The Raptors under the orders of a senior Gradey

Keyonte George, Jaime Jaquez Jr, Brandin Podziemski and even Cam Whitmore… During the last Draft, Toronto missed out on a few players who were already well established in their first months in the NBA. With their 13th choice, the Raptors preferred to bet on Gradey Dick, the serial shooter from Kansas. The first steps of the back, quickly sent to the G-League, suggested a first season of learning and patience. But the Raptors' roster adjustments opened his way to the floor. And Dick gave it back to them.

From a bench player, the 20-year-old has established himself in recent weeks as an interesting element of the rotation. Gradey Dick thus remains in two outings with 18 points, and more broadly three in the last five games. In great difficulty until mid-January, particularly in shooting (30%, including 2% from afar), yet his business assets, the ex-Jayhawk held on to find the target. “ Confidence… It never evaporated » he assured the media before the game at Indiana on Sunday. “ And I don't mean that in a pretentious way. It's just that I do so much shooting in my spare time. My preparation gives me confidence. So I will never change. »

Not just a shooter

More responsible in the game without the ball advocated by coach Darko Rajakovic, Gradey Dick asserts himself as a more complete attacker than a “simple shooter” and he discovers the qualities of swallowing up space. If the field is free to draw behind the arc, his ultra-fast shooting allows him to seize the opportunity (4/4 against the Pacers, all catch and shoot). But if the defense sticks to him too much, he no longer hesitates to attack the circle to create easy points.

“ My cuts to the rim change a lot of things, because if you stay around the 3-point line and put in multiple ones, the defense is going to get closer. And that gives me more freedom to use those penetrations, to play how the defense handles you and what they give you. If it goes too far out, it could be an opportunity for a backdoor. It's really a matter of using the pitch and talking to the coach all the time, because he knows what's best. »

47% by far since mid-January

Darko Rajakovic took advantage of the various exchanges made by the Raptors this season with the departure of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby and the arrivals of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Bruce Brown to offer an offensive style less dependent on individual qualities and more on traffic. of the ball. Gradey Dick fits perfectly into this pattern where he can benefit from the creation made by the ball carriers around him, like a Klay Thompson or a Kevin Huerter. From 12 minutes in his first 20 career games, his playing time has increased to 20 minutes since January 20, for almost 10 points per game with very good percentages (9.8 units at 53% shooting, including 47 % from afar).

Little Gradey is growing up, and is also progressing physically, which particularly amuses his coaches. “ His physique is slowly evolving: when he arrived here, he looked like a 16-year-old kid. Now he looks like he's 17 and a half » teased Rajakovic. Dick remains a little frail, but is no less decisive. Its last two good outings coincided with two victories for Toronto against potential direct opponents for the play-in, Atlanta and Indiana. Between Trae Young's injury on the Hawks side, currently 10th with 3.5 wins ahead, and the Nets, 11th and who have just changed coach, the hope of qualification is still alive.

How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.