After last night’s game the Toronto Raptors have moved to a record of 37-38 which has them tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the 8th seed. The Hawks own the tiebreaker over Toronto but winning the game last night has put them in great position to make a run for the 8th seed and only have to win one play-in game to qualify for the playoffs.
Last night’s game was really the OG Anunoby show from the opening tip, he cashed four triples in the opening quarter, and even had a nice pull up three which is something he notoriously struggles with. The most exciting part of OG’s onslaught was how comfortable he looked getting his own shot in the mid range area, he got it off facing up- off of corner pick and rolls leading into fadeaways and he quite simply got to his spot and just rose up. This is a welcome sight to see because OG doesn’t always get the opportunity to put up shots in volume like this, but he took the opportunity and ran with it last night as he scored 29 points, but he wasn’t the only one lighting the Wizards up.
Fred VanVleet was incredible last night as well, putting up 28 points and 7 assists, and he really torched the Wizards from outside, sinking five of his nine three point attempts. His playmaking was also really nice last night, finding guys behind the line, dumping the ball into the post via entry passes, finding guys in transition, and the patented pick-and-roll with Jakob Poetl.
The Raptors led big for most of the game, Washington was down Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, and Monte Morris, so a large chunk of their offense was gone and Toronto was doing a good job harassing them to open up the game. It wasn’t until the third quarter that things got a little uncomfortable for Toronto with Washington cutting the lead down to 3 towards the end of the period. Toronto still fought them off in the 4th quarter however thanks to 9 points in the period from OG, and Scottie contributing on offense as well.
Some troublesome things from last night’s game are that Precious Achiuwa had yet another disappointing stint, even against a lesser team riddled with injuries, Precious is supposed to be a key reserve player, and if he continues to struggle like he has lately then it just makes life more difficult for Toronto. Pascal Siakam struggled last night as well, and based on his shot process it seems as if we are at the mercy of him making contested looks mainly to get his game off which does not bode well every game.
Toronto faces the Miami Heat in their next game, a playoff team in the east that will be a tough matchup for them, lately they have been facing less than formidable opponents so Miami will be a test, and a crucial game that they need to win in order to move in the standings.
