Gary Trent Jr. Beginning to Earn His Stripes in Raptors Loss

Gary Trent Jr. is beginning to earn his Toronto Raptors stripes.

It takes a little while for newcomers to get accustomed to everything the Raptors like to do at both ends of the court. When Raptors coach Nick Nurse was asked about Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood adjusting to the team’s systems he said the two were beginning to get a hang of things. They still had work to go, but there was certainly progress.

Well, on Wednesday night it certainly looked like Trent Jr. has figured it out. These days, that’s all you can hope for as the Raptors dropped another game, this time to the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder 113-103.

Trent started the first half hot, nailing his shots one after another as Toronto’s offence kept the ball moving until it found his hands. Even when things slowed for the Raptors, he was the lone bright spot in another dark night.

Late in the third quarter, Nurse felt so comfortable with him that Toronto drew up an out-of-timeout play for Trent to come off an above-the-break off-ball screen from Chris Boucher and drive to the rim. It didn’t work as planned, but he earned his stripes a few seconds later when he sneakily picking off an inbound pass with 4.8 on the clock and then turning around and firing a corner 3-pointer to give the Raptors a two-point lead heading into the fourth. Any time you can pair pesky defence with some offensive firepower, you’re earning brownie points in Nurse’s book.

Trent finished the game with a 12-for-23 with a career-high 31 points.

The problem for Toronto on Wednesday was, of course, rebounding. Even against the Thunder — a team borderline tanking this season and without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort — the Raptors couldn’t finish defensive possessions. Aron Baynes snagged all of two rebounds in over 20 minutes played.

Up Next: Golden State Warriors

The Raptors will have the day off to return home before the Golden State Warriors head East to Tampa for a Friday night tilt.