Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Quick Reaction: Wizards 84, Raptors 103

The Raptors blowout the Wizards in purple jerseys.

by

The Raptors blowout the Wizards in purple jerseys.


Washington Wizards84FinalRecap | Box Score103Toronto Raptors
Amir Johnson, PF 21 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +17His ankle-roll to rebound ratio was solid tonight. Got caught flat-footed for a couple rebounds in the first quarter but did a commendable job of defending without fouling. Remember when we used to complain that he couldn’t stay on the floor because of fouls? Once he left the game, the defense dipped, which is to be expected.

Terrence Ross, SF 29 MIN | 7-15 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 18 PTS | +19Started off hitting his threes and keeping Pierce in front of him, even picked up a charge against Wall after which he looked winded. If he’s going to be one of those players that’s only useful when his three-point shot is going in, it’s a problem, so I was more happy that he played a role on defense, which is probably what Casey is more pleased to see.

Jonas Valanciunas, C 29 MIN | 3-5 FG | 3-5 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 9 PTS | +19Didn’t get many touches and when he did, made use of them. It feels like he’s got a beef with Gortat, maybe it’s a European thing, or maybe he saw this as a benchmark game which he’d be measured against. Battled on the boards, and managed to prevent picking up a third foul after being hit with two early.  Here’s an example of bad defense, and to even it out, here’s him doing the sky hook.

Kyle Lowry, PG 34 MIN | 5-13 FG | 1-2 FT | 11 REB | 10 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 13 PTS | +17He’s like a dad teaching his little girl how to ride a bike. He lets her go but keeps his arms right around her shoulders in case she stumbles, so he could catch her and show her the way again. If you think of him as a quarterback, he was handing the ball off to the running back most of the game, and in the moments where the team needed him, he threw a 50-yard pass. Some uncharacteristic turnovers, but otherwise another complete game, topped off by a triple-double, and that’s after he got elbowed by Pierce. Also, got to love how he hits the boards in traffic.

DeMar DeRozan, SG 36 MIN | 7-13 FG | 11-11 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 25 PTS | +12Another composed and efficient evening where he didn’t let riff raff like Garrett Temple slow him down. He was amazing off the ball with his misdirections (1, 2) and got at least three hoops based on pure intelligence. Keep shooting the jumpers man, it’s what’s going to make you a big time scorer in the league.

Tyler Hansbrough, PF 14 MIN | 1-3 FG | 3-4 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | -1A couple silly fouls, and I really feel he’d get more rebounds if he just normally extended his arms to catch the ball instead of flailing at them like a toddler. The ball’s right there, he has position, yet it manages to go through his arms, hit his shoulder, go between his legs, hit his ankle, and then he somehow gets called for the foul. I like the hustle, keep it up, and note to everyone else: throw this man a pass on the ‘roll once in a while. Good job battling their physical bigs, it’s a “tall” order. Badum, tishh.

James Johnson, PF 17 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +1Good stuff all around. He really does increase the defensive intensity on the court. With Ross doing well, his minutes were cut short but still managed to have an impact in that third quarter when the Wizards were trying to make a run.

Patrick Patterson, PF 27 MIN | 2-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | +9Poor defensively in face-up situations, left his feet a little too early, and I felt like he didn’t read any of the scouting reports. The shot’s slowly coming back and he looks more comfortable, but there’s definitely more to come from him. Remember, he was injured to start training camp so that’s something.

Greivis Vasquez, PG 16 MIN | 0-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +2Came in and dropped some dimes, took some bad shots, and was more or less benign.

Louis Williams, SG 16 MIN | 5-11 FG | 2-5 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 13 PTS | -1Torched by Andre Miller and was the reason the Wizards weren’t getting completely blown out; made amends with a few scores but overall a defensively disappointing game. It’s encouraging to see him get some points on that move where he crosses over to left and leans back for the fade – it’s his bread and butter.  Oh, had a four-point play.

Landry Fields, SG 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +1He exists.

Dwane Casey
Played the hockey units again which seem to work – they were plus in all the lineups. Called the right timeouts, and inserted Lowry back into the game during that early 4Q Wizards run. When you got things clicking like this, that’s all he needed to do tonight.

Five Things We Saw

  1. The Wizards shot 30% in the first half, and it’s not because they were missing shots. The Raptors D was intact, and you could tell they’d made a concerted effort to start the game better. The intensity, for the first time all season, was there to start the game.
  2. The Raptors were up by 28 in this game at one point in the first half, so the last three quarters were quite boring, and the Wizards never made a serious runs.
  3. The Raptors offense has another gear – if they ever figure out how to use Valanciunas’ post-game to setup the rest of their offense, much like they use DeRozan’s mid-range shooting, it could get scary.
  4. The rebounding was fixed with the Raptors being -1 at 50-49. Lowry was fantastic in helping out as he got his triple double including 10 boards, very much the best player on the court.
  5. The Raptors have now passed two out of three early tests this season, albeit this was one was against a depleted Wizards roster.

Previous: Catching Up With Alvin Williams And Antonio Davis
Next: Podcap: Wizards vs Raptors