Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways after preseason loss to Celtics
By Mike Luciano
2. Goran Dragic won’t score as easily as he did in Miami.
Nick Nurse has shown so much comfort and trust in Dragic that he’s been putting him out with the starters in the first few games, prompting some whispers that he would push high-priced signing Gary Trent Jr. to the bench. Unfortunately, Dragic has not only failed to take advantage of this opportunity, but he’s been a subpar player.
After coming into this game averaging 5.0 points per game on 27% shooting during his first two performances, Dragic went just 2-7 against Boston, amassing just six points in 14 minutes while being a -12 on the evening. In a crowded backcourt rotation, that’s not going to get it done.
gary gotta be sick looking at dragic starting just to do this
— William Lou (@william_lou) October 9, 2021
Should the Toronto Raptors be concerned about Goran Dragic?
Nurse might fool around with starting him in order to replicate his old strategy of starting multiple point guards at the same time, but Dragic has looked out of sorts in the lineup. Trent took advantage by putting up 14 points in 24 minutes, further beefing up his stock within the organization.
This isn’t to say that Dragic is bereft of value, as he can still be a solid veteran mentor on a young team and an adequate passer. However, for a Raptors team that is both looking for some extra scoring juice and hoping to pump up Dragic’s value before the deadline, this start wasn’t super encouraging.