5 Who popped and 2 who flopped in nail-biting victory over the Celtics

Gradey Dick Popped

Scottie Barnes looked the part on Tuesday. Jakob Poeltl was a tower. Ochai Agbaji may have saved his career.

But the most encouraging development was the all-around play of Gradey Dick, who truly looks like he has leveled up as an offensive player. His shot is finally dropping; after hitting five triples on Sunday he hit another three against the Celtics Tuesday. But much more than that, Grady was scoring from all over the court.

He used his gravity as a shooter to cut baseline against defenders and score at the rim. He would get the ball on the run off of a dribble-handoff from Poeltl or Barnes and pull up into a smooth midrange jumper or go all the way to the rim for a finish or pass. He hit nine 2-pointers, a massive development from the rookie-year perimeter shooter that he was.

To his credit as well, the defense was more up-and-down instead of merely down. He played hard all night long, coming up with two steals and not killing the Raptors' defense when he was on the court. He will be the weakest link in their starting lineup defensively, but that link may not be completely ready to snap at the first sign of attack.

If Gradey Dick is an extremely good on-ball scoring threat and can create shots for himself (and others, although he was primarily finishing plays on Tuesday) he not only makes the Raptors more dangerous, it opens up possibilities for building the team -- whether that's shopping one of their players or leaning into the offensive identity.

The Raptors came to play against the Celtics, and it was a wildly encouraging sign for what is to come.