Eric Koreen

Raptors mailbag, Part 2: Gradey Dick’s poor shooting, Collin Murray-Boyles’ potential and more How much blame do the Raptors deserve for their lack of front-court depth and shooting?

Raps mailbag, part 2

Poeltl is questionable with an illness for tomorrow's game

holy shit

CMB unlikely to play in Rockets/Pels B2B. TJD had finger popped back into place but he's out vs Rockets

'Topes win! 122-92. That was a really half-hearted performance from the Mavs, but Raps played a clean game and had 39 assists on 48 buckets. Professional effort™.

31 for RJ Barrett. 16/10/4 for Poeltl. 17 for Barnes. Eight players in double digits.

Cooper Flagg checks out with 17 points (7-17), seven rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes in his first game in Toronto. Raps did a nice job on him, with Scottie leading the way, but Flagg did not have much to work with tonight.

Trying to fill the "most conservative dude on Bluesky" void that desperately needs filling.

How can I put this?

The Mavs don't appear to be trying very hard, outside of Flagg and Gafford. Not a lot of force out there.

Literally no

Raps up 88-66 after 3. Good quarter. 6 turnovers to Dallas's 21, which is the stat of the evening.

RJ has 21 points on 9-13 shooting. Scottie has 14.

Gafford has 17 points, no other Mav in double digits.

Remember when the Kings took Marvin Bagley III over Luka?

It's been a rough one for Klay Thompson.

I don't know why this is, but third quarters *feel* like the longest quarters.

You can't convince me the Raptors don't have the worst transition efficiency in the league. The numbers are lying.

I, of course, won't recognize International Women's Day until there is an International Men's Day

I actually think not knowing a Raps-Mavs game is going on is a sign of progress, life-wise.

Raps up 57-44 at the half. Teams have combined to shoot 6 for 33 from 3.

RJ has 16 to lead all scorers. Scottie has 9/3/2. Ingram has five dimes and six rebounds but way off with shot.

Gafford has 13 and 6 for Mavs.

Official word: dislocation

Man, Cooper Flagg's athleticism can be really sudden. Can't believe he got to Poeltl's layup before it hit the glass.

RJ Barrett just became the 8th Canadian to reach 8,000 career points, joining Steve Nash, Andrew Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Rick Fox, Kelly Olynyk and Dillon Brooks.

Really nice stint from WALTER. 7 points, 2 assists, and a good job defending Flagg when Barnes came off.

Raps have forced nine Mavs turnovers, scored 11 points off of em. Dallas could use Kyrie Irving.

Good offence-defence sub at end of quarter leads to a pull-up IQ 3. Raps up 36-29, despite going just 2-12 from 3. Only one turnover, which helped the offence.

RJ, Scottie and Gradey all have 7. 9 for Gafford.

1 minute, 2 points, 1 assist, 3 fouls (one of them pretty bogus)

That is, indeed, Gradey Dick's music.

Big bench minutes coming. Mavs have decent depth, and Raps reserves have been bad lately. Nice start, with Shead finding a cutting RJ for a dunk

I dunno, if Scottie is running the wing and lightly covered in transition, I'd rather IQ keep going to the rim and make the pass, even if the pull-up 3 is technically there.

Trayce Jackson-Davis injured his right middle finger in warmups. No diagnosis yet, but he's unavailable.

Ingram is making the pass quickly against the Mavs defence. Two assists, and one that created a wide open 3

Which is to say: Dallas is a talented team. If the Raptors continue to perform like they've been performing, this won't be a gimme. Dallas isn't happy to tank, although Flagg is on a minutes restriction (but got up to 26 and 30 in last two, so not much of one)