Why Raptors 'Urgency Problem' is More Than Just a Bad Night vs. Kings

The Toronto Raptors are feeling the frustration after losing to the Sacramento Kings at home in a game they really could have benefited from winning.

The Raptors now find themselves in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, on the wrong end of a tiebreaker with the Philadelphia 76ers. This is the result of having several players out due to injury, including starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, All-Star forward Brandon Ingram and reserve wing Jamison Battle, all of whom likely would have contributed to a possible win if they were on the court.

The Raptors were also playing on the second night of a back-to-back while the Kings had two full days of rest from their previous game against the Brooklyn Nets. All of those factors mattered in the loss, but RJ Barrett still feels as though the team should have won.

“This is a game we’re supposed to win no matter what,” Barrett said h/t Sportsnet reporter Michael Grange. “Process or no process, we can’t lose this game.”

Raptors Have to Find Urgency Before Season Ends

Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett falls and loses the ball | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Barrett wasn't the only one who felt dejected by the loss. Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili explained how the team came out with the wrong mindset against the Kings.

“There were times when you felt like there was no sense of urgency, until, like, we made it close,” Mamukelashvili said h/t Grange. “And then we’d be like, 'Ah, OK, we’re in the game.' But we can’t have those slip-ups.”

The Raptors came out flat in the game against the Kings, and that's a big reason why the team struggled all night long. They dug a hole for themselves early on, making just 42.9 per cent of their shots from the field, but they shot the ball better in the final three quarters, hitting 59 per cent of their shots in the second half.

On top of that, the team struggled on the glass by getting out-rebounded 48-32, including 19 offensive rebounds, which can be linked to a lack of effort and urgency as well.

In a long 82-game season, there can be peaks and valleys, as well as lulls at the most inopportune moments, and this was definitely one of them, if not the biggest. The Raptors came into the game knowing they needed to get a victory, as they were facing one of the worst teams in the league at home, with playoff positioning on the line.

By not pulling out the win, it allows other teams to move ahead of them in the standings, and that's what the Philadelphia 76ers did by beating the Washington Wizards on the road. That win helped the Sixers leapfrog the Raptors into sixth place in the East, giving them the inside track to make it to the top six and earn safety from the play-in tournament.

Now, with their backs against the wall in the final six games of the season, the Raptors are basically in playoff mode at this point.

“This one’s frustrating,” Barrett said h/t Grange. “We’ve been fighting hard all year, so you want the reward of making it to the playoffs and fighting for the championship, so nights like tonight, they hurt, especially when we know how much work we put in.

“Especially now after tonight, if we don’t come out and fight with everything we have got for these next couple of games... we have to play like our lives depend on it.”

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