The Toronto Raptors are officially a winning team after defeating the Washington Wizards in blowout fashion 101-88 and extending their winning streak to five games. The Raptors absolutely dominated this Wizards ball club with stingy defence and beautiful ball movement which took Washington out of the game. This was a great team effort by the Raptors as five players finished in double figures, with DeMar DeRozan leading the way (20pts, 5 ast, 3 reb). This was another statement game made by the Raptors, as the Wizards are currently a playoff team. If the playoffs started today, the Raps would matchup agaisnt the Wizards in the first round. So let that idea marinate for little.
Offence: A
The Raptors shot over 50% from the field dished out 29 assists on 40 made field goals, which means very little isolation basketball was played in this matchup. Toronto was moving the ball well all night, thanks in large part to Kyle Lowry and his 11 assists. If Lowry continues to play at this rate, he will be an All-Star. What what really opened up the game up was the 15-4 run the Raps made to open the 3rd quarter. Patrick Patterson had his best game in a Raptors uniform posting a very efficient 18 points to finish the game (scoring 11 in the 3rd). A special shout out to Chuck Hayes who played just over 10mins and made a basket.
Defence: A
If it wasn’t the great ball movement displayed that won them the game, than it was their defence. Stingy, stingy, stingy! It was clear that their on-ball pressure and help defence got under the skin of a few of the opponent disrupting any sort of semblance for a Wizards offence that’s already pretty stagnant and iso-heavy. The huge third quarter run was caused by the Raps forcing turnovers and getting out in transition against what seemed like a lazy Wizards team. If the Raps defend like this all year, it’s definitely going to be a fun ride.
Rebounding: B
First half rebounding or lack thereof is what kept the Wizards in the game early. The Raptors were up only a couple points with a minute left to go in the half, however shooting over 50% is bound to drop rebounding numbers. The Raps were outrebounded 42-33 but some key offensive boards (like Amir Johnson’s putback slam off his own miss) took the heart out of the Wizards and their fans.
Game Ball: Terrence Ross
Game ball in this matchup goes to 2nd year swingman Terrence Ross. This was hard to give considering so many other players contributed this game, as an argument could be made for a few others. However his energy in the all game on the defensive end, with his ability to consistently sneak into the corner for threes in transition helped the Raps turn the corner. The perimeter defence from him and Lowry propelled the Raptors into cruise control for the rest of the game. Terrence Ross is realy strarting to emerge as a bonafide threat from the perimeter (4-8 3ptm) scoring all of his 3’s in the third quarter.
