Morning Coffee - Nov. 7, 2024
Injuries continue to plague the Raptors | DeMar ruins Davion's homecoming
Toronto Raptors lose pair of rookies and game to Sacramento Kings - Raptors Republic
The injuries have picked up right where they left off last year as rookies Ja’Kobe Walter and Jonathan Mogbo were added to an already laundry list of names on the injury report.
Walter suffered a right shoulder contusion after trying to fight through a Sabonis screen in the third quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. It’s the same shoulder that the 20-year-old suffered an AC joint sprain to before training camp, which caused him to miss the first six games.
After last night’s game, X-rays came back negative on Walter’s shoulder.
Mogbo also limped off the floor in the fourth quarter with what the team called a right hip pointer and also did not return to the game. The pair of rookies join Scottie Barnes (orbital), Immanuel Quickley (back), Kelly Olynyk (back), Garrett Temple (back), and Bruce Brown Jr. (knee) on the shelf for possibly the foreseeable future.
Quick Reaction Raptors 107, Kings 122 - Raptors Republic
D. Mitchell32 MIN, 20 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 8-11 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -14 +/-
Maintained his dribble and found the paint as the primary ball handler early, slinging one pass from under the basket to an open Jamison Battle in the far corner. He had four driving lay-ups in the second quarter, including one where he beat Fox off the dribble. Mitchell’s passing has been a little off at times, missing by just a bit, not allowing shooters to release before a close-out arrives or causing a delay for the receiver corralling the pass, allowing the defence to recover. Got a transition opportunity in the third and ran the floor hard, finishing at the rim again. Made his 3s and didn’t turn the ball over in a game where that was a problem for the Raptors. Sort of a Davion Mitchell revenge game, except they lost.
DeMar DeRozan, an all-time Toronto Raptor, is figuring it out with the Kings, too - The Athletic
This was Davion Mitchell’s first game back in Sacramento since the Kings traded him in the offseason. Mitchell spent his first three seasons in Sacramento, as the Kings drafted him in the lottery. The fans greeted him warmly after he was announced last among the Raptors starters.
Mitchell had some nice drives, and did a solid job on Fox, who shot 5 of 17 from the field on the night. Fox got him a few times, and Mitchell seemed particularly annoyed with himself after getting beat on a backdoor cut. Mitchell was mumbling to himself about the play until the next timeout. It is endearing how much he cares about defence.
“Well, first thing is he definitely takes pride in it,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “If you have a guy that embraces his superpower, then that’s the best of both worlds. And he definitely embraces it.”
The Raptors came into the game fourth in the league in pace. Before the game, coach Darko Rajaković said he was OK with turnovers so long as they are in service of that pace. This one from Battle was a good example. The Raptors pushed hard off a Kings make, and Battle tried to find an open man after attacking a closeout. It was a bad pass, but in service of a grander principle. The pass was thrown eight seconds after the Kings bucket.
Raptors' Davion Mitchell displays defensive prowess in loss to Kings - Sportsnet
It was old friend DeRozan who closed the door, scoring 11 of his game-high 27 points in the final period as the Kings turned a five-point deficit with 11 minutes remaining into a 15-point advantage eight minutes later when he scored his final bucket with 2:33 to play.
RJ Barrett led Toronto with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting while Mitchell had a season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and adding six assists against just one turnover.
The loss dropped the Raptors' record to 2-7 and 0-2 with three games remaining on their five-game road trip. The Kings improved to 5-3.
Injuries continue to be an issue for Toronto, which had rookies Ja'Kobe Walter and Jonathan Mogbo leave the game. Walter re-aggravated the shoulder injury that saw him miss all of training camp and the first five games of the regular season, but Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said that x-rays were negative and the rookie will be day-to-day. Mogbo suffered a hip pointer and was finished after 18 minutes but contributed five points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
The main difference statistically was at the free-throw line, as Sacramento made 28 of its 32 attempts and the Raptors were 11-of-17. Another issue: The Raptors surrendering 16 offensive rebounds while grabbing only eight themselves.
“I think the key thing, obviously, was the free throws,” said Mitchell. We got to do a better job of that … we have to stop fouling. I mean, they made 28 free throws. It’s hard to win like that.”
Raptors’ offense stalls in the fourth, fall to the Kings 107-122 - Raptors HQ
The Toronto Raptors couldn’t find their offense in the fourth quarter, losing to the Sacramento Kings on the road, 107-122. After three competitive three quarters, DeMar DeRozan and the Kings shifted gears in the fourth, while coach Darko Rajakovic and his Raptors’ wheels fell off in the final frame.
RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 23 points and got off to a hot start with nine quick points, but he could not generate enough offense for the team for the most part. Davion Mitchell had his best game as a Raptor, scoring 20 points and six dimes, including two trifectas. Chris Boucher provided a spark off the bench with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 27 points, showcasing his vintage game in the fourth. Keegan Murray feasted however he wanted, adding 22 points and 12 boards. DeAaron Fox shook off a bad shooting night and put up 21 points.
Gradey Dick had an off night, finishing with seven points on a 3-10 shooting. Gradey was in foul trouble for most of the game, as the Kings hunted him often. Perhaps the baffling part was Gradey sitting seven straight minutes between his first and second shifts, and that sandwiches the break between quarters, so he could very well have sat for at least 20 minutes. Worse, he returned for his second shift, picked up two quick fouls, and did not see the floor for another 30 or so real-time minutes with the halftime included. He never got his rhythm back for the rest of the game.
While the Raptors got demolished by the Kings in the fourth, 14-33, some of the Raptors’ issues were self-inflicted. The Raptors conceded 23 points off their 10 turnovers — with several of them unforced. As one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, the Raptors were predictably destroyed on the boards by the Kings, 34-47.
Sabonis posts triple-double and DeRozan dominates fourth quarter to help Kings top Raptors Read - Sacramento Bee
The Kings finally took control in the fourth, outscoring the Raptors 11-4 over the first four minutes to take a 101-97 lead on a three-point play by DeRozan. They broke the game open with a subsequent 16-2 run that put them up 118-102.
DeRozan scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, going 5 of 5 from the field, to help the Kings outscore the Raptors 33-14.
“Obviously, DeMar down the stretch, he closed it for us,” Brown said. “It was great to see him getting to his spot and letting him go to work.”
The Kings went 12 of 20 (60%) from the field and 3 of 7 (42.9%) from 3-point range in the fourth while the Raptors went 6 of 20 (30%) and 1 of 9 (11.1%).
RAPTORS-KINGS TAKEAWAYS: Oh no, more injuries and another loss - Toronto Sun
To make matters worse, a Toronto team already missing Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown lost two of its rookies to injuries. Ja’Kobe Walter, the 19th pick of last June’s draft, got caught on a Sabonis screen and banged up the same shoulder that cost him all of the pre-season and the start of the year. The Raptors said X-rays were negative, but shoulders are tricky and it’s not a good sign that the frail Walter is already hurt again. We’ve seen this type of injury linger before with other Raptors (think Delon Wright during his rookie season or Norman Powell).
Drew’s college coach at Baylor Scott Drew had told me during the summer that young Walter would need to develop his body for the wear and tear of the NBA (similar to how Gradey Dick had to last year). This is a man’s league and it can be tough if you’re slight to stay healthy.
Jonathan Mogbo, the 31st pick, suffered a hip pointer and also left the game. There isn’t any word yet on the seriousness of the injury. Mogbo has shown some flashes and was having one of his better games yet with five points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.
Are the stars out tonight? You can pretty much expect it in the NBA - Toronto Star
If you want to spin it positively, mind you, that’s one of the more fortunate aspects of the Raptors’ ongoing rebuild. Franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes was slated to miss his fifth straight game with a broken orbital bone on Wednesday night in Sacramento. Starting guard Immanuel Quickley hasn’t played since bruising his pelvis in the season opener a couple of weeks ago.
It’s easy enough to imagine that if the Raptors were in a more urgent search for victories, both Barnes and Quickley would have found their way back into a game by now. Then again, in a season in which the best possible result will be procuring the best possible odds in the draft lottery, there’s every reason for the Raptors to err on the side of maxing out sick days. For a talent-starved franchise, waving the white flag for Cooper Flagg, the Duke star and presumptive No. 1 pick, is as good a strategy as any.
Unless you make a big show of your intention not to play, in the way that Embiid attracted a league investigation by publicly speculating that he is finished playing back-to-back games, nobody bats an eye. In Adam Silver’s NBA, imperfect attendance has become perfectly acceptable.