Raptors [16-7] at Kings [8-17]: Preview & 3 keys to victory

Game 2 of the Raptors’ Western swing finds them in Sacramento. The Kings have been bad, and then worse, for a decade. What happens today?

The Raptors road trip from Heck (not Hell, because the opponents are creampuffs)  continues in central California, where the Kings are the only game in town for major league sports fans. Sadly, their team is minor league. The Kings vie with the Suns and Knicks for the unwanted title of the NBA Franchise With The Worst Owner. When the money man isn’t right, things go wrong.

Sacramento hasn’t made the playoffs since 2005-06, or 11 seasons. They will need a  minor miracle to avoid making it a dozen after another dreadful start. At least they have been able to draft some quality kids with all those lottery selections, right? Well…

Here are the Kings single-digit lottery draftees since their last playoff appearance, starting with 2017 and working backwards: De’Aaron Fox, Marquese Chriss, Willy Cauley-Stein, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Thomas Robinson, Bismack Biyombo, DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans.

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The decent players, like the last three, are long gone (as are Chriss, Stauskas and McLemore). Oh, they selected Hassan Whiteside in the second round, but gave him away. The best pick was Isaiah Thomas, #60(!) in 2010, but he was dumped as well.

The Kings seem to have no concept of player scouting or development.

Anyway, this organization has always been able to handle the Raptors; no one knows why. They are 26-15 against Toronto, including all four games the past two seasons.

I don’t understand the Kings’ tactics. Their top scorer is 36-year-old Zach Randolph, which is ancient by NBA standards. What’s the point of him averaging 25+ minutes when you’re losing? Bring him off the bench. George Hill is 31, and the starting point guard. He’d be third on our depth chart.

3 keys to victory

1. Let them shoot from outside (except Buddy Hield). The Kings have the league’s third-worst results from beyond the arc, better than only the T’Wolves and Knicks. Sacramento averages 8.3 makes Per Game [PG], and Hield has 2 of them (and a 46.9% success rate).
2. Pound away inside. The starting power forward as of this writing is JaKarr Sampson. Serge Ibaka has been shooting much better of late, and should be able to dominate this end of the roster fellow. Jonas Valanciunas can hammer at Randolph, whom we’d be happy to see on the bench with foul trouble.
3. Don’t help them. As befits a bad team, the Kings don’t get to the foul line much. They are 29th in free-throw attempts at 17.2, and 25th in percentage made, with 73.5. You can see where this is going – the Kings average 12.1 points PG from the line, which ranks them ahead of only Chicago. The Raps are 5.2 points ahead in this stat alone. Play them tough but clean (don’t leave your feet on ball fakes, OG!) and their scoring won’t take care of itself.

Prediction

The Kings are 4-5 recently, as they are starting to generate a little more offense. Regardless, Toronto is rested and possesses a much deeper roster.

Toronto 116 – Sacramento 100