2 Heroes and 3 Zeroes from Raptors' exhausted loss to Timberwolves

Gradey Dick was a Hero

The player who did have scoring aggression was second-year wing Gradey Dick, who has come into the season willing to take a much wider array of scoring possessions. Not merely a perimeter shooter, Gradey Dick showed off a deep bag of moves in the paint, driving into traffic for pull-up jumpers or high-arcing floaters, often over the outstretched arm of Rudy Gobert.

Gradey scored a career-high 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field, including four 3-pointers. The Raptors, in part spurred by the absences of Quickley and Barrett, repeatedly ran plays for Dick to catch the ball on the move or with a screen to spring him for an open 3-point shot. He is not an elite finisher inside at this point in his career, but he is willing to attack the rim and is growing into a more versatile offensive player.

Scottie Barnes was a Zero

The Toronto Raptors needed Gradey Dick's scoring because Scottie Barnes was overmatched going against the size of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Whether it was Julius Randle or Jaden McDaniels guarding him, in the halfcourt Barnes was largely unable to get separation, and even when he did put his head down and drive inside Rudy Gobert was waiting there. When Barnes tried to then hit Jakob Poeltl inside, the ball was as likely to be deflected or stolen as it was to reach its target.

Barnes played 37 minutes and was on the ball for a lot of it, so he racked up counting stats: eighth rebounds, six assists and 20 points, but it took him 19 shots to get there. One way to combat the lack of space inside would have been to hit 3-pointers, but Barnes was 1-for-4 from deep. He managed to accrue a whopping six turnovers trying to force things against the Wolves' waiting defenders.

It certainly wasn't the stinker of the opener, but Barnes didn't have any solutions to take down the Wolves other than "transition" and the Raptors didn't spark enough of those in this game to make a difference.