Raptors’ defense can’t contain Kings’ onslaught.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 20 MIN | 2-4 FG | 1-3 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -2Got eaten alive by DeMarcus Cousins. To be fair, Cousins has a major size advantage and was a beast, but Johnson provided zero resistance. Wasn’t much of a threat to score either. His best contribution was playing the two-man game with DeMar DeRozan. |  |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 19 MIN | 2-4 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +3Strong in the post to begin with, but got no love thereafter. He played sparingly to give others look at center. Wasn’t very noticeable. Had a habit of slipping instead of setting an actual screen, which wasn’t used to great effect by the ball-handlers. Had a nice weakside block but didn’t provide enough help for Amir when Boogie was going off. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 24 MIN | 9-14 FG | 2-3 FT | 3 REB | 6 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 25 PTS | +3Dude was on fire to start the game. He sunk his first four triples and hit a wide and-one on a no-look, back-to-the-basket prayer. Stayed hot into the second half. He’s ready for the season to start. |  |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 24 MIN | 9-15 FG | 3-6 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 23 PTS | +3Strong game overall. His numbers — especially some of the turnovers — are sullied by the Raptors’ sheer insistence to feed him the ball in the first quarter. DeRozan used nine possessions out of the Raptors first 8 minutes. Once he settled in, DeRozan was on fire. He attacked off pin-downs, pick-and-rolls, post-ups, transitions, everything. The most promising sign was his two triples, of which he confidently knocked down. | |
 | Landry Fields, SG 14 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 0 PTS | +10I’m like most people. It’s sad to see Fields’ career reduced to what it was tonight. He’s a free pass for the defense. |  |
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 22 MIN | 2-7 FG | 0-2 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | -2He was 1-for-2 from deep. He swished one and airballed the other. This floor-stretch thing is a work in progress. Was surprisingly bad on the boards, allowing Jason Thompson and Reggie Evans to run wild. | |
 | James Johnson, PF 17 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -12Active defensively, though a little too overeager at times. Shot a surprising amount of times, though I’m guessing most of those came in the fourth quarter while I was busy writing this recap. Definitely lacking the harness that Memphis head coach Dave Joerger had on him. |  |
 | Bruno Caboclo, SF 15 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +8Played sparingly, mostly in garbage time in the fourth. Didn’t look that behind in terms of readiness. Sunk a three and recorded this ridiculous block on Omri Casspi. Looks much stronger than when he was drafted. He wasn’t much thinner than most of the guards out there. |  |
 | Jordan Hamilton, SF 20 MIN | 6-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | +1Was surprisingly spry and aggressive. Drove to the basket repeatedly and forced the issue. Definitely not a Julyan Stone-type. Not very sound decision-making on defense though. | |
 | Chuck Hayes, C 12 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -12The game ain’t in me no more, man. None of it. — Cutty/Hayes tonight | |
 | Greg Stiemsma, C 10 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -7Fouling is going to be an issue. He clearly understands where to be defensively, but commits too many fouls. Didn’t do much rim-protecting or rebounding tonight. Took a hard spill late in the game. | |
 | Will Cherry, PG 17 MIN | 2-7 FG | 2-4 FT | 0 REB | 4 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +1Yeah, he played. |  |
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 10 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -17Offensively, Vasquez is ready. The shot is good and his passing is crisp. Trouble is, his defense on Collison was downright embarrassing, allowing Collison to blow by on numerous occasions. I’m not sure that would change as the season continues. Foot-speed has always been a problem for ole’ YOLO. |  |
 | Louis Williams, SG 17 MIN | 3-8 FG | 3-4 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | -12Good lord he makes some questionable decisions. Perhaps that will change when the season starts, but I didn’t see a single move he made that was necessarily in the flow of the offense. He’d benefit a lot from sharing the floor with Patrick Patterson because he needs room to operate. |  |
 | Dwane Casey The team was a mess defensively, but it’s hard to slag a coach during preseason. The lineups without Patrick Patterson are a mess in terms of spacing and the Raptors’ offense would have looked a lot worse had it not been for DeRozan and Lowry’s hot shooting. Disregard the grade because it’s preseason. |  |
Four Things We Saw
- Stauskas. Can. Shoot. With his handles, size, quickness and ability to shoot, Stauskas looks like a solid pick at 8th overall. He was 5-for-5 to start the game and masterfully ran DeRozan into screens to get open.
- Cousins looked like a mix of Chris Webber and Shaquille O’Neal tonight. That’s not an exaggeration. He literally affected every possession on both ends. He punked the Raptors and no one could stand up to him. Luckily, he’s one of a kind, because defending hulking centers is definitely a problem for the Raptors.
- Jordan Hamilton made a strong case for the 15th spot. He’s quicker and more offensively versatile than I previously saw out of him in Denver. Stiemsma is still the overwhelming favorite, but Hamilton has a shot.
- Recap coming out tomorrow in the AM.
