Toronto Raptors sophomore guard Gradey Dick made his 10th straight start of the season in their road game against the LA Clippers on Saturday. He was out to continue his steady play to begin the new season, which has established him as one of the team's go-to players.
The 13th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft from Kansas played 17 minutes in the opening half, with the Raptors trailing 52-46 at halftime. He scored a team-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and made his only attempt from deep. He also had an assist and a steal, contributing to a balanced attack from the Raptors, who also had solid contributions from starters RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji and Immanuel Quickley.
Toronto Raptors sophomore guard Gradey Dick made his 10th straight start of the season in their 105-103 road loss to the LA Clippers on Saturday. He was out to continue his steady play to begin the new season, which has established him as of the team’s go-to players.
The 13th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft from Kansas played 34 minutes against the Clippers. He scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 2-of-5 from deep. Toronto kept in step with the Clippers in the early goings before losing ground and trailed by five points, 52-47, by the halftime break. It continued to play catch-up after but showed resilience, tying the count at 93-all with 3:30 to go.
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The teams continued to battle from there, fighting to a 102-all game with 39 seconds left in the game. The Clippers scored three points from the free-throw line after to get some breathing space and hack out the win.
Gradey Dick's stats against the LA Clippers:
Entering the game against the Clippers, the 20-year-old Dick has been steady, averaging 20 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 32 minutes per game. His steady play has helped provide some stability for the Raptors (2-7), who are currently missing All-Star forward Scottie Barnes due to an orbital fracture.
Gradey Dick ready to pick it up in second year in the NBA
Gradey Dick is ready to pick it up in his second year in the NBA and has vowed to do his part to help the Toronto Raptors to renewed competitiveness. The Wichita native, who played one season at Kansas before declaring for the draft last year, made this known prior to the start of his sophomore year up North.
"I’m going to try my best to be in the position that the team needs. It’s not me pushing my agenda. It’s really the role that I need to fill and if that calls for the starting position, then I’m going to put my all into that," Gradey said (via Yahoo! Sports).
"Really, the main goal this whole season is just to win. Winning solves a lot. We play good or bad, if you win, a lot of stuff gets forgotten."
As promised, Gradey Dick has stepped up for the Raptors early in their campaign. Thrust into the starting five, he has delivered, averaging 20 points, second in the team.
His consistent play has given Toronto another viable option in their attack, joining All-Star Scottie Barnes (injured), RJ Barrett, Jacob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley, This season, the Raptors are looking to make their way back to the postseason after missing the playoffs in each of the last two years.
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