Raptors Preseason Game 1 Takeaways

 It's overreaction time! I love this time of year, everyone's in the best shape of their lives, the stakes are low so everyone has a chance to shine and nothing that happens is actually indicative of anything. It's the perfect time for a guy like me to overreact! Especially since the Raptors first preseason game was against the Washington Wizards, who look to be maybe the NBA's worst team this season, we need to take this all with a grain of salt. Still I am excited as ever to have Raptors basketball back and goddamnit I am going to try and inject some optimism into you guys! 

Jamal Shead

How can you start anywhere else? Shead looked amazing in his first NBA action on Sunday. I've heard him describe aptly so as an explosive defender, something you can rarely say about a 6 foot guard. Shead came into the game in the first quarter and immediately got an impressive steal tracking his man around a screen and intercepting the pass like a star cornerback. About a minute later Shead blew up a pick and roll by switching to the big and anticipating the pass knocking the ball to the baseline where he dove out of bounds to save it to Kelly Olynyk. A couple plays later Shead drew an offensive foul by playing up in his man's jersey forcing him to shove Shead out of the way. Finally at the end of the quarter Shead drew another offensive foul by essentially pissing off the Wizards player until he shoved Shead who went flying. Shead was yelling and barking instructions the entire time he was out there, leadership the Raptors haven't seen since Kyle Lowry. On offense Shead showed some crafty finishing moves and was able to get downhill and play make very effectively. The offense looked easier with Shead out there instead of now veteran Davion Mitchell. While Shead and Davion are similar quality defenders, Shead came in with an infectious energy, an intangible quality not many players have. If Shead keeps this up he will be firmly in the Raptors rotation by season end and they might have the PG of the future on the team. (Yes I said that after just 1 preseason game against the Wizards)

Star J Barrett 

Disappointing news out of the first preseason game came when RJ Barrett injured his shoulder on a Jonas Valanciunas screen in the first half. The Raptors announced that he'd miss the rest of the preseason, but luckily it doesn't seem like it will stretch far into the regular season. Lucky indeed because RJ was looking like a star early in that game. Barrett hit a couple of 3s from the top of the floor, an encouraging sign for the Raptors spacing. He also demonstrated his elite ability to get downhill and finish through contact as well as his ability to playmake out of the paint. RJ finished with 17 points in just 14 minutes picking up where he left off last season with the Raptors. If RJ can continue to show that last season was not a fluke, we might have a fringe all-star on our hands this year. 

Gradey Dick

Another standout performer from Sunday was Gradey Dick who finished with 10 points 5 assists and 4 rebounds in just 20 minutes. Gradey showed some growth off the dribble on Sunday. He had multiple moves where he pump faked his defender and smoothly got to his shot in the mid range, I joked saying he looked like the white Kevin Durant early in that game. Gradey also had some nice passes and hustle plays proving he's more than just a shooter. Gradey was challenged to play harder on defense and he did not back down holding his own against anyone he was thrown at. A 6'7 shooter who moves extremely well off ball and has flashes of secondary skills is a starter on almost any team in the league. From just this 1 game, it looks like Gradey should be a great fit around Scottie Barnes.

Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji 

An interesting development out of this game was watching Kelly and Ochai develop a bit of a two man game. Both players figure to play minutes off the bench this season. Kelly of course is a polished offensive player, but Ochai has been more of a project on the offensive side. In this game we saw Ochai used as the screener while Kelly handled the ball. Kelly found Ochai on the roll to the rim a couple of times opening up what could be a new pet play for the team's bench unit. If Ochai can develop any kind of offensive skill he will be playing minutes for a long time in the NBA, I am all for the chemistry that seems to be brewing between these two. 

That's all today, short one because lets be real it's preseason and it's the Wizards. The one I am most excited about is Jamal Shead, I nearly bought myself a Shead jersey that night I was so impressed. Can't wait for the next one on Friday!