Positive Regression Comes Quickly for Raptors in Win Over Hawks

Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick looked far more comfortable Friday night as the Toronto Raptors pulled off the upset victory over the Atlanta Hawks

Darko Rajaković was right.

Through his first 20 games with the Toronto Raptors, Immanuel Quickley had struggled. In particular, his once prolific pull-up three-point shooting had fallen to an alarmingly low 29.7%. On Wednesday, I figured it was time to ask Rajaković about the strange rut for Toronto’s new starting point guard.

Rajaković’s explanation made sense. He talked about how tough it is to adjust to a bigger role and how Quickley has had to figure out how aggressive to be alongside new teammates.

Then came the truth:

“He’s going to have one game (where) he's going to shoot nine out of 10 threes and those percentages are gonna even up,” Rajaković explained.

Friday was that night for Quickley whose 24-point performance led Toronto to a 123-121 upset victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Quickley was everywhere for Toronto, but when crunch time rolled around, the Hawks adjusted, smothering the 24-year-old guard and forcing the Raptors to turn to Scottie Barnes.

After struggling in the spot earlier this season, Barnes rose to the occasion. He re-ignited Toronto’s stagnant offense with an electric dunk and then found Gary Trent Jr. behind the arc with a stellar skip pass from the post that gave the Raptors a five-point lead from which Atlanta couldn’t recover.

Quickley got to work early against the Hawks. He grabbed a defensive rebound in the first few minutes and somehow sprinted from Toronto’s baseline, beating everyone up the court to sink a scoop shot.

Then the pull-up onslaught began.

Quickley’s ability to stop in a split second, pivot toward the hoop, and let fly a three-point shot is truly special. He can whiz around a screen with his head toward the sideline then seemingly contort his body into shooting position with his feet set to nail a triple.

He scored 13 of Toronto’s first 23 points, sticking the Raptors to a 13-point lead in the first six minutes, and didn’t look back. Against the Hawks, he nailed six three-pointers, five of which came on pull-up looks.

On the topic of patience, maybe Gradey Dick deserved a little more this season too.

The rookie sharpshooter has looked like exactly that and more for the better part of the last month. His cutting is fantastic. He caught a Garrison Mathews sleeping, sneaking inside for a layup off a great find from Kelly Olynyk.

That maligned three-point shot that was non-existent to start the season has returned with Dick looking more comfortable from behind the arc.

As impressive is how Dick looks driving and scoring inside the arc. He nailed a tough step-back 19-footer in the third quarter then followed that up with an impressive layup, switching hands mid-air and finishing lefty to avoid contact.

It was a complete performance from Dick who chipped in on the defensive end too, at one point walling off a Bogdan Bogdanovic dunk attempt that couldn’t go down. Dick’s chipped in 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting in nearly 22 minutes.

Ochai Agbaji too responded from a rough start offensively. He doesn’t have the offensive upside as his aforementioned teammates, but any offensive development from the second-year guard would be huge considering his defense-first abilities.

After taking a pair of offensive fouls in his first few minutes, Agbaji settled in for his best game with the Raptors. He nailed a crucial corner three when Jakob Poeltl found him out of the pick-and-roll to give Toronto a five-point lead with five minutes to go in the fourth. He racked up 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in nearly 17 minutes.

At this point, a 20-point, 10-assist showing from Scottie Barnes has almost become blasé. What’s crucial for Toronto going forward is having these kinds of performances from those around Barnes.

If that continues, the Raptors should be bullish about what’s coming down the road.

Up Next: Indiana Pacers

The Raptors will have a couple of nights off before a date with Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET.