Game 1 of this series in now in the books with the Toronto Raptors drawing first blood with a win on Sunday. Will the Raptors go up 2-0? Or will Washington even things up with a win?
The Wizards failed to steal a win in Toronto in Game 1, as they fell to the Raptors in the series opener, 114-106. John Wall led Washington with 23 points to go with 15 assists to underline how big of a role he played in keeping Washington competitive against the No. 1 seed in the East. Bradley Beal, meanwhile, had 19 points. The Wizards’ bench definitely needs to step up, however, if Washington want to prevent falling down in a 0-2 hole in this series. Washington’s second unit mustered just 21 points, which Toronto’s second stringers doubled to 42 points. The Wizards also need more from Otto Porter as the third wheel of Washington’s offense. He only had nine points in Game 1, which were below than his season average of 14.7 points per game.
The Wizards are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 road games in Toronto.
Betting on the Toronto Raptors (-6.5)
For the first time in team history Raptors began a postseason campaign on a winning note, when they took down Washington on Sunday. The biggest difference-maker for the Raptors in Game 1 was their bench with Delon Wright and C.J. Miles teaming up to add the scoring punch the Raptors needed to win the game. Wright came off the bench and chipped in 18 points while Miles had 12 on 4-for-12 shooting from the three-point area. If Fred Van Vleet, who is still out with a shoulder injury, could find his way back into the lineup, that would make Toronto’s bench even deadlier. Of course, the Raptors are still the team of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, but even in Game 1 in which the two combined for only 28 points, Toronto still managed to pull off a win. Serge Ibaka also had a great game with 23 points, so expect him to come in Game 2 confident he could punish Marcin Gortat anew.
The Raptors are 2-0 ATS in their last two at home against Washington.
