 | Raptors | 130 | Final Box Score | 135 | Kings |  |
 B- | R. Barrett27 MIN, 14 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 4-4 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -19 +/- Would like to see more from RJ in these types of games. Good pass to Barnes on the weakside for the open 3. Possesses the strength to help our front court guard bigs, and would like to see more of this. | |
 B+ | P. Siakam37 MIN, 18 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 6-11 FG, 0-0 3FG, 6-7 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 5 +/- One assist shy of a double-double. Had a clutch block on Monk in Q4 to prevent lead from getting up to double digits, and the ensuing transition foul put IQ at the line for one point and Raptors possession. | |
 B+ | J. Poeltl23 MIN, 14 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 7-10 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 3 TO, 12 +/- As often the case, efficient night for Poeltl. Regained possession late in the game, and may have hit the most important lay-up of the game to inch within 3 points. | |
 A | S. Barnes35 MIN, 20 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 8-15 FG, 4-8 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 5 TO, -23 +/- Offensively, Barnes had an efficient night. Strong drives, but more importantly, played an anchor role on defence. On one particular play, Boucher was no match for Sabonis, and Barnes came to help and swatted Sabonis. Barnes is the most versatile player on this team, and his presence will be crucial when bigs need help with their assignments. | |
 A | I. Quickley38 MIN, 20 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST, 0 STL, 6-17 FG, 4-12 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -3 +/- We know IQ can self-create. Louis Zatzman wrote about IQ’s floater game drawing bigs out of the paint, and he did exactly that at the end of Q4; he drew Sabonis out ever so slightly putting pressure on the rim, and Barnes had a put-back dunk off IQ’s miss. Showed playmaking chops with a beautiful lob pass to Poeltl and an end-of-game assist to Boucher. May have not taken the best shot at the end, and went 4-12 3FG, but hit the biggest 3 of the game to inch within two points. Great that he wants the ball in his hands when it matters most, and is willing to live and die by the 3. | |
 B+ | J. Porter13 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- After a solid showing in Memphis, Porter subbed in for Poeltl after he had two fouls in the first quarter. Porter carries himself as if he belongs in the league. Hit two threes, played solid D, and should not have been called for that loose ball foul early in Q4 — his hand was completely on the ball! | |
 B | D. Schroder32 MIN, 18 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 7-11 FG, 0-4 3FG, 4-5 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 12 +/- Great off the bench. Finished through contact and got the and-1 bucket in Q1. Great finishes at the rim, helping the Raps stay in the game. | |
 Inc | J. McDaniels07 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Played limited minutes, but forgettable performance. | |
 A- | C. Boucher28 MIN, 14 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 1-5 3FG, 3-5 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Boucher was doing everything. He had a block during the 7-2 Raptors run that forced a SAC timeout in the first half. He deflected the ball off a SLOB play in Q2. Offensively, he was rolling to the basket, drew the most fouls on the team along with IQ (six), and even hit a triple to keep his team within six points. He finished plays IQ created, and when IQ missed a triple late in the game, Boucher grabbed the offensive board and got the and-1. Devlin said it’s the first +20 minutes he’s gotten since the Bucks game, and he really rose to the challenge today. | |
 B- | Darko Rajakovic No pizza party yet. Gave up 60 paint points (-2) , 11 offensive boards (-3), 26 second chance points (-14), and 21 made threes (-24 in 3-points). Sacramento shot 55% 3FG. Yes, they just played the league’s premier rebounder, but they need to do a better job earlier in the game committing to a specific defensive game plan. You can’t allow a team to rain threes, and also get that many second-chance opportunities. Raps had the fight in them to almost pull a comeback, and are a different team. Good decision to not continue playing McDaniels and not forcing more minutes for RJ. Also, kudos for keeping Boucher in the game, utilizing help defence when he needed it. Great end-of-game decision to gamble defensively and double Fox. | |
Things We Saw
- Maybe I’m too old, maybe it was the whisky, but the late West Coast game was starting to wear on me. Sacramento had widened the lead to 23 points in Q3, and this game seemed to be almost done. Early on, Sacramento easily got a lead because they couldn’t miss from deep. Raps had a 20-4 run before their 22-9 run in Q3. Raps had the dog in them to almost claw out of a 23-point deficit.
- Excluding McDaniels, all players scored in double digits, and no player had more than 20 points (Barnes and IQ). Scoring was evenly distributed, scoring shared like a EuroLeague squad.
- 21 made threes for Sacramento. Raps were -24 points in three-pointers. Gave up tons of offensive boards early in the game (seven ORBs & 12 second-chance points in the first quarter!). Need to do a much better job defending the three-point line.
- A quick note about roster construction. Tonight, Boucher was superb, and our centres were solid. But on nights when that doesn’t happen, the bench needs depth beyond GTJ and Schroder. Roster construction will continue to be a concern once we come down from our post-trade high.
