With a tepid first quarter of their season in the rearview, the Toronto Raptors now have just 54 games to turn things around for themselves.
The discovery phase of the team is rapidly coming to a close and, sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, they need to start stringing together wins more consistently than they have over their first 18 games.
Their quest for steadier, more reliably strong play will resume Friday night when they host the Sacramento Kings from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet East and Sportsnet ONE.
Here’s a look at three things to watch for as you prepare to take in the game.
A welcome opponent
The last time the Raptors saw the Kings was in Sacramento a few weeks back when the team played what turned out to be a rather defining early-season Western Conference road trip.
That contest proved to be one of Toronto’s most complete performances of the season as the Raptors scored a franchise-best 144 points in regulation and routed the Kings for just their second win of the season.
There was some real magic at play that evening in Sacramento for the Raptors, and while it’s unrealistic to expect them to go 20-for-39 from three-point range again like they did before, facing this same Kings team should be a welcome sight for a Raptors squad that’s looking to build confidence.
Though the Kings technically own a better record at 7-10 to the Raptors’ 7-11 mark, it’s still safe to say that they’re a much lesser team than Toronto is.
Sacramento owns the second-worst net rating in the league at minus-7.2 and is playing the worst defence in the NBA, giving up 118.1 points per 100 possessions.
This game is ripe for the taking for Toronto.
Pascal’s performance
Returning from a two-game layoff dealing with a knee issue, Pascal Siakam wasn’t sharp Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring just 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting and failing to even attempt one free-throw.
Whether that kind of lukewarm showing was a result of some rust or a deeper problem with Siakam should be revealed Friday versus the Kings.
In their last encounter, Siakam was fabulous, going for 17 points and 12 assists on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor.
Theoretically, Sacramento has no one who can match up with Siakam — particularly if he’s dishing out dimes the way he did the last time these two teams met.
So, like the Raptors as a whole, an encounter with the Kings could be just what Siakam needs to get his confidence up again, leading to bigger and better performances.
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OG’s injury status
Heading into the game, OG Anunoby was listed as “questionable,” dealing with a left calf strain that saw him miss Wednesday’s contest.
The Raptors will be hoping Anunoby is available Friday, particularly because over his last eight games he’s probably been Toronto’s most consistent player, averaging 17.6 points per game on absolutely scorching shooting percentages of 53.8 per cent from the field and 60.9 per cent from three-point range, in addition to the usual lockdown and ball-hawking defence he plays (he’s averaged 2.3 steals per game in that eight-contest span).
Here’s hoping Anunoby will be back and healthy for Friday’s game.
