Gradey Dick’s first matchup against the Toronto Raptors as a Clipper came with a familiar kind of awkwardness.
The 22-year-old guard, now with Los Angeles after the June 30 trade for Kawhi Leonard, said he still has to catch himself before games when he sees the team that drafted him 13th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. Toronto was in Los Angeles on Monday for the second meeting between the teams since that deal, and Dick admitted the old instinct is still there.
“I’ve gotten more used to it since the preseason [game]… After that preseason game, there was a little hesitation in the first play when I saw them, and I saw the red jerseys,” Dick said.
“I had to remind myself I’m on the opposite side now.”
Dick spoke after Toronto’s 125-118 comeback win, and the night ended with plenty of familiar faces around him. As soon as the game was over, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Jamison Battle all came over to catch up with him.
“It was good to see Gradey; it’s great to see him playing well too,” Quickley said after the game.
Dick played 28 minutes and scored 12 points, going five-for-11 from the field. He said the relationship is still friendly, even if the competition isn’t.
“At the end of the day, we are friends off the court, but there’s always motivation to play against them,” Dick said on facing the Raptors.
Through his first seven games with the Clippers, Dick has put together a solid start, with his field-goal percentage and three-point shooting both improving while he’s also getting more minutes than he did last season in Toronto.
The other major piece Toronto sent out in the Kawhi Leonard trade, Brandon Ingram, was on the Clippers bench Monday while recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered last season. Ingram is reportedly nearing a return by the end of the month and could be back in the lineup when the teams meet again in Toronto on New Year’s Day.
In Other News...
Raptors And Cavs Are Headed For A Pressure-Test Debate
The Raptors recent stretch has only sharpened the old reminder of how much Kawhi Leonard once steadied the group in big moments, and it has also made for an interesting comparison with Cleveland. Both teams can look polished when things are going their way, but the conversation around them has shifted toward how they respond when the game gets messy, when a lead starts to shrink and the pressure rises.
For Toronto, that lens matters because the franchise has lived through the difference between regular-season competence and playoff readiness. Cleveland is dealing with its own version of that test, with questions about blown leads, toughness and whether Evan Mobleys growth can help anchor a team that still has to prove it can absorb adversity. The Cavaliers may keep stacking wins over the long haul, but the real debate is whether they can survive the kind of heat the postseason tends to bring. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Road Comeback Solved One Problem But Exposed Another
The Raptors win over the Clippers offered a useful snapshot of where this group is right now: resilient enough to rally from a double-digit hole in the fourth quarter, but still uneven enough to put itself in that position in the first place. Toronto finished off a 125-118 road victory without Kawhi Leonard and Jakob Poeltl, leaning on Collin Murray-Boyles in a small-ball role at center and getting key defensive work from Scottie Barnes when the game tightened.
Still, the comeback did not erase the issue that created the pressure to begin with. Toronto has made it clear it wants cleaner starts in the games ahead, and that concern will be tested quickly with Denver next on the schedule. The Raptors can take plenty from the way they closed against the Clippers, but they also know they cannot keep asking for late-game rescue acts and expect the same result every night. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Present The Exact Test Toronto Has Struggled To Handle
The Raptors are heading into a matchup with the Clippers that looks like a clean stress test for everything they want to be about. Torontos defensive identity has been a point of emphasis, and so has its ability to turn stops into transition offense, with Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley central to how that tempo gets pushed. Against a Los Angeles team built to make opponents work for every possession, the pace of the game may matter as much as any individual scoring burst.
For Toronto, the bigger question is whether it can keep the contest on its terms long enough to avoid the kind of half-court grind that has exposed them at times. The Clippers bring the sort of tactical challenge that can force a team to stay disciplined on both ends, and this one figures to reveal a lot about how far the Raptors have come in controlling game flow. If they can dictate tempo, the matchup opens up in their favor, but if not, it could become the exact kind of night they have struggled to handle. [Read more 🡒]