Kings vs. Raptors: Preview & game thread

The Sacramento Kings continue their road trip with a matchup against the Toronto Tampa Bay Raptors. The Kings are coming off a 121-107 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday and are going for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Buddy Hield led the charge against Orlando, finishing with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, while veteran Harrison Barnes dropped 21 in the win.

Although Barnes isn’t the first option, Sacramento needs the veteran to be more consistent on offense. Barnes is averaging a team-high 19.6 points in Kings’ wins this season and 13.9 in losses.

Game Information

Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay, Florida

When: Friday, Jan. 28 at 4:30 p.m. PT

Projected Starting Lineups:

Kings (7-10): De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III, Richaun Holmes

Raptors (7-11): Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam, Aron Baynes

Injuries/Absences

Kings: Jahmi’us Ramsey (groin), DaQuan Jeffries (ankle), Nemanja Bjelica (personal) — OUT

Raptors: Patrick McCaw (knee), OG Anunoby (calf), Norman Powell (quad) — OUT

This is the second meeting in three weeks between the two teams. Sacramento had its worst defensive game of the season when Fred VanVleet dropped 34 points, and the Raptors set a franchise record for points when they beat the Kings 144-123 on Jan. 8. Toronto has beaten Sacramento seven straight times going into Friday’s matchup.

Barnes says the team hasn’t forgotten about the blowout loss.

“It was a loss where not only do we feel like we weren’t the best version of ourselves, but we gave a team that was in the same boat as us at that time a lot of confidence,” he said. “That’s something that we remember and another motivation for us.”

The Raptors have lost their last two games going into this one, but they’re 6-5 since starting the season 1-6. VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are Toronto’s top two scorers, combining to average 37 points per game.

Sacramento did a great job of attacking the offensive glass against the Magic. Marvin Bagley III had eight of the team’s 17 offensive rebounds, which is seven more than the Kings average per outing. The Raptors sit 27th in the NBA in defensive rebounds per game.

The Kings will also need to be sharp on their rotations and not allow Toronto to get a ton of uncontested looks from beyond the arc. The Raptors are the eighth-best 3-point shooting team in the NBA, sitting one spot higher than Sacramento.

Toronto lit up the Kings from deep in their last meeting, connecting on 20-of-39 attempts from the 3-point line.

Enjoy the game!