That should have been a enjoyable approach for the blokes to finish the homestand and make the late flight to New York a bit more palatable.
The Kings had been horrible, make no mistake about it – however the Raptors had been full measure for the 124-101 win.
And as we stated within the recreation story proper after, it was additionally a pleasant respite/escape from what’s been a attempting and tumultuous week. I don’t know what’s going to come back with this new COVID variant and its influence on sports activities however getting out and performing in entrance of appreciative followers actually is one thing all of them get pleasure from and I hope – possibly towards the chances – that they preserve attending to do it.
Anyway, here’s a final have a look at the goings on.
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THREE POINTERS
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A sickly feeling
It was too dangerous that Dalano Banton needed to bail at halftime – a non-COVID sickness they stated, he gained’t be in Brooklyn tonight – as a result of he was having his finest recreation in a few weeks.
I do know they name Sacramento rookie guard Davion Mitchell “Off Night” due to the best way his defence could make an opponent’s night time depressing however Banton’s dimension and quickness shredded Mitchell and the Kings within the stretch that principally put the sport away.
I had talked about the opposite day that maybe the bloom was a bit off the Banton rose and he hadn’t been notably impactful in a couple of half dozen video games however having six assists and 4 factors in slightly below 9 minutes was spectacular.
After all, the whole lot must be couched within the groups of “yeah, but it was just Sacramento” however that was the Banton that gained the backup job from Malachi Flynn actually rapidly.
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Take ‘em when they come
Yuta Watanabe made a bunch of shots last night after missing a bunch the other night against New York but one thing that’s by no means going to vary is his effort.
He grabbed 10 rebounds – to go along with 12 factors, it was the primary double-double of his profession – and labored for everybody of them.
And labored lengthy. He obtained subbed into the sport with 5:33 left within the third quarter and by no means got here out. I’m fairly certain a 17 ½ minute straight stretch could be a profession excessive however he was tuckered out.
“I’m not gonna lie. I was gassed at the end,” he stated. “That’s how it should be. Every time I get on the court, I work hard, bring energy. After every game I should be gassed.”
Guess he slept effectively on the flight.
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A plan comes collectively
Yeah, the 40-23 blitz of the second quarter put the sport away for the Raptors however they took the Kings’ coronary heart with a 30-22 run within the first quarter that eradicated all struggle from a comfortable opponent.
And for Nick Nurse, that was the perfect factor to see as a result of the Raptors took what was talked about proper earlier than the sport onto the courtroom and buried an opponent.
“The big message or goal of today was to go out and guard in the first quarter,” was what he advised us after the sport. “I thought there’d been a couple of games where we end the first quarter 36-34, something like that. Not what we wanted to do. We were scoring just fine but we were just trading buckets with those teams.
“Mentioned that before the game, the big goal was to come out and set a tone defensively. That we were there to play hard on that end and I thought that was a huge key for the whole team early.”
The Kings shot 39 per cent within the first quarter and missed seven of eight threes. They mailed it in from that time on.
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Okay, street recreation from Casa Doug tonight so which means laying round and doing as little as doable for the remainder of the day.
Would love to listen to from you and likewise get a soar on the weekend so if you wish to begin loading up the mailbag, clicking on askdoug@thestar.ca and sending a greeting could be good.
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