The Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors prepare for rematch of last year’s playoff series.
The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards shall meet again, for the first time since the first round of the playoffs last season. Toronto won the series 4-2 after jumping to an early 2-0 series lead. One of the biggest changes to the Raptors’ roster is the loss of DeMar DeRozan and addition of Kawhi Leonard.
If the Washington Wizards wants to get a home win in the month of October, Saturday is the only chance it’ll happen. After this, they go on a five-game road trip that consists of four games on the West coast. The other is a southern game at the Memphis Grizzlies.
Head-to-Head: Wizards and Raptors
Washington and Toronto have played a total of 85 regular season games. The Raptors hold a 48-37 lead, splitting the season series 2-2 last season. The last regular season meeting was in March, where the Raptors won 102-95, thanks to 23 points from DeRozan and 20 off the bench from C.J. Miles.
For the Washington Wizards, John Wall was out recovering from left knee surgery, so Tomas Satoransky started in his place. Otto Porter Jr. led the team with 24 points, followed by Bradley Beal’s 23 points. Washington’s bench was outscored 50-15 shooting 6 of 22 from the field.
Just plain horrible.
Positives
- Jeff Green…Period. He scored 17 in the season opener making his presence known off the bench.
- Team defense was stellar and must continue throughout the season (blocks and steals were on point)
- A healthy John Wall once again proves why he deserves to be in talks when it comes to top point guards in the league
Negatives
- Early foul trouble was costly, forcing some starters to sit early and have limited minutes such as Bradley Beal and Ian Mahinmi. Wizards have to play and be smart or they’ll be depending on their bench to win games if they’re not too careful.
- And speaking of the Wizards’ bench as a unit, there’s not that much depth in comparison to last season. The additions of Green and Austin Rivers was a plus, but overall when bench players are on the court the struggle to score is real. Prime example, the Wizards’ bench went on a scoring drought in the second quarter vs the Miami Heat. That led to Miami tying the game up and lack of rest for the starters.
- Figure out a solution for playing small ball until Dwight Howard returns. Being out-rebounded in games isn’t a good look. Washington offensively was crushed on the boards 22-7. One of those rebounds being put back for the game-winner. This leads back to the foul trouble especially from Mahinmi, who had this trouble even off the bench. Small ball equates to lack of rebounding.
Washington faces off against Toronto on Saturday at 7 P.M. on NBA TV.
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