Quick Reaction: Kings 126, Raptors 124

Baynes is improving at making himself available for his teammates after they pick up their dribble. He’s also not clogging the paint for Siakam, so Baynes is improving offensively. Defensively still didn’t know where to be. Struggled some to grab defensive boards, which I thought might have been in his rearview. He is improving, but ultimately, he doesn’t offer enough for the Raps to win his minutes.

Off. Very early on, he didn’t draw a shooting foul and got frustrated, then in the next few minutes picked up a technical, turned the ball over, and altogether spent too much time interacting with the refs rather than the game. Even in the second half, he committed plenty of uncharacteristic turnovers after leaving his feet for passes. When he tried to take over in the fourth, he wasn’t good enough to do it on his own. His defense was sloppy, as he failed to guard Buddy Hield behind the line, didn’t rotate very hard, and just seemed uncommitted in general. Even was hit with a game-losing, second technical foul with four seconds left. Fun!

He was more confident than he has been in past games, drawing double teams, passing well, and scoring in isolation. Was perhaps too confident once or twice, but he was his old self, which is the important thing. Was very aggressive every time, trying to attack the paint. Had some gorgeous, creative finishes including a wrong-foot two-hander on which he jumped from just inside the free throw line, an and-1 hook, and a spin on Marvin Bagley that left him on the floor. Had multiple dunks. The team went away from him late, but he attacked the offensive glass and found other ways to contribute. He probably should have initiated to close the game, but alas.

He showed some early PnR chemistry with Baynes with another few bounce passes to his roller after throwing a pair in the last contest. Threw an equally nice pocket pass to a rolling Boucher, too. Was very handsy on the defensive end, which forces turnovers, but also results in a fair number of fouls; those took him out of the game, and he was really the only offensive engine. He missed some around the rim, as has been the norm recently. Was not himself on the defensive end, falling for fakes, and allowing blow-bys, although he did generate his usual chaos with his incredible hands. Part of the general defensive malaise.

He made some defensive mistakes early, picking up a cheapy foul. He really, really couldn’t handle Fox in isolation after switches. Also couldn’t guard Harrison Barnes in isolation. Did hit some shots, including a quick-trigger pull-up in the pick-and-roll. Was Toronto’s only stretch of energy for a time in the second quarter, as no one else gave anything on offense. Then, as he does, gave too much, forcing a shot in transition and throwing it away when he got the rebound. Efficient night, but that couldn’t paper over his mistakes.

He wasn’t as effective on the defensive end early, but he continued as a nice connective piece offensively. His defense improved from the second quarter onward, as he was great in the scramble situations and rebounded well. He even forced some key turnovers in the fourth. When the team finally played defense in the fourth, Watanabe was a big part of the fake comeback. Even hit a clutch, late-clock floater over Whiteside to bring Toronto within one point with a minute remaining. The Raps had plenty of problems, but he was not among them.

He immediately changed the game with some physically, smart defense when he entered the game, and he was just about the first Raptor to mark the game on the defensive end. Was perhaps the only positive on the defensive end throughout the entire game. He’s not the type of player to carry those around him, but he was excellent in his role.

Did some good stuff! Showed off some groovy body control on a drive. (Then blew an uncontested dunk.) But was on the floor during Toronto’s fourth quarter when they finally found themselves, which isn’t nothing. His defense to close the game was solid, but he did foul on a game-on-the-line possession.

He’s struggled a little bit recently, and that continued here. He bit on a little up-and-under in the post from Marvin Bagley. Was too small to offer much resistance on the defensive end against Hassan Whiteside. Fouled a lot. Was a defensive negative, and didn’t find any other ways to contribute.

Played some! Was not good! Was more observable on the defensive side (ouch) than the offensive side. Let Haliburton put him in jail and fouled him on the floater. Struggled against Cory Joseph, too, giving up a straight-line drive. Started forcing it on offense, even air-balling a triple rather than passing to a red-hot Siakam.

Played in the first quarter, only to allow a blow-by, forcing Boucher to help, and letting Harrison Barnes beat the buzzer with a corner 3. He hasn’t found himself on defense in his few chances.

Ultimately, the team not playing defense for 45 minutes has to rest somewhere. Was squatting by the second quarter. He did some juggling, quickly going away from the Boucher-Whiteside matchup and playing Boucher at the 4 alongside Baynes to limit the size disadvantage. That was something. Picked up a technical midway through the second quarter, as he joined the Raptors in their parade of complaints. He sets the tone there, and Toronto needs to a better job of playing the game not the refs. Otherwise, he was searching for lineups, which didn’t really give Toronto much other than instability. He eventually found something in just letting Stan, Yuta, and Bembry play as much as possible, as they were the only three looking to play defense.