The Washington Wizards averted a catastrophic 0-3 deficit in the first round, as they took down the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 on Friday, 122-103. Will the Wizards tie it all up this Sunday? Or will the Raptors get back to their winning ways? Read on for a preview of this exciting playoffs series.
Toronto suffered its first setback of the postseason, but at least the Raptors are still ahead of Washington in the series. The Raptors shot their poorest so far in these playoffs in Game 3, as they made just 45.1 percent of their shots. But the real culprits for Toronto were Serge Ibaka’s underwhelming performance and their errors. After scoring 23 in Game 1, Ibaka has scored just 13 points in the next two games, including a minuscule three-point output on Friday. Ibaka will have to start showing his worth, as he simply can’t allow Marcin Gortat to outplay him. As for their turnovers, the Raptors had 18 of them in Game 3, which the Wizards converted to 28 huge points, most of them on easy layups in transition. The over is 4-2 in Toronto’s last six road games.
Betting on the Washington Wizards
Thanks to the combined effort of John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Wizards prevented going down a 0-3 hole in the series. Wall scored 28 points and fished out 14 assists in Game 3. Beal, on the other hand, bounced back from a nine-point output in Game 2 and put up 28 with four 3-pointers Friday night. The Wizards also made repeated successful incursions inside, outscoring Toronto in the paint in Game 3, 52-44. Washington’s offense finally came alive at home, as the Wizards shot over 55 percent from the field, and they are certainly hoping they could sustain that moving forward. So far in the series, Wall is averaging 26.7 points and 12.7 assists per game. Beal also will have to avoid falling back to earth after a great Game 3 outing.
The Wizards are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction:
The Raptors’ Game 3 turnovers were the result of overconfidence. That’s done, and Toronto will bounce back to win Game 4, 105-102.
