Gameday: Kings @ Raptors, Nov. 6

There was a time when the Kings were openly mocked, where the general public brought up their ineptitude as a talking point. A Seinfeld-esque “water cooler” discussion. “Can you believe they’re testing out 4-on-5 basketball?”. “Can you believe they fired Michael Malone?”. But last year they switched up the formula, putting the reigns of the offense in the hands of the electric De’Aaron Fox, and getting bigger and bigger performances out of Buddy Hield and the supporting cast. That’s why the Kings 0-5 start to the season was a disaster. With that being said, they’ve won their last two, and are looking to make it three against the defending champs.

The aforementioned Fox holds a large piece to the Kings puzzle, and it would behoove the Raptors to pay his matchup the most attention. A core tenet of pundits, and fans of the Kings is that Fox’s aggression towards the rim unlocks a lot of what the Kings like to do. Evidenced by his 11 free throw attempts per game in their two wins, and the significantly smaller 5.8 attempts in their losses.

If Nick Nurse continues to opt for the 2-point guard starting lineup against the Kings, expect Fred VanVleet to draw the Fox matchup, and for Kyle Lowry to try his hand at slowing down the slumping Hield – shooting sub-40-percent in his last 5 games. Fox is a big guard, but plays the game with an unreal pace, which actually benefits VanVleet. It’s guards like D’angelo Russell, and Spencer Dinwiddie – methodical and physical pick n’ roll players – that give VanVleet trouble. The communication VanVleet has with his teammates to help him navigate the drag screens that the Kings will inevitably set for Fox looms large.

Another change for the Kings has been their apparent disillusionment with Dewayne Dedmon. Many thought he was the natural fit with the Kings starters – to stretch the floor – this season, but the Kings have opted for the tenacious Richaun Holmes instead. With the injury to Marvin Bagley, the Kings have transitioned to a dynamic front-court of Nemanja Bjelica and Holmes. While these two don’t have star power, Holmes is a terrific bench player most of the time, and can more than hold his own in the paint as a starter. As for Bjelica, he’s got a similar skillset to Nicolo Melli (mind you, better) who gave the Raptors fits in the season opener.

For the Raptors part, there’s no question that a large part of the Bucks game was uninspiring. However, they’ve had a good chunk of rest, some public scolding, and should be able to right the ship before getting the west-coast swing under their belts.