Raptors Survive Past The Wizards

Toronto and Washington this year have played each other tough. The Raptors record against the Wizards this year is one win and two losses. Toronto will look to even the series on the road against the Washington Wizards who are without John Wall once again. The Wizards have been playing well against the rest of the NBA without their all-star point guard surprisingly so taking them lightly would be a huge mistake. This game is one of the rare nationally televised games for the Toronto Raptors and will be another opportunity to prove how strong the Raptors are this year.

Toronto getting pumped before their game against the Washington Wizards.

The game started off on the wrong foot for the Toronto Raptors as they lost JV early in this game due to foul trouble. JV picked up two quick fouls on attempting to block Gortat’s jump hook which was Washington’s first basket of the night and his second foul was picked up on an offensive foul in the first couple minutes of the first quarter. Casey had to adjust his typical rotations and had to bring Jakob Poeltl early in the first quarter. The Wizards took advantage of Jonas getting into foul trouble by crashing the glass and getting extra possessions off their offensive rebounding. The Raptors’ Achilles heel all season long has been the defensive rebounding and this resulted in the Raptors going down early in this one. The Raptors trailed the Wizards 18-7 with half the first quarter left to go. DeRozan ended the quarter with a mid-range jumper. The quarter ended 27-19 with the Raptors somehow surviving a terrible first quarter only down 8 points.

Casey was interviewed after the first quarter ended and spoke about how the Raptors needed to speed up the pace and play with more physicality. The Raptors shot 40% in the first quarter, but the Bench Mob was up to the plate. Both the Wizards and Raptors have above average benches in the NBA. Since JV was out with foul trouble, Casey elected to go with Bebe to give Poeltl rest and was doing decent. Bebe’s length was effective on the defensive end and his screens have improved as he got CJ Miles open on a couple set plays. The bench brought the fire as they dominated the Wizards bench and brought the Raptors back into the game. Raptors bench scored 18 points in the 2nd quarter. The offensive rebounding was still an issue, but as soon as JV was subbed in that problem was non-existent. DeMar was dissecting the Wizards defense in the mid-range and the Raptors kept the game close. The halftime score was 51-47 as the Raptors responded great in the second quarter.

DeRozan cuts baseline for the contested dunk on Marcin Gortat.

The Raptors carried their momentum and picked up where they left off in the second quarter. The Wizards had trouble taking care of the basketball in this game which is their weakness without John Wall’s presence. Toronto took advantage of the Wizards turnovers as they scored 18 points off their 12 turnovers. Raptors ball movement looking great in this game as they go up 64-54. Toronto struggled from the free throw line and was a big issue in this game which allowed the Wizards to hang around in this game. The Wizards stormed back with Beal and Otto Porter leading the charge. The Wiz put together a strong run as the quarter to end the third quarter with the score 71-69 with the Raptors holding on to a 2-point lead.

Both teams were fighting and trading baskets back and forth in this game. The bench kept the Raptors in this game. Casey elected to go with Lowry, DeRozan, Miles, VanVleet and Poeltl to close out this game. CJ Miles caught fire in the fourth quarter as he scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Every shot CJ hit in this game was much needed as this game became more of a grind and struggle to put points on the board. Jakob Poeltl’s ability to move and his active energy resulted in key blocks and deflections down the stretch. VanVleet hit clutch free throws and played the 3rd most minutes on the Raptors team behind the two all-stars. The Raptors managed to close out the Wizards with their stingy defense and clutch shot making. Raptors even up the season series 2-2. This is definitely one of the games that the Wizards miss John Wall’s ability to break down defenders and create for teammates.

Raptors' ball movement down the stretch was a big factor in taking control of the game.

Toronto Raptors Washington Wizards

102 95

Player of the Game

CJ Miles

20 minutes, 20 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 7-10 shooting, 0/0 FT, 6/9 3PT

The Raptors needed offense and outside shooting and CJ provided all of that. Miles has this problem of being streaky but he was streaky hot at the perfect time. Casey and the staff drew play after play to find CJ and he made the Wizards pay every single time he got open. Miles wasn’t terrible on defense either as his length was important to contest shots and cause deflections. Hopefully this gets CJ in a rhythm that he can consistently maintain.

Things to Take Away from This Game

1. Depth

• The Raptors had to go deep into their bench as soon as JV got into early foul trouble. Nogueira played important relief minutes for Jonas, but was effective with his ability to contest shots and screens. The distribution of minutes has been consistent and everyone gets to make plays with this new offensive game plan. Casey went with three bench players along with Lowry and DeRozan to close out this game as Casey loves to go with the hot hand and whatever was working. It is great to see the trust in the young players to get the job done in important situations which will be important in the upcoming playoffs. Great to see the results of a collective group playing unselfishly.

2. Defensive Rebounding

• Once again without the Jonas Valanciunas presence on the inside, the Wizards were able to crash the glass on multiple occasions and create more scoring opportunities which put the Raptors in a hole early. No Raptor had more than 7 rebounds and the team’s 2nd best rebounder in my opinion, Kyle Lowry, helped out big with his 7 rebounds on the night. The team needs to group together and collectively rebound the basketball. The Raptors lost the rebound battle, 47-34.

3. Free Throws

• If the Raptors shot their season average from the free throw line, this game would have not been close. Toronto shot a dismal 20/32 from the free throw line and missed several free throws in crunch time. The Raptors will need to work on this skill as this will be vital as the season winds down towards the playoffs. Luckily, the missed free throws did not come back to bite them as they survived this one.

Pictures courtesy of:

http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapswizards-030218