBA minutes logged under Dick’s belt as of late, these small steps forward in his progression by finding his teammates on the right play show that Gradey is poised to be a fundamental part of the Raptors’ young core for coming years. For a guy coming out of Kansas with rave reviews for his shooting ability, he has proven to be more than just a shooter and it appears the Raptors front office made the right choice in selecting Dick.
