RAPS-KINGS: DMC, RUDY HALT RAPTORS

KINGS 109, RAPTORS 101

In the team's most frustrating performance since January 20 at Charlotte, the Raptors essentially forgot to play defense for three quarters, and fell short of another remarkable comeback against the Sacramento Kings. In his first game against Toronto since 'The Trade', Rudy Gay had a relatively uninfluential 24 points and 10 rebounds, but, largely thanks to his dominant big-man DeMarcus Cousins, was able to have the last laugh.

-For three quarters of play, the Kings did whatever they wanted on offense. The non-existent Raptor D was a little embarrassing, and really not what we have come to expect from this team. The Kings were able to drive to the basket with ease and either score, or shoot free throws (51 free-throw attempts for the game...).  Also, with Cousins and Thompson patrolling the offensive glass, the Kings could get their mid-range game going easily, with the confidence that any misses would be cleaned up and turned into points.  With such little defensive pressure, and while allowing second/third/fourth chance points, the hopes of a Raptor comeback were minimal. 

-Look at the Sac-Town shot chart- they shot horribly from pretty much everywhere, and still manhandled us. Learn from this game, please; allowing offensive rebounds is a killer, and getting to the free-throw line is absolutely crucial. 

-I'm hoping this was another game we can put down as an 'off-night', but the Raptors again seemed content to settle for jump-shots rather than attacking the rim. While the Kings did the opposite, and racked up free throws, the Raptors continued to shoot their comeback chances down with countless inefficient possessions. 

- I love that this Raptor team will never quit on a game and always fight to the end, but let's not get carried away with this one. You can't give up 92 points in three quarters, and then be disappointed that you've lost. What changed in the last quarter? Defensively, the boys were switched on, limiting the Kings to only 3 field goals for the quarter. The main change, though, was that Steve Novak hit a number of shots from distance. When we're relying on a guy who only plays when we need a miracle, and does literally nothing but chuck up bombs, I'm not going to pretend like this loss was particularly hard to take. That being said, however, that offensive foul call on Lowry was an absolute disgrace.

-I'm not blaming him for the loss, because singling out individuals after the whole team has played pretty poorly is unfair. But, what is up with Amir Johnson lately? There seem to be a lot of games where he will go absolutely unnoticed. 3 of the 4 games on this road-trip, Coach Casey has given Amir limited minutes throughout games, and then not even bothered bringing him back in crunch-time. And you know what? I really can't complain with that decision. As has been widely said, particularly on various Rapcasts, Amir Johnson without his heart, hustle and energy is an extremely mediocre player. I haven't been seeing these important characteristics recently.

-We're putting this down to a combination of the Kings being a terrible matchup for the Raptors (Jonas and Amir are no match for an in-form Cousins) and the Raptors just having a bad night, so, the Raptors move to 26-23, and there is absolutely no reasons to panic. After this road-trip concludes with a Clippers rematch, the Raptors next 8 games are very winnable. The goal for this season is now, surely, to finish with the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference, and this stretch of upcoming games will be crucial in building distance away from the chasing pack of teams.

PLAYER VOTES

3 votes- KYLE LOWRY (21pts, 7/16FGs, 8asts, 7rebs, 2blks). Had a real crack, like he always does. Lead the team back into the game late with quality play-making. 

2 votes- PATRICK PATTERSON (14pts, 4rebs, 3asts). When our offense was totally misfiring in the first-half, Patterson was the only guy keeping us even vaguely close. Mid-range game is money.

1 vote- STEVE NOVAK (12pts, 4/7FGs, 2rebs).  I'm just not a Steve Novak believer, but we honestly had no chance in this game without his fourth-quarter shooting. 

NEXT- FEBRUARY 7 @ LA CLIPPERS.