Sunday night’s defeat by Sacramento Kings was a most unpleasant reminder of the problem which has ailed the Toronto Raptors so far this season.
Sure, the game-time announcement of Jonas Valanciunas’ injury and resulting scratch was problematic. The Sacramento Kings are one of a handful of NBA teams still reliant on a dominating centre, and JV’s absence allowed DeMarcus Cousins to rampage. Even so, the Raptors lost because of shabby shooting. I predicted the Kings would score 94 points; they managed 96. This loss can’t be pinned on porous defense.
Where is everyone?
No reasonable person could expect DeMar DeRozan to continue the pace of his first five games.