Quick Reaction: Mavericks 125, Raptors 118

Liked some of the drives, and his willingness to cut is still there, but left quite a bit on the rim tonight. Not to mention the Mavericks identified him early as someone they wanted to attack and I was pretty disappointed in how he guarded the post (given how strong he is). It’s always going to be a little more difficult for him when he plays teams who pack the paint and the Mavs loved staying at home in this one. No free throws, tough shooting night, negative defense. We move.

Wasn’t his game! Raptors needed their bigs, their quick trigger shooters, and their drivers to keep working the Mavericks defense and Agbaji didn’t necessarily fit the bill in any way. He also struggled with the Kyrie assignment, to my eye. Mavericks made the Raptors attack differently and he got lost in the shuffle.

Pretty strong game. By the later stretches of the game the Raptors figured out how high they wanted him in pick n’ roll coverage and it improved a bunch, and the Mavericks really do throw a lot at you with Lively II and Gafford. Lots of physicality, lots of energy, vertical spacers. A couple weird turnovers, but a pretty great night of facilitating out of the elbow (lob to Mogbo was particularly good), and he was as dependable as ever finishing in the paint and rewarding Scottie’s steps towards the rim.

No conscience on this young man. Have to love it. As mentioned in the Ochai writeup, the Mavericks moved the Raptors into odd spots, and Dick was there to vacuum up the opportunities that other Raptors passed up. Thought he got fouled by Dinwiddie on that last triple, but the one he made before that? Sprinting away from the rim, launching, fading, banging from 27 feet – my god. His willingness to meet physicality and work his way to the line is what saves his efficiency every time, but you look at the difficulty of the shots and come away impressed most times. Raptors leaned on him, and he brought significant punch. Pretty good in a shootout.

Love the driving, love that he keeps his dribble alive, and thought he moved the Raptors through so many possessions that they desperately needed them in. His energy was infectious on both ends of the court and it’s no surprise they won his minutes, and he was the best player on the court for stretches that he stood across from Doncic & Irving. He clearly ran out of gas at the end, trying to playmake from the perimeter, missing bunnies at the bucket, but the well runs dry for most guys at some point. Thought he was quite brilliant overall.

Obviously a big help in keeping the play in front to step out on switches against a Kyrie-Luka led offense; and he was really quite good helping out on the glass. Unfortunately the Mavs kept their bigs at home a lot and Mogbo didn’t have much succes navigating their size in the paint, where he got stonewalled completely. That’s his biggest hurdle in the league so far, and tonight was another learning opportunity. Canned two triples, though! Skied for the high-low lob from Poeltl! That’s fun!

Tough to grade him tonight because it was such a stark difference between the two ends of the floor. His defense was essential in widening and stretching the Mavericks away from their straight line drive & kick diet, but he also had a tough time implementing himself into the offense next to Barnes. Think the good outweighed the bad, and so did Darko evidently by going to him for so long.

The namesake, baby. Three pull-up middy’s for a guy named after Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant, that’s great. Would’ve loved to see a little more from behind the arc, and the Raptors clearly needed that, but you don’t win ’em all. Not a great game, but flashed things that will elevate him in the future.

Wasn’t better than Scottie, but relative to his role? He immediately stepped in as a facsimile of Jakob Poeltl to let the Raptors run through their muscle memory on offense, which was a huge help. The Raptors love to reset through the elbow and Olynyk really helped a team with limited dribbling prowess move the offense along. Hit a slick pick n pop triple with Gradey and looked professional in general. Thought he was great. Don’t know how he could have been better in his first stint back. Good, active hands on defense, got his paws on a lot – shoutout commenter: Basketcase

Hey, sometimes you get a blow in.

Liked the rotation decisions a lot, and the team has clearly worked a ton at breaking zone coverage – they do a lot right! They just need shooting, and they need the shooters on the roster to find their footing a little bit. It’s unfortunate when a defensive gameplan blows up from shot making rather than breakdowns, but Luka & Kyrie can do that. Generally liked what the Raptors put out there tonight on both sides of the court, but the Mavericks are a buzzsaw lately.