Sacramento Kings Looks To Avoid a Deep Freeze Tonight in Toronto

The once 9-5 Kings are now standing at a record of 16-27, and the team is desperate for a win. The team’s best chances of logging in a win during this five game road trip was Monday against the Knicks, but thanks to a blizzard, the Kings game in New York was postponed.

With their one (in my opinion) easy win being snowed out, the Kings are now facing the Raptors, one of the few competitive teams in a non-competitive Eastern Conference.

Ever since the Rudy Gay trade, one team has dramatically improved. Unfortunately, it’s not the Kings. Just because the Raptors are unquestionably better than the Kings on paper doesn’t mean the Kings still can’t pull off the upset. They just need to follow these three keys.

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1) Stop the Guards: As the season progresses, the Kings defense has gotten worse. Raptors guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan will be licking their chops as they plan to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s important for the Kings to make sure they at least contain the guard play of the Raptors. Their top three scorers are Lowry, DeRozan, and Louis Williams (all guards). The Raptors are ranked 4th in offensive efficiency and how far the guards go, the team goes. The Kings must contain the guards.

2) Limit Turnovers: Turnovers have continually been a problem for the Kings this season. The Kings are ranked 27th in turnovers. Although turnovers are part of the game and are inevitable when on the court, it’s the unintentional turnovers that drive both players and their fans off the wall. Turnovers don’t only deteriorate the morale of the Kings, but also give their opponents momentum.

3) Bench Production: The Raptors do have players like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan that have All-Star talent, but it’s their role players that make the team great. Production throughout their whole rotation is what gets the Raptors wins, and just like the Raptors, the Kings needs some production from their bench to have a chance tonight. With the exception of Carl Landry (who might not even play), the Kings don’t have anyone on the bench that they can rely on to be consistently efficient. Whether Landry is out or not, the Kings will need some help off their bench.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I feel this game will be close. The Kings have a tendency to play at a higher level when playing the better teams, it’s been the weaker teams that have been the killer this season (what else is new?). I also think the Kings bench will provide a couple of sparks as well. Derrick Williams (although numbers don’t show) has been more consistent in recent games, and Omri Casspi usually provides efficiency as well (WHEN he is on the court).

Lastly, for the Kings to win tonight, I also think Ben McLemore has to have a good game. The last time these teams met, the Kings were Boogie-less, but still kept the game close (Kings lost 117-109).

The Kings expect Rudy Gay to play well, especially against his old team, but McLemore really shined as he scored 21 points. McLemore has been struggling with shot this month, maybe this is the game where he finally regains that rhythm that he had in December and November.

Add an efficient (and consistent) McLemore with the trio of DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Darren Collison adds another dynamic to the Kings roster.