The Washington Wizards have been getting dominated by the Toronto Raptors in regular season play. In the span of two season, the Wizards haven’t beaten the Raptors once – a stretch of five games. Sure, that point is mute considering they swept the Raptors in the playoffs, but it does tell you something about the direction of both teams this season.
For good reason, Masai Ujiri reacted drastically to the embarrassing playoff exit, upgrading positions where the Raptors were getting roasted on the defensive end, which was a step in the right direction. The general feeling among the organization and fans right now is that the Raptors may not get to 48-50 wins, but that they are an improved team, better defensively, more experienced, and have a better chance to get to the second round of the playoffs. The Wizards meanwhile, have been spiraling out of the playoff picture, so far failing to build on their successful season. Losing Paul Pierce discarded an ageless Raptor killer who is an embodiment of the cold-blooded NBA veteran you want on your team. Meanwhile Alan Anderson was signed as the veteran guy who can score – but hasn’t played a single game this season due to health concerns.
It’s no secret that the Wizards are struggling, and as shocking as it would sound three months ago, the possibility of the Wizards missing out on the 2015-2016 NBA playoffs – delirious and lost in the shuffle amidst an improved Eastern Conference – is a very real possibility. Washington is 12th in the East and holds a 15-18 record – they’ve lost two straight, and have huge injury concerns that might prevent them from digging themselves out of the hole they’re in. John Wall is having a career-year in scoring, but he has a feeble supporting cast.
If it’s any consolation to them, the Wizards are coming off of a moral victory of sorts – a 6-point loss in Cleveland where they scored 115 points on 55% shooting while shooting 58% from three. It’s their defense though that couldn’t pull them through the game. Much like the Raptors, they got carved by Cleveland’s perimeter ball movement. The difference between the two teams overall though is dramatic. The Raptors are a top-5 defensive team, while the Wizards are 24th. Washington is consistently bad at defending the perimeter especially, where they allow their opponents to shoot over 38% from three. The only team that allows more in the entire league is Denver.
We barely scratched the surface of Washington’s health issue. Forget that Alan Anderson has yet to play, Nene missed 19 straight before just returning from injury, that Gary Neal had a strained quad for five games straight, Drew Gooden is day-to-day, or that Kris Humphries has a bad back. The real decimation to Washington’s depth chart comes to co-star Bradley Beal, who has missed 13 straight games, has reportedly received a set-back to his leg injury, hasn’t been able to practice, and has no timetable for return. The absence of Beal is a huge blow for the Wizards – who are essentially missing his 20 points a night and a load that would otherwise be taken off of Wall’s shoulders.
The Raptors have health concerns of their own – albeit less doom and gloom. DeMarre Carroll will be out for some time – something I won’t elaborate on here as Blake already has all the info you need. The good news is that the Raptors’ immediate schedule isn’t too worrisome, and the Raptors should pick-up the majority of those wins even without Carroll. Of course, this is the NBA, and things get turned upside-down on a nightly basis, so don’t hold me to that.
The Raptors have had two fun games against the Wizards this season already, the first of which CoJo ‘arrived’, and the second of which Valanciunas threw the ball at Gortats face – both wins. If the Raptors are to go for their third win over the Wiz’ this season, they need to get to the line – and no better way of doing this than getting the ball in DeRozan’s hands.
This was actually the key to beating the Wizards on December 30th. Despite hitting 7 less field goals than the Wizards and shooting just 34% while turning the ball over 18 times, the Raptors came out on top, largely thanks to their 32 free throws – 15 of which came from DeRozan as he went 15/15 from the line.
“That’s my goal every night, honestly, just trying to get teams in foul trouble, try to slow down the game, keep the game to our pace, get to the line,” DeRozan said after his season-high 34-point performance. “I think that’s big. I always try to take advantage of it as much as I can.”
Tip-off is at 7 pm EST.
