Flip Saunders called this one about 90 minutes before it even began.
Asked to assess the Raptors, Washington’s head coach said his Wizards were basically playing themselves when they go up against the Raptors.
“Toronto’s like us. A very young athletic team that is building. They’re building around (Andrea) Bargnani … Similar to us they have games they play pretty well and games they play pretty bad. That’s part of what youth gives you.
“They play well at home and struggle sometimes when they go on the road.”
And last night with his Wizards in the middle of a road trip, Washington played exactly like a young team on the road and the Raptors, comfortable at home, took full advantage.
The result was a one-sided 127-108 Raptors win where just about everything that could go right for the Raptors did.
You knew this one was destined for the win column for the home side when with 1:28 left in the first half DeMar DeRozan hit just his second three-pointer of the season with the shot clock on the verge of expiring.
DeRozan, who has been hindered by a pulled hamstring he incurred a week ago Sunday against Boston, appeared back to full speed Wednesday well before he hit that buzzer-beating three.
Not since a mid-November run through Florida, when the Raps stole one in Orlando and gave the Heat everything they could handle, has DeRozan looked as aggressive as he was against the Wizards.
His 20 points led all Raptors as did his seven free-throw attempts (five makes), which is probably the best indicator of DeRozan’s effectiveness on any given night.
“These past few games I was struggling,” DeRozan said. “I didn’t let it get me down in any type of way. I’ve been through things like this last year and you just figure it out and keep going.”
“I was a little nervous at first, it was faster and longer than I thought it was going to be,” Davis said.
Davis checked in halfway through the first and made an immediate impression, tipping in a Jose Calderon miss a couple minutes later.
Davis was very active for the Raptors early, changing shots at the rim and getting put-backs on offence as the team pulled away.
The former North Carolina forward got his first NBA throw-down late in the first half, when DeMar DeRozan set him up with a pretty behind-the-back pass.
He looked more tentative in the second half, blowing an easy layup, but later showed good hands in catching and converting a tougher lay-in.
Davis finished with 11 points, two blocks and six rebounds in 24 minutes
“I was just trying to play hard. It felt good to get out there and put on a Raptors jersey for the first time.”
Perhaps the most important aspect Davis showed he might bring to the team is a shot-blocking presence, which will make things tougher for opponents inside.
Case in point, rookie-of-the-year candidate John Wall was unceremoniously denied by a massive Davis block early in the fourth.
Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa said Davis has great timing in erasing shots.
“A part of our strategy tonight was to take it right at their bigs,” said Toronto coach Jay Triano. “If he (McGee) blocks five shots and commits five fouls, we’re going to win because without Hilton Armstrong we knew they were thin up front.”
And in Davis, they hope they have the kind of shot-altering inside presence that this franchise hasn’t had since Keon Clark was patrolling the lane back in the early 2000s.
The 6-10 rookie had a fine debut, with 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes. He is a different kind of animal than Reggie Evans, the force he’s replacing in the rotation.
“Reggie’s not really a shot blocker, he’s more of a defensive presence,” said Bayless. “Ed gives us a different look and it really helps us.”
Davis, who had four offensive rebounds in his debut as Toronto hammered the Wizards on the glass 52-30, was as advertised. He altered shots, was active on the glass and didn’t look out of place, despite being a 21-year-old kid playing his first meaningful game since February.
“He’s got that look about him where it doesn’t look like he’s giving you (much) and all of a sudden he’s at the rim and he’s blocking shots, (getting) a couple of tip-ins,” said Triano. “I was pleased and we’ll see how he responds to that.”
Toronto Raptors forward Reggie Evans is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks after undergoing surgery Wednesday on his broken right foot.
Never mind transition defence, which wasn’t too bad, the transition offence was exceptional last night.
They got up 88 shots, which is a pretty solid number considering the last five or six minutes of garbage time were played at a relative snail’s pace.
Quite impressive was Jerryd Bayless at pushing the ball and finding guys on the wing on the break.
He may be a tad raw in running a halfcourt offence but get him on the move and he’s all right.
Wizards head coach Flip Saunders called his team’s effort “embarrassing.”
Washington (5-12) is now zero for nine on the road this season. Although 2010 first-overall draft pick John Wall was back in the lineup after missing two games with a bruised knee, the team is now on a four-game losing skid.
“There are always ways you can make excuses: been on the road, long trip, playing every other day in different cities, but that’s what this league is about. Very disappointed,” he said.
The Raptors had a well-rounded offensive effort, with seven players scoring in the double-digits, including Sonny Weems and Andrea Bargnani (both with 18) and guards Leandro Barbosa and Jerryd Bayless (each contributing 16). After disappearing in the last couple games, second-year shooting guard DeMar DeRozan found his old form, leading the Raptors with 20 points.
“Ed was good,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said. “He’s got that look about him where it doesn’t look like he’s giving you [a ton of effort.] But all of the sudden he’s at the rim, and he’s blocking shots. He had a couple blocked shots and a couple tip-ins. He’s right there with his hands above the rim.”
Davis’s defensive upside might be his best feature. His swat of a layup attempt from Wall proved just how much he can change a game on that end.
“That’s something we haven’t really had,” guard Jerryd Bayless said.
As a lottery pick, Davis is a big part of the Raptors’ future. Last year, the Raptors started DeMar DeRozan for most of the season, a season in which the Raptors had grander expectations than this.
However, Davis will get no such assurances of playing time.
“[His quantity of playing time] will largely depend on how he performs when he’s on the floor,” Triano said. “I can’t jeopardize the work and the effort of the others guys that are out there in order to have him live and learn through mistakes. If he plays well and he plays hard, I can live through a couple mistakes. But I can’t have the rest of the team suffer while he adjusts to playing in the NBA.”
Gotta love the balanced scoring, with seven Raps tallying double figures and Linas Kleiza falling two points shy of making it eight … The night really belonged to the swingman duo of DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems, who combined for 38 points on 14-23 shooting along with 11 rebounds and six assists … Ed Davis’ debut: 11 points on 5-7 shooting and six rebounds in 24 minutes, about three more than Johnson got. He will be worth watching as Jay Triano eases him into a more offensive role … A tale of two games: the Raps’ 72-point first half nearly matched the 78 points they scored in the Hawks’ game on Sunday … The official word on Evans after surgery is that he will be out for eight weeks. While it may be tempting to give Davis an increased role right away, the team is best served bringing the rookie along slowly and, perhaps, looking at potential free agent big men to use up one of the remaining two roster spots …
"Just an embarrassing effort," Saunders said. "There are always ways you can make excuses, being on the road, a long trip, playing every other day in different cities, but that’s what this league is about. Very disappointed."
Saunders’s disappointment actually began at what he called a "non-communicative shootaround" in which the players went through the motions. No. 1 overall pick John Wall, who made his return after missing the previous two games with a bruised left knee, said Saunders questioned his team’s ability to perform against the Raptors.
"To hear your head coach say he doesn’t have faith in you, that early in the morning, that hurt," Wall said after coming off the bench to score 19 points with eight assists. "And then we went out and proved exactly what he thought."
The Raptor players must have loved this game because several were able to break out of slumps. Along with DeRozan, Weems and Bargnani shot well after struggling at least the last couple of games. All three were aggressive on offensive, obviously realizing that Andre Blatche may be a worse help defender than Bargnani is.
Showing why I’ve been saying all along that he was the right PG to start for this young team, Calderon got the offense going, throwing a couple of ally-oops, and shooting an efficient 5-7 from the field. Of course, it was his backup that many will remember from this game.
When the Raptors traded for Jerryd Bayless, I didn’t expect much. I thought it was a good trade because it was a worthwhile gamble, but from what I’ve seen from Bayless in his 4 games with the Raptors is that he’s finally playing on a team that suits his skills. His play against the Wizards was excellent. He played good defense, passed the ball well, was his customary aggressive self, driving to the hoop, and even shot well from long range.
And was it just me, or was that one of the quickest head fakes and crossovers in a while. The headfake looked like it was double speed. The reaction of the bench was priceless, as well.