Following a gritty 99-93 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors return north of the 49th parallel to host the Washington Wizards Thursday night at the Air Canada Center.
Toronto (32-25), a team poised to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007-08, has won six of seven matches and currently are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Just like we all predicted in October. Right???
Washington (29-28), sitting fifth place in the Eastern Conference, also hopes to end an equivalent playoff drought. The Wizards haven’t played a meaningful game since the glory days of Gilbert Arenas, Awtawn Jamison and Caron Butler. Now, led by a young and exciting backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Washington franchise looks to restore belief to a fan base that has been dispirited over the years.
The Raptors lead the season series 3-0 and wish to complete the sweep. Toronto has had little trouble against Washington this season, winning by 8+ points in each of those contests.
This should be a great match with significant playoff implications.
Here are the Cage’s Keys to the Game:
No Nene? No problem:
Nene Hilario, Washington’s third leading rebounder (5.8), will be out for 4-6 weeks due to a sprained MCL. The Wizards still have two quality frontcourt bruisers in Marcin “The Polish Hammer” Gortat and Trevor Ariza, but Nene’s absence results in decreased post scoring. Look for the Raptors to devote more defensive pressure to Washington’s perimeter players in light of the Brazilian’s absence.
Limiting The Three:
The Wizards have magical powers (excuse the pun) from beyond the arc and currently are the NBA’s third best three-point shooting team, connecting on .383 % of their attempts. Chris Singleton, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Al Harrington and Martell Webster have superior range and all have a .400 three-point percentages on the year. The Raptors have struggled to defend from downtown all season so expect Coach Casey to devote a game plan to counteract the Wizard’s gifted shooters.
Do The John Wall:
Wall is having another terrific season, averaging 19.8 points, 8.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds. The former Kentucky Wildcat can take over a game in a flash and has scored 20+ points in two of the three season head-to-head matches against the Raptors, including a brilliant performance in November when he posted 37 points. Kyle Lowry did a good job last time around, but will have his hands full against the 2010 first overall draft pick.
X-Factor – Terrence Ross
The sophomore made several clutch plays against the Cleveland Cavaliers and has been on a offensive tear as of late, scoring 13.2 points in the last five games. Ross, the eighth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, is developing into a solid offensive wing player and perimeter defender. I wasn’t a fan of Bryan Colangelo’s selection then but day by day I am starting to appreciate his evaluation.
