The Raptors have a very road-heavy schedule for the next couple of weeks and they kicked it off in the right way with a blowout win against the Wizards 132-102.
The starting line-up has finally changed! Fans were asking and Darko answered, with the exact change that most wanted as Gary Trent Jr. entered the starting five for Dennis Schroder. Trent Jr. wasted no time in the starting five as he led the Raptors with 8 points in the quarter and only missed one shot. The starting five ran for over 7 minutes in the quarter and were a -8 though. Unsurprisingly Dennis Schroder was the first man off the bench. Not only was the starting five changed but so were the rotations. We saw Otto Porter Jr. and Jalen McDaniels enter the game and give the Raptors a boost. The quarter was almost all Washington but a 15-1 run late gave the Raptors a 31-25 lead at the end of the frame.
The second quarter was the closest one of the game. Raptors got off to a good start but the Wizards fought back with a 10-2 run midway in the quarter as they trailed 37-35. That was as close as it got all game though. Anunoby was great in the quarter as he finished with 12 points. Scottie 3 had some nice shots in this frame too. Dennis Schroder was amazing as a playmaker this game, as he ended with 8 of his 10 assists after his first shift. Deni Avdija led the way for Washington with 7 points in the quarter. The theme of the half? Toronto ends both quarters with authority.
The second half began with Jakob Poeltl picking up his fourth personal foul less than a minute into the quarter. This led to Precious Achiuwa making his first appearance in the game. He didn’t do much out there in this quarter but he had an amazing pull-up jumper from the midrange that came out of nowhere. Pascal Siakam was amazing in this quarter with 12 points and 6 assists. O.G. Anunoby continued with the tough finishes at the rim. The game was now slipping away from the Wizards as the Raptors took a 16-point lead.
Jakob Poeltl got to check back into the game in the final quarter and he made his minutes count with 6 points and 4 rebounds. He had a good game, especially on the defensive side. The job was finished pretty early and that cleared the way for Malachi Flynn, Gradey Dick and Thaddeus Young who saw their only minutes of the game in this quarter. Otto Porter Jr. was amazing tonight, especially defensively. Toronto won the quarter by 14 points to complete the 30-point deficit. A morale booster for sure.
The transition offence was great all game. The spacing and shooting looked much better with these new rotations as the Raptors were 15/38 from three in the contest and the defensive energy was there all night. Point Scottie almost dropped a triple-double with the new lineup. It’s just the Wizards, who own one of the worst records in the league so we’ll see how the new lineups look against a real test on Friday with Boston.
