The Toronto Raptors wrapped up the preseason with a 127-125 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
With this game coming on the second night of a back-to-back and serving as Toronto’s preseason finale, none of the usual suspects played for the Dinos. Instead, this game was all about giving fringe roster players, rookies, and players trying to earn that 10th or 11th man role a chance to shine. While Nimari Burnett made a statement that he deserves a two-way spot, Alijah Martin set the tone, and Trayce Jackson-Davis was flawless down the stretch—Allen Graves was my standout.
Yeah, the guy who shot 4-of-13 for the game was my standout for the Raptors. Yeah, I said. Is this some overwhelming bias because I suggested Graves was the perfect Raptors prospect during the 2026 cycle? No, he just played a winning style of basketball that makes me feel good about him having a real role with the Raptors as he gets deeper into his rookie season.
Graves is headed down the right path
Graves' overall stat line was nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, shooting 4-of-13 from the field, 0-of-5 from three-point range, and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Let's start with rebounding because, to me, it was the best piece of the puzzle. This isn’t a fake stat, but seven of Graves’ eight boards came on the offensive glass. As a prospect, I always described him as a possession extender, and Friday was a prime example of why Graves is exactly that. He was flying to the glass all night and being a physical crasher, trying to give Toronto second-chance opportunities on offense. Whether he was in the paint and getting inside position or flying in from the three-point line, he gave the Raptors second-chance scoring opportunities all game.
When we talk about playoff basketball, being able to crash the glass brings so much value. Graves' ability to crash the glass and extend plays against real starters is already helping his projection as a playoff player in his first year in the NBA.
The other thing that really stood out against Detroit was his ability to flat-out make the right read. Whether it was kicking it back out off an offensive rebound to a shooter, hitting a teammate in stride in transition, or taking an open three, his ability to make the right read on offense looked legit. Even his two turnovers showed him still trying to make the right read.
In one, he got fouled, and it wasn’t called. In the other, he tried to hand it off in a DHO, and Duncan Robinson was just quicker to the ball than Martin.
Defensively, he also had some fun positions guarding Pistons guards. There was a possession around the four-minute mark of the second quarter where he got stuck on a ball screen and lost Cade Cunningham, but he recovered and contributed to stopping a Detroit lob. His hustle, length, and instincts defensively, even if he’s a little behind physically, are going to help him have an impact on that end early.
I get that for a player touted as a floor spacer, shooting 1-of-11 from three across two preseason games is hard to spin as a positive. But Graves has so much time to work on execution and won’t be thrown into the fire right away for the Raptors. He can spend time with the 905 and become more comfortable making shots in an NBA setting. But the selling point for me is that he’s already so advanced in the intangible areas of the game, so when his execution starts to progress, Graves will be a valuable piece for the Raptors in postseason basketball.
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