Wizards 89, Raptors 106 – Quick Reaction – Boxscore
Matching a franchise record with the club’s ninth straight win undoubtedly should be celebrated, but I can only begin with what’s on everyone’s mind. After being sandwiched on a screen between Marcin Gortat and Gary Neal late in the fourth quarter, it was a scary sight to see Kyle Lowry sprint to the locker room with his left wrist in obvious pain.
The good news is that his initial x-rays came back negative, along with Lowry’s reassuring statement in his post-game presser: “I really thought that it was something worse than what it was but I’m fine.”
The fear, however, is that words like “initial” and “negative” don’t always rule out complications that could occur after the fact. Not to mention Lowry being the type of player that would want to downplay and fight through an injury.
We really should keep our guard up, though, as the optics of the moment do call for further confirmation. But those immediate thoughts we all had about how any missed time would affect this squad can seemingly be held in check.
If a worst-case scenario does present itself, the looming All-Star break couldn’t have come at a better time. But then again, after the amount of effort this fan base put into getting Lowry a starting gig, alongside the work put in by Lowry himself to actually earn his votes, a disappointment for all involved could rear its ugly head.
On a brighter note, there was no indication that any assistant equipment managers were harmed during the incident. And Kyle Lowry did not end up firing Dwane Casey out of frustration.
But speaking of All-Star selections, and its ongoing debate, the matchup against Washington offered a chance to witness a heads-up battle between Lowry and the player many believed was more deserving to man the East’s starting five, John Wall.
If you’re familiar with The Bill Simmons Podcast (I assume most of you are), you’re well aware of the fuel Simmons recently added to the fire.
To paraphrase: If Lowry and Wall switched uniforms, the Raps’ season would still have reached the same level while the Wizards would be worse off with Lowry at the helm as opposed to where Wall has currently led them. He further went on to suggest that Lowry is a player that’s more reliant on how good his supporting cast is.
A thought that was apparently even shared by Fan Duel. As I’m sure some of you noticed Wall’s $10,000 value hovering over K-Low’s $8800 when setting your Tuesday night lineups.
The basketball world will surely hear Wall’s name announced with the rest of the All-Star reserves on Thursday night, but the discussion only adds to what’s going on between these two teams.
Matt Shantz touched on how this matchup has become the closest thing to a rivalry the Raps have in his Gameday Preview, and one can’t argue with that assessment.
Considering the Wizards’ infamous four-game sweep of the Raps in last season’s first round has now been somewhat answered with Toronto returning the favor (albeit it’s only regular season payback), the plot will only thicken from here.
Washington is the new Brooklyn (well, minus the hipster invasion), and a postseason rematch is well within the realm of possibility.
If that ultimately happens, the majority of Tuesday night suggests the sequel will be a seven-game series. A 17-point margin of victory does lend itself to the Raps new-found killer instinct, which has been impressive to say the least throughout this winning streak, but for the purposes of holding the team accountable, Lowry’s x-rays weren’t the only thing that came up negative:
- A sluggish start (you know, the usual) with limited ball movement that resulted in four players watching on almost every early possession. Which led to the Raps going 5 for 14 to begin the game.
- With Wall being an elite rim-attacker, leaving the lane unattended was an uninspiring, three-quarter-long occurrence. Too many easy buckets.
- If the Raps averaged 18 turnovers per game, they’d rank dead last.
- DeRozan’s dominance was put on hold for a night, mainly due to his nemesis, Otto Porter. DD has put up numbers against the Wizards, but their knack for making him do the majority of his damage from the outside should make us think twice when welcoming another postseason series.
But enough with the shortcomings, it’s time to celebrate!
- If you needed another reminder of what it would mean if Lowry went down for an extended stretch: 29 points, 5 threes, a perfect 8-8 from the stripe, two steals, and 57 percent from the field is a good place to start. And don’t let his relatively low assist total (4) fool you, as he knew when to be the playmaker and when to take the offensive lead. He’s never been this aware of his surroundings or this consistent when doing so.
- You can now book double-figure scoring in six of Ross’ last seven games, and 16 for 27 (59%) from downtown over his last five. We’ve been down this road before, but it’s a rare sight when his defensive prowess matches up with his uptick on offense at the same time. Hopefully, an increase in free-throw attempts is on the horizon.
- With the exception of Valanciunas, each player netted a plus rating. And T-Ross (+14), Cojo (+15) and Patterson (+22) all need to be put into the spotlight.
- Joseph is gaining back his early season swagger. He got back to picking his spots on knowing when to become the second, or even the first option on the floor while driving to the hoop more frequently. A highly efficient two-way game. Shooting 70 percent (5 for 7) and dishing out 6 dimes in just 25 minutes.
- At the beginning of the year, Patterson would let his shooting woes infiltrate the rest of his game. And there’s much more to PP than just being a stretch option. The Patman of today is making that clear with a consistent effort on defense and on the glass. Going 1 for 8 is still a concern, but when eight hard-fought and meaningful boards come with it, slack is definitely warranted.
Last Call
Plenty has been made about the Raps’ winning-streak coming against the likes of either inferior or undermanned opponents. With Bradley Beal being out on Tuesday, those claims will only continue. But what’s left out of that conversation is the fact that the Raptors aren’t operating at an optimal level, personnel wise, either.
Or maybe, just maybe, the Raps are finally evolving. I’m leaning towards the latter direction.
Next up: Planet Porzingis. Melo = questionable. Here’s to breaking records.
By the way, Happy Belated Birthday, Vince. All-Star weekend has never been the same.
