VANCOUVER — In front of a sellout crowd of 18,900 in Vancouver, the Toronto Raptors started-off their pre-season in style with a 99-94 win over the Sacramento Kings.
But in spite of the victory, Dwane Casey knows his team has a ton to work on still.
“We still have a lot of work to do on the defensive end,” said Toronto’s head coach. “I was disappointed. Whether we win, lose or draw is not important in these types of games. But what is very important is our defensive [effort]. I thought we didn’t do it; we didn’t come out in the third quarter — with our starters — with that defensive intensity and that zeal that you have to have if you’re building for something.”
The Raptors played a decent first half – leading the Kings by 5 at the break (47-42) in spite of giving up 48.3 percent shooting from the floor. Led by Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto had a 20-16 edge in the rebounding department as well.
But it all fell apart in the third quarter.
Sacramento came out of the half with a dominant frame, out-rebounding the Raptors 16-3 while shooting a blistering 12-of-20 from the floor. They headed to the fourth quarter with a 75-68 lead.
“I was really impressed with the second unit in the fourth quarter,” said Casey. “They had nine out of 10 stops to start the quarter. That’s who we need to be.”
A lot of that defensive work was done by Tyler Hansbrough, James Johnson, and Greg Stiemsma. Casey made a point of praising both Hansbrough and Stiemsma specifically. And the coach was just as impressed with Hansbrough’s game-tying three-pointer at the 8:09 mark.
“He finally made one of those threes that he’s been working on,” joked Casey. “His intensity; that’s the way we have to be.”
When asked if Hansbrough now has the green light to shoot from distance, cased quipped: “It’s a flashing yellow light.”
After trading baskets – and the lead – back and forth for the next six minutes, it was Hansbrough again that pushed the Raptors ahead. The big man nailed two free throws with 1:40 to play and Toronto never looked back.
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 21 points and he came away with a major appreciation for the support he and his teammates received from the raucous crowd in Vancouver.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I was on the bench with Amir [Johnson] and he said ‘this is crazy’. It sounded like a playoff game. The energy in here tonight for a pre-season game was definitely amazing … we are Canada’s team.”
Cali Canucks
As much as Sunday’s game was a chance for the Raptors to extend their national roots across the country, the Kings actually displayed a ton of Canadian content too – both literally and figuratively.
Not only does Sacramento employ Mississauga, Ontario’s Nik Stauskas and Brampton’s Sim Bhullar, but the crew from northern California has a ton of additional Toronto connections among its players and coaches as well:
- Mike Malone (Kings head coach) – former assistant coach of the Canadian men’s national team. Malone’s Dad, Brendan, is a former head coach of the Raptors as well.
- Corliss Williamson (Kings assistant coach) – former Raptors forward.
- Tyrone Corbin (Kings assistant coach) – former Raptors forward.
- Micah Nori (Kings assistant coach) – former Raptors assistant coach.
- Dee Brown (Kings assistant coach) – former Raptors guard.
- Reggie Evans and Rudy Gay (current Kings) – formerly with the Raptors.
Stauskas, seeing his first NBA action of his career – on Canadian soil – finished the game with 12 points in 26 minutes.
Bhullar saw the floor for the final 19 seconds of the game – with Toronto already in control of the victory.
Stauskas to Start?
He wasn’t in the starting line up against Toronto, but Stauskas may be pressing Ben McLemore for more minutes at the two-guard in Sacramento, and that’s quite alright by coach Malone.
“I love competition,” he said. “I think it’s healthy [and] the cream will always rise to the top. I really feel that Nik is going to help Ben become a better player and Ben is going to help Nik become a better player. I think when you have depth and you have guys competing for a spot and minutes, it’s only going to help your team and your individuals get better.”
That said, Malone doesn’t believe that either player has to be slotted into a specific position or role with the Kings.
“We really like to talk about ‘positionless’ basketball,” he said. “We don’t need to have a true two-guard on the floor [or] a true small forward on the floor. You put your five best players on the floor and let them make basketball plays, make them read off of each other and play for each other and good things will happen.”
“We played them together quite often in Summer League in Las Vegas … so they can play together at times but it’s also fun watching those guys compete and go after each other.”
Whether the rookie, Stauskas, starts or not, Malone loves the new weapon he has at his disposal in Sacramento.
“When we drafted him … he’s a guy that brought a lot to the table,” he said. “The ability to shoot the ball was one of our weaknesses last year – being 27th in the NBA in three-point percentage. So Nik has a great range in his shot [and] he’s got good size. He’s a much better athlete than advertised.
“But the thing I love about him more than anything is just his IQ; how smart of a player he is. He has a good feel for the game. He can make a play for himself [or] he can make a play for others.”
Up Next
Toronto will fly to Sacramento on Monday afternoon and tip off against the Kings for a second-straight time on Tuesday night.
Following that tilt, the Raptors will head back home – to the friendly confines of Air Canada Centre – for the first time in more than a week. They’ll host the Boston Celtics on Friday night (7 p.m. ET). You can listen to that game on Sportsnet 590 the FAN.