Game #8: Kings @ Raptors Preview

O Canada...

What: Kings @ Toronto Raptors

When: 3 P.M. PT

Where: Air Canada Centre

How to Watch: CSN California

Things are not okay right now. In yet another seemingly winnable game, the Kings laid an egg and lost 117-91 to the Milwaukee Bucks. That puts them at 0-4 on their current road trip and 2-5 overall. A lot of old habits have resurfaced as of late and they reared their ugly head Saturday night in a game where the Kings hardly even showed up for. We are only eight games into this NBA season so I'm not ready to jump ship just yet. But I'd be in denial if I said this vessel isn't sinking. Today we head north of the border and visit the Raptors. Canadians are supposed to be nice, right? Maybe they'll let the Kings have this one.

Bompton Boy

This past summer, DeMar DeRozan was practically invisible on the United States Men's Basketball team that took gold at the Rio Olympics. That squad was so deep on the wings that he struggled to find the court. But if the Olympics version of DeRozan was an underground hipster indie bluegrass band, this current version of DeRozan is more like Taylor Swift: he's making a ton of noise, he might not ever leave us alone and it's probably going to get really annoying for the other 29 NBA teams who aren't the Toronto Raptors. Through five games, DeRozan is averaging 35.8 points per game on 55.8% shooting from the field. What makes those numbers so fascinating is that DeRozan has only attempted eight three pointers on the year. Eight! And he's hit exactly one. Literally, one! The NBA right now is a league obsessed with analytics, small ball and bombarding three point field goals at the basket at a rate that would make Francis Scott Key want to write a new national anthem. But DeMar DeRozan says f*ck your advanced stats, you nerd. He's been torching teams thus far by getting to the rim and taking the increasingly unpopular contested mid-range jump shot. The big question now is this: will he be able to sustain these types of performances over the course of an entire season? My guess is no based on the manner in which he's getting his points. But for now, he's doing something that hasn't been done since some dude named Michael did it 30 years ago. It could be a longgg game for the Kings who have to guard him today.

Casey Clamps Down

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has built a reputation around the league for being an outstanding defensive mind and his work during his time in Toronto is proof. The Raptors have been in the upper half of the league in defensive rating in three of his first five seasons as head coach. The season is young so the sample size is small, but the Raptors are currently sixth in the league in that category. A Dwane Casey-coached team will always be one that refuses to let you score points easily. The Kings have had their struggles this road trip when trying to score points. In basketball, you need more points than the other team at the end of the game to win. You know where I'm going with this.

Practicing Patience

Hey guys. Remember last week when the Kings showed some promise and looked like a winning team? Good times. Well, those days are seemingly over. Every new NBA season brings promise and hope but any fan who was realistic knew that this year was going to be a challenge for the Kings. It takes time to establish a culture. It takes time to implement a system. It takes time for players to buy into a brand new coaching staff. Unfortunately for the Kings and coach Dave Joerger, time came at a premium in the weeks leading up to the regular season and it shows with the way this team is currently playing. We've been down this road before with new coaches. The Kings' history with this kind of situation will tell you that things will only get worse. But recall, if you can, one Michael Malone. Three years ago, he took the helm of a Kings team undergoing massive changes on and off the court and in one year changed the culture and identity of a team full of players that were accustomed to a toxic environment. He was then promptly fired. #LOLKings. BUT, my point here is that it can happen. Yes, even here in Sacramento. Firing Michael Malone was a mistake. He never got a chance to fully see his process through. The good news for us now is that we have one hell of a coach in Dave Joerger. He's not going anywhere. He will see his process through. All we can do for now is trust that process and be patient.