Quick Reaction: Raptors 97, Wizards 88

A quiet one aside from a flying and-one on a curl in the third quarter. Tough matchup for him when the Wizards went small but he held his own and did what he does.

Was the typical solid Johnson game: He played great on-ball defense, made a few passes few forwards think to make, and scored efficiently when called on, but he had lapses in transition or off the ball and committed a pair of turnovers. This screencap isn’t just on him by any means, but what’s the whole team doing in transition here?

For what reason are you passing this up?

Transition D on that Oubre 3. Ummm… pic.twitter.com/R7lxce1QSO

— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) January 9, 2016

Had one of his worst halves of the season in the first but came out with much better minutes in the third quarter, particularly with respect to pick-and-roll defense. Struggled opposite Gortat on offense and on the glass, but he did fine as the rim-protector when anyone but Wall was coming in hot.

Gets a narrow edge over Wall for the second time in three meetings this season. Got hot to start the fourth as required, cracked down to help on the defensive glass with abandon all night, and created easy offense with aggressive steals on the other end. A great night for the one-two punch.

There’s really not enough to say about his performance. He started slow from the floor but was creating a great deal of the team’s offense through dribble-penetration breakdowns, and then he became unguardable in the second half. During the best stretch of his entire career, this is right up there with the best games he’s had. (This was a season high in points; his career high is 42 points, by the way.)

Played well defensively helping out on Nene and Dudley, hardly easy assignments. Seriously, if the grade seems high, go back and watch a few of his defensive possessions, he was everywhere. Loses points for a flagrant on Porter. And zero points in 28 minutes is tough. Gee, think his confidence is lacking right now?

For what reason are you passing this up? pic.twitter.com/zA3f7HxYxF

— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) January 9, 2016

Was providing solid minutes on offense and decent, if spacey, defense. So, the usual for him, too. Then he hurt his lower back and left the game, threatening to render the Raptors very thin on the wing.

Really helped seal off the rim when the defense was set, eliminating the entire baseline. He struggled with this matchup last time out, if I remember right, but these were good minutes. He’s still making things tough on Joseph, but that might be on someone other than Biyombo to figure out.

A few curious decisions dribbling out the clock against Sessions rather than attacking, but that’s symptomatic of the second-unit offense at times. Provided nice spot minutes on Wall and Sessions, a pair of guards that are tough to keep in front of you. Nice couple of bounce-back games for him.

Thought he called a few smart timeouts, namely the one early in the third to settle things and start a run. Responded early to Wizards fronting post-ups and jumping lanes by adding shooters. A couple of fun out-of-bounds plays, too.