Game #69 - Raptors vs Kings
There will be no jokes today as the Raptors play a basketball game. Kings are playing the first half of a back-to-back & need every win to maintain position in the West.
Toronto vs Sacramento
TOR: 23-45 record, 12th in the East
13-20 at home. 10-25 on the road. 113.0 offensive rating (22nd), 117.3 defensive rating (24th), -4.3 net rating (24th).
- Toronto begins a 2-game homestand tonight against the Kings & have 8 games remaining at home this season. With 14 games remaining, Raptors own the 7th worst record in the NBA & is 0.5 games back of the 6th best odds in the draft. 10 of their 14 games remaining are against teams that are .500 or better & that are fighting for seeding in their respective conferences. Toronto is 1-9 in their last 10 games.
- Raptors have lost 7 straight games, their longest losing streak since the 2020-21 season. Toronto has only lost more than 7 games in a row once over the last 10 seasons.
- Raptors currently own the 7th best odds in the draft lottery & are 0.5 games back of the 6th best odds. They have a 32.0% chance at a top-4 pick & 7.5% chance at first overall. Their 2024 first-round pick is top-6 protected & will convey to San Antonio if it lands outside the top-6. They’re 7 games back of 10th in the East.
- Raptors lost 111-96 to the Magic on Sunday & have lost all their games against Orlando for the first time since 2011-12. They were held to 8-for-31 shooting from three, falling to 35.3% from three on the season. Raptors were down 52-47 at halftime but were outscored 59-49 in the 2nd half. No Raptor reached the 20-point mark.
- Raptors lost their last game against the Kings 135-130 on January 5th & have lost 2 of their last 3 meetings against Sacramento. Toronto was down by 20 points at halftime & went down by as much as 23 points in the 3rd quarter. After facing a 23-point deficit, Raptors outscored the Kings 55-37 the rest of the way, holding Sacramento to 39.4% shooting. Raptors were within 3 points in the last 20 seconds of the game.
- Toronto is looking to avoid a season series sweep against the Kings – they haven’t lost both games against Sacramento since the 2016-17 season.
- Raptors are playing another game none of the 5 players that played in their last meeting against an opponent will play for them. Raptors started Siakam, Quickley, Barnes, Poeltl & Barrett on January 5th – Siakam has been traded, Barnes, Poeltl, Quickley & Barrett are all out.
- Raptors are attempting 36.8 threes in 13 games post All-Star, 8th in the NBA. They’re shooting 36.8% from three in the last 13 games.
- Toronto is averaging 24.5 fast break points in 13 games post All-Star, most in the NBA. They’re scoring 16.9 points off 14.5 opponent turnovers in that span, 12th in the NBA.
- Gradey Dick is averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds & 1.4 assists in 26.6 minutes in 13 games since the All-Star break, He’s one of three Raptors to play on every game since the break, joining Kelly Olynyk & Ochai Agbaji.
- Gradey Dick has played 215 minutes over the Raptors’ 7-game losing streak, 2nd most behind Immanuel Quickley.After shooting 46.1% from three in 19 games after re-entering the rotation, Dick is shooting 28.9% from three over the Raptors’ 7-game losing streak.
- Gradey Dick is shooting 54.1% on corner threes since January 1st, 4th best among 49 players with at least 50 attempts. He’s leading all rookies with 33 corner threes in that span.
- Gradey Dick had 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting in 27 minutes on Sunday against Orlando but shot 2-for-3 from three. He’s made 59 threes this season, passing Scottie Barnes for 9th most by a rookie in Raptors franchise history. He’s shooting 40.7% from three since January 1st, 2nd among 22 rookies with at least 50 3PA.
- Gary Trent Jr. had 15 points, 4 rebounds & 3 assists on Sunday against Orlando & was 6-for-12 from the floor. He’s averaging 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists & shooting 37.6% from three in 11 games since the All-Stat break. He’s averaging 24.8 points on 40.5% from three in his last 4 games.
- Jordan Nwora had 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, 7 rebounds & 1 assist in 25 minutes on Sunday, the most minutes he’s played since January 28th against Atlanta. Nwora is averaging 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals & shooting 56.1% from the field in his last 5 games. He’s scored at least 10 points in 4 of the last 5 games.
- Immanuel Quickley is averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds & 8.0 assists in 12 games since the All-Star break, leading the Raptors in points & assists. He’s 1 of 7 players averaging at least 20 points, 5 rebounds & 8 assists since the All-Star break (Doncic, James, Murray, Jokic, Lillard, Sabonis).
- Kelly Olynyk had 11 points, 4 rebounds & 3 assists on Sunday against Orlando & was 5-for-8 from the field. He’s scored at least 10 points in a season-best 5 straight games. Olynyk has recorded 18 steals in 13 games since the All-Star break, 4th most by any center. Only Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama & Anthony Davis have more.
- Toronto has used 119 different lineups in March, including 103 five-man units that they’ve run for the first time.
- Jahmi'us Ramsey signed a 2nd 10-day contract with Toronto on March 14th & is averaging 6.3 points & 4.3 rebounds in his last 3 games. Ramsey was drafted by Sacramento in the 2nd round of the 2020 NBA draft but was waived in February 2022. He played 32 games with Sacramento.
- Canada’s senior men’s team will be in Group A at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, joining Australia & the winners of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Spain & Greece. The OQTs take place from July 2-7. The men will play their first Olympic basketball game since September 2000 on July 27th, against the winner of the OQT in Greece. Canada hasn’t medalled at the Olympics since 1936.
- Canada’s senior women’s team will be in Group B at the 2023 Summer Olympics in Paris, joining Nigeria, Australia & France. The women will be making their 8th Olympic appearance & their 4th in a row, hoping to win their first Olympic medal. Canada begins their tournament with a meeting against France on July 29th.
SAC: 39-28 record, 6th in the West
20-13 at home. 19-15 on the road. 116.7 offensive rating (12th), 115.6 defensive rating (19th), 1.1 net rating (16th).
- Kings are beginning a 3-game road trip tonight in Toronto & are playing on the first night of a back-to-back. They’re playing the 2nd game of a 3-game stretch against teams with losing records. Sacramento has 15 games remaining this season, 10 of 15 against teams that are .500 or better. They also have 4 back-to-back sets left this season.
- Sacramento is 17-7 against teams with losing records this season. Kings have won 5 of their last 7 games.
- There are 5 teams in the West that have between 25 & 29 losses. 4th through 8th in the West are separated by 3.5 games & 6th through 8th is separated by 0.5 games. Sacramento is 6th in the West, 2.5 games back of 5th & a loss away from potentially falling to 8th. Kings have swapped between 6th & 7th in the West seven times in March. Kings own the 10th easiest remaining schedule.
- Kings are 8-5 since the All-Star break, the 8th best record in the NBA. They own a 117.0 offensive rating since the break, 7th in the NBA.
- Kings defeated the Grizzlies 121-111 in overtime on Monday, their 6th overtime game this season (3rd most in NBA). Sacramento had 19 turnovers, leading to 27 points for the Grizzlies. 16 of their 19 turnovers came in the 2nd half & overtime. Kings were outscored 29-21 in the 4th quarter to send the game to overtime but outscored the Grizzlies 16-6 in the extra frame. Kings’ Kevin Huerter dislocated his left shoulder & will miss tonight’s game against the Raptors.
- Domantas Sabonis is averaging 20.1 points, 13.7 rebounds & 8.3 assists in 67 games this season, one of eight players to be averaging a 20-point double-double this season. Sabonis has 25 points, 18 rebounds & 5 assists in 40 minutes on Monday against Memphis.
- Domantas Sabonis has recorded a double-double in 50 consecutive games, the 10th player in NBA history to reach a 50-game double-double streak. It’s the longest double-double streak since Kevin Love in 2010. He’s only had 4 games without a double-double this season & leads the NBA with 63 double-doubles & 23 triple-doubles.
- De’Aaron Fox is averaging a career-high 26.8 points & 4.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists & is shooting 36.6% from three this season. He’s currently 10th in the NBA in scoring & 3rd in 4th quarter scoring this season.
- De’Aaron Fox had 23 points, 7 rebounds & 10 assists in 43 minutes on Monday against the Grizzlies, his 5th double-double of the season. Fox scored 15 of his 23 points in the 2nd half & overtime, his 10 assists leading to 23 points for the Kings.
- Malik Monk had 28 points, 6 rebounds & 6 assists in 40 minutes off the bench on Monday, his league-leading 9th 25-point game off the bench. No one else has more than 5. Monk has scored 1050 points off the bench this season, the most in the NBA. His 146 made threes are 2nd most.
- Trey Lyles has missed the Kings’ last 3 games after suffering a sprained MCL on March 12th against the Bucks. He’s been ruled out for at least 2 weeks & is set to be re-evaluated in a week. Lyles is averaging 7.1 points & 4.4 rebounds, while shooting 38.3% from three this season.
- Keegan Murray is averaging 14.7 points & 5.4 rebounds in 33.2 minutes this season, both up from his rookie year last season. After shooting 41.1% from three last season, Murray is down to shooting 35.2% this season. He’s shooting 25.5% from three in his last 8 games & has missed 12 of his last 15 attempts from three.
- Keegan Murray had 18 points, 12 rebounds & shot a perfect 4-for-4 from three in the Kings’ last meeting against Toronto.
- Kings are allowing 10.5 fastbreak points since the All-Star break, 2nd fewest in the NBA.
- Kings are 26th in both halfcourt & transition defence this season.