General Raptors Ramblings

 I am breaking my usual trend of recapping the NFL week the day after my Steelers reaction. This is mostly because I barely got to watch any football on Sunday so calm down everybody, the NFL recaps will continue next week. Today, I am feeling extremely excited about basketball coming back and I wanted to just freestyle on some of the stuff I've liked so far this preseason. 

It feels like this has been the best preseason in years hasn't it? The intensity in a lot of these games shows that basketball is in the best place it's ever been. Last night the Raptors defeated the Boston Celtics 119-118 in what can only be described as a preseason thriller. After coming out sluggish in the previous contest, the Raptors came ready to play against a full slate of Celtics starters getting off to a 20 point lead in the first quarter. Gradey Dick was awesome in the first quarter. This is the player we thought we were getting in the draft last year. Gradey effortlessly ran around screens to get open for above the break 3s, he has his solid two dribble mid range pullup down as a counter and was showing his soft touch and finishing ability around the rim. The most intriguing part of Gradey's game yesterday was he caught multiple tough lobs and had the soft touch to finish through traffic. Gradey is sneakily 6'7 with long arms, having an elite shooter who can also catch lobs makes for an amazing off ball threat on any offense and I would say the perfect pairing with Scottie Barnes. 

Speaking of Scottie, holy shit was he ever good yesterday. Scottie did a bit of everything finishing with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists in a near triple double. The 3 ball was dropping early for Scottie which definitely opens up the rest of his offense, but that wasn't the thing that encouraged me the most. Scottie has noticeably improved his mid range game. Defenders have to respect Scottie's size and strength down low, this opens up opportunities to stop and pull up, something Scottie executed beautifully last night. Late in that game, Scottie took on the task of guarding Jayson Tatum, and he did an awesome job making him uncomfortable with his length and size. The undisputed leader of this young Raptors team, this is the energy and effort Scottie needs to bring to every game. The impact he had on all aspects of the game was felt by the Celtics from the opening tip. Scottie Barnes is a walking mismatch and if he can get his scoring game going along with all the other things he does so well, the Raptors are going to be better than a lot of people think. 

I also wanted to take a moment to offer my sincerest apologies to Ochai Agbagi who has played awesome so far this preseason. As many people know, the defense is there for Ochai and he showed that again last night. I thought he defended Jaylen Brown great only to have Brown hit some tough shots over top of him. The issues last year were on the offensive end where Agbagi offered just about nothing. Through 4 pre season games, Ochai has been a positive contributor on offense as well. Running hard in transition is a must for a player like this and Ochai is doing just that while finishing at the rim in these situations. The corner 3 has been dropping for Ochai, something that can make him an extremely useful player in the mold of a PJ Tucker. Ochai figures to come off the bench where I've highlighted his effectiveness so far with Kelly Olynyk. If he can continue this solid production, he figures to be a mainstay in the Raptors rotation this season. 

Finally, I wanted to give a quick shout out to Jakob Poeltl who is always so solid at the center position for the Raps. When Jakob is in, players just take less shots at the rim. Defense is an area where the Raptors struggled mightily last year, Jakob will play a huge role in rectifying that this season. One play I wanted to highlight is when Jakob had the ball at the elbow, Gradey dick ran around him to get the smallest sliver of daylight running towards the rim. Jakob hit Gradey with a perfect lob that Gradey expertly finished through traffic, a play we may see often this year. 

Overall, the Raptors are young. There are going to be games like Sunday where they come out sluggish and look lost and there will be games like yesterday where they come out aggressive and make the other team work for it. No matter what happens this season, I can confidently say that this team will be far more fun to watch than last year's. 1 week until their first real game and I absolutely cannot wait!