Quick Reaction: Kings 128, Raptors 131

It was pretty amusing listening to the Kings broadcast constantly lamenting how the team kept letting Barrett get to his left hand and how that was a big no-no. The fact of the matter is, he’s proven to be a human locomotive (regardless of which side he’s driving from) and it’s less about teams letting Barrett go one way and more about him forcing the defence to bend to his will at this point. It’s the first time in his career he’s had three straight 30-point games. Now if he could reliably knock down free throws, sky is the limit.

Its truly been a treat to see Agbaji, a former lottery pick, start living up to that potential. You can visibly see his confidence growing with each game. In the first quarter, he quickly put up five points on a slick backdoor cut/lob and than a corner three. If that wasn’t encouraging enough, in the second he converted on a transition layup that last season most fans would’ve had little faith in him being able to finish. The shots look similar, but the confidence and execution is noticeably sharper. Definitely his best game of the early season.

Great activity on the glass from Poeltl…in the first half. He’s been gobbling up rebounds all season, averaging over 12 a game, and he did a solid job against Domantas Sabonis through 20 minutes, ultimately holding him to 5-for-10 shooting, but things unraveled a bit towards the end. A couple of head-scratching fouls on Fox in the final minutes of the game meant Poelt had to watch the final two minutes of regulation and all of OT from the sidelines. His rebounding was SORELY missed and the lack of rim presence was definitely a factor in the game going to overtime.

There’s no question the sophomore is the Raptors’ best tough shot taker and maker right now, the confidence is OOZING. Despite a relatively inefficient shooting night, Dick was absolutely clutch in the fourth and overtime. A kobe-esque baseline drive into a fadeaway jumper in the fourth, followed by a steal and lob pass to Agbaji for that Kansas connection. And then in the final two minutes with the Raptors lead down to just one point, Dick slipped to the top of the arc and BURIED a contested triple…that was a star type of shot. AND THAN a ridiculous floater through traffic in OT to extend the lead to three points. At one point in the final frame the Kings broadcast said “Dick and Fox going shot for shot,” that is how far he’s come from his rookie season!

It was the first time the former King was taking on his old team and Mitchell basically lived up to the reputation built while in Sacramento. He was a pest defensively, digging in on drives and making life difficult for De’Aaron Fox (who finished 8-of-22 from the field), but left something to be desired offensively. For what it’s worth, the shots he’s taking are good looks, in my opinion, they just won’t drop right now. Mitchell did have a very nice shimmy-cross into a lefty layup on the break in the second quarter, so that’s something.

Another relatively quiet game for the rookie, it’s just his second game so no concerns here, but the flashes are clear. There was a play in the last three minutes of the first half where he gave up the ball to Poeltl, relocated and got it back with the shot clock winding down and although he pulled up for a jumper, he had the awareness to pass out of the contested look, leading to a Poeltl jump-hook as time expired.

It’s hard to find new ways to describe the spark plug energy of Chris Boucher. You take the sometimes questionable shot selection when the guy can come off the bench and score 12 points in less than five minutes.

The dude can straight-up shoot the ball. He goes out there and does not hesitate to let it fly and while the Raptors are missing other reliable shooters in Immanuel Quickley and Kelly Olynyk, it’s a very welcomed addition. Make the most of the opportunity rook.

Fans can never fault Mogbo for his activity and willingness to defend at 100 per cent all the time. What there can be gripes over is his tendency to pick up fouls in bunches. It took all of six minutes for the rookie to pick up four fouls through the first half. With three, Rajakovic risked leaving him in the game and DeMar DeRozan made the Raptors and Mogbo pay like he does to so many opponents.

Not the impactful night fans have grown fond of from the rookie, he just wasn’t able to get into much of a flow on either end of the floor, but he continues to willingly move the ball and create looks for others, that’s something you want from a table-setter so it wasn’t all bad by any means.

Not many complaints for the bench boss in this one aside from leaving Mogbo in a bit longer than he probably should’ve in his first stint. Rajakovic also rolled the dice going with a rookies plus Boucher lineup in the second and it actually paid off, so he deserves credit for showing that trust and it being rewarded. Had the Raptors lost, the tone of this would’ve been a bit different, but all’s well that ends well. Oh yeah, remember how Rajakovic was spending time with Agbaji in pre-season working on hand placement on the ball? He needs to spend some one-on-one time with Barrett at the free throw line now.