With the ESPN cameras rolling, the Toronto Raptors took on the Washington Wizards Friday in a potential playoff preview.
The matchup lived up to the hype, as the game came down to the wire and certainly had a post-season feel to it. Thanks to some C.J. Miles magic, the Raptors ended up overcoming a disastrous start to walk away with a hard-fought 102-95 victory over the John Wall-less Wizards.
Here are some takeaways from the win.
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Three-J Miles
The Wizards have given the Raptors trouble all season long, taking two of the first three meetings between these clubs. Miles made sure the Raptors left Washington with a split in the season series, exploding for six three-pointers on the night.
Miles was limited by three fouls in the first half, but made up for lost time after recess, finishing with 20 points in 20 minutes. The sharpshooter connected on his first four triples, and essentially iced the game when he hit a three while basically falling out of bounds in the corner with three minutes to play. That basket made it 94-88 and Toronto locked things up from there.
Troubling stats
Toronto came away with the win, and playing in a tightly contested game against a tough opponent down the stretch was probably a good experience, but there are some concerning stats that stand out.
Firstly, the Raptors allowed the Wizards to jump on the glass and bring down 15 offensive rebounds. That can’t happen if Toronto hopes on making a run to the NBA Finals. Washington typically averages 10 offensive boards per game, and the highest rate in the league belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder at 12.5 per contest. The Raptors’ defence is one of the best in the league, but you can only do so much when a team is consistently getting second and third chances.
Free-throws were also a major concern for the Raptors Friday as they only converted on 63 per cent of their attempts. Toronto typically takes care of business at the charity stripe, but this was the second straight outing where it struggled from the line. It’s nothing worth losing sleep over for now, but the free-throw line woes will be something to monitor over the next few games.
Speaking of concerns…
Nightmare start
The Raptors came out of the gates flat, surrendering an 18-4 run to get things started. Toronto looked disorganized defensively, with coverage breaking down on Wizards all-star Bradley Beal on multiple occasions early on. Beal took advantage, knocking down shots from long range and also carving up the defence with his driving ability.
Compounding the issue was Jonas Valanciunas picking up a pair of quick fouls, forcing Dwane Casey to turn to Jakob Poeltl just two minutes into the game. With the rotation thrown off, Poeltl and Kyle Lowry couldn’t get on the same page. Lowry tried to thread a pass into the paint soon after Poeltl checked in but the big man couldn’t corral it. Minutes later, the Austrian botched a simple swing pass to Lowry, resulting in a turnover. Valanciunas’s early foul trouble also resulted in some minutes for Lucas Nogueira, and he capitalized (more on that later).
Overall, the Raptors shot 40 per cent from the field in the opening frame, including an 0-of-7 mark from three-point range. Washington outplayed its visitors in every aspect, and the eight-point deficit Toronto faced after 12 minutes seemed flattering.
Bench bounces back with a different look
Even with Poeltl having to check into the game early, the bench still managed to thrive with a couple new pieces sprinkled in. Nogueira was active in his seven minutes, collecting seven points and a pair of rebounds. Malcolm Miller also saw first-half action with Miles charged with three fouls.
Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright and Pascal Siakam didn’t miss a beat alongside the new faces, injecting the Raptors with some much-needed tenacity and energy. By the time the second quarter was four minutes old, Toronto’s bench turned the game around and grabbed a 35-32 lead.
The last time these teams met, the Raptors bench struggled, scoring just 23 points. For context, the reserves usually pour in 41. Miles and VanVleet did not suit up for that game as the former battled a knee injury and the latter stayed behind in Toronto to be with his family after his girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl.
VanVleet struggled with his shot, but as has become the norm, he was a steadying presence for the second unit, finishing with 12 points and three assists. He was also once again on the floor in crunch-time, which speaks volumes about how much he means to this squad.
When all was said and done, the reserves tallied 50 points — a nice uptick from their 23 in the last meeting.
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All-star two-step
Friday’s clash contained a matchup of two of the best shooting guards in the league with DeMar DeRozan and Beal going head-to-head. DeRozan had a mostly quiet night, but still managed to contribute 23 points and four assists. He stepped up when the team needed him most, though, as he nailed two clutch baskets in the dying minutes of the game.
Beal was coming off one of his worst performances of the season, scoring just eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. He bounced back by turning in a complete performance against the Raptors, matching DeRozan with 23 points, but also adding seven rebounds and six assists. It wasn’t the shooting guard showdown you might have expected coming into the game, but the two all-stars still lived up to the billing.
Powell MIA
With OG Anunoby nursing an ankle issue, Norman Powell was inserted back into the starting lineup for Friday’s game. Powell started the Raptors’ first 12 games of the season, before a hip injury forced him to miss four. Anunoby ran with the starter’s role after that, relegating Powell, who signed a four-year extension in October, back to the bench.
Anunoby had been struggling before his injury, and the Raptors need more production out of their starting small forward down the stretch. Casey was hoping Powell could provide that lift, but the third-year man was a non-factor Friday, missing both of his field goal attempts and finishing with zero points in 16 minutes. We’ll see what happens once Anunoby is healthy, but the starting three-spot has been an offensive black hole for the Raptors lately.
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