Raptors missteps continue with loss against ailing Kings

Even without Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, the Sacramento Kings should have been an easy win for the Toronto Raptors. They are ranked toward the bottom of the league in both offense and defense, they had a never ending list of players on the injury report, yet somehow Toronto still found a way to lose to this team. At this time of the season with things being so close in the middle of the eastern conference standings, losses really hurt, and last night was a loss that Toronto should not have had. It is one thing to lose to a team that is better than you, but on nights where you face a team at the bottom of the league, you are supposed to handle your business. 

Things got off to a slow start for the Raptors, and Sacramento had no intention of lying down and giving them this game like many would have expected going into it. Toronto found themselves with a 9 point deficit after an early 10-0 run by the Kings, spearheaded by a quick explosion from Malik Monk. RJ Barrett began to close the gap with back to back soft touch finishes, but a slew of turnovers from Toronto led to Sacramento extending the lead back up to 10. Toronto was very sloppy and lethargic early on, there were careless turnovers, and the rim protection was fairly lax. 

After the Kings secured this lead, Toronto turned up the defensive intensity, and began to dominate the game like they should have. They rang off an 11-0 run where they simply outran and outworked the Kings. Barrett kept his scoring going with a triple, Ja’Kobe Walter found the bottom of the net after the Kings went into zone, and Collin Murray-Boyles slammed down a forceful dunk after a behind the back pass from Scottie Barnes to force the Kings to take a timeout. Sacramento was clearly overwhelmed with the defensive intensity from Toronto, and Barnes was at the forefront of this attack, both as a defender and as a playmaker Collin Murray-Boyles looked really fluid as a roller and dunkers spot finisher, and he was going up with force each and every time he had an opportunity under the rim..

The momentum swung constantly in the first half, and it was former Raptor Precious Achiuwa that led the charge for the Kings and kept them afloat in this game. DeMar DeRozan finished the first half with a mere 2 points on 0-8 shooting, but Achiuwa finished the first half with 18 and 15, by way of his constant attempts at the rim. Every time you turned your head Achiuwa was slipping by for a dunk. When it seemed like Toronto was finally gaining some distance, Sacramento had a second quarter run that gave them a 61-56 lead at halftime.

The second half is where DeRozan made his mark on this game, scoring 26 of his 28 points during this time period. DeRozan looked as good as ever in the second half, and it was his clutch scoring that sealed this game for Sacramento. His mid-range touch was sharp, he threw in many crafty finishes, and he just had whomever was guarding him at his mercy. He even knocked down a couple of triples, including a dagger corner triple with a minute left to extend Sacramento’s lead to 6. DeRozan shot 10 free throws in the second half, another reason why his scoring totals ballooned so much, and he did it in the classic way that he always has, by getting defenders in the air and punishing them for being undisciplined. 

This was a night where Barnes absolutely needed to take over as a scorer, and use his size to impose his will on the Kings defense. Sacramento wasn’t doubling him every possession, and he had ample opportunity to attack smaller defenders downhill, but on many of these looks he settled for a short mid range jumper instead of taking it all the way. This method worked out a couple of times, but most of the time it didn’t. Barnes had some really rough misses at the cup as well, looks that he can finish in his sleep but for whatever reason did not fall last night. Barnes does plenty for this team, but with a couple of the offensive weapons being out last night, he needed to do more as a scorer. 

Last night’s loss was closer than the final score suggests, but Toronto should have never been in that position against a team like Sacramento. For a team that is supposed to be high level on defense, allowing DeRozan and Achiuwa to combine for 56 points and close you out is a tough pill to swallow. With last night’s loss the Raptors have dropped back down into the play-in, and depending on how the teams around them play the rest of the way, they could wind up staying there. Their next game is in Memphis against the Grizzlies, and on paper it looks like a game they should win decidedly, but after last night, all bets are off.

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