Heading into tonight’s game 3, the Raptors can be nothing but ecstatic about the first two games of their series against the Wizards.
The Raps took care of business and beat the Washington 130-119 to go up 2-0 in the series. Toronto went up big early in the game, finishing the first quarter with 44 points to Washington’s 27, and as they did seem to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, the superstar play of DeMar DeRozan got the Raptors the victory. DeMar finished with 37 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, while Kyle chipped in with 13 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds.
While many were solely concerned with the Raptors winning game 1, despite being an 1-seed with a potentially tougher match up, not everybody expected them to be up 2-0 with a chance to sweep the series in Washington, beginning with game 3 tonight. What’s worked for the Raptors so far is that they’ve stuck with the identity they’ve had all season. Getting over the literal and figurative “Wall” in game 1 validated everything they’ve been saying all year.
They no longer look flustered on the floor when other teams send double teams at Lowry or DeRozan because they can pass the ball off to very capable players from OG Anunoby all the way down to Lucas Nogueira.
I mean, who said anything about shortening the rotation in the playoffs? In game 2, the Raptors had 13 players in game action. The Raptors have an embarrassment of riches right now and that’s not something we as fans have always been able to say.
For Toronto, a playoff series is finally going the way it should be. There’s no surprises, there’s no embarassing home losses or insulting questions about our superstars leadership. When game 1 ended, Masai Ujiri was heard saying in the home tunnel “F—ing A–h—s ….we won game 1”.
This win clearly meant a lot to the organization and moving forward without this monkey on their back it should give the Raptors confidence to continue playing with the style that’s got them here.
On Friday, the Raptors will look to tighten up their defense because giving up 119 points in game 2 isn’t exactly ideal. One thing they won’t do however, is play to re-affirm anyone’s belief in them. They should already have that.