Leadership in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs this coming Friday as the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards square off in a battle of division leaders. The Raptors enter the game on the strength of back-to-back wins but will face their toughest test yet in the Wizards who are victors in their last four outings.
Who will emerge victorious in this top-of-the-table clash? Read on for a preview of this matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers here.
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Washington Wizards vs. Toronto Raptors Betting Preview
The Washington Wizards exacted some sort of revenge on Wednesday night as they defeated the Indiana Pacers 96-94, the same team that ousted them in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
[sc:NBA240banner ]This is not the same Indiana team, though, with Lance Stephenson leaving for Charlotte and Paul George, George Hill and David West all out because of various injuries. Still, the Wizards had to sweat it out for 53 minutes as the depleted Pacers took it to the very last second before succumbing to crash down to 1-4, their worst start since the 1990s.
The same can’t be said, however, about the Wizards who are just rolling right now, playing some free-flowing basketball. They tallied 24 assists during the game as they matched their season average, fourth-best in the entire NBA.
Leading the way for the Wizards’ offense is point guard John Wall who is playing exceptionally well to start the season. He scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists to give the Wizards their fourth consecutive victory. The Wizards’ 4-1 slate is their best start since going 5-1 back in 2005-06.
Wall is expected to work doubly hard on the defensive end, though, in the coming game as he squares off with Kyle Lowry of the equally red-hot Toronto Raptors. Lowry has been on fire to start the season, averaging 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists this campaign.
The Wizards will be licking their chops, though, at the prospect of facing the 28-year-old as they have been impressive with their defense to start the year. The Wizards have shown a different kind of aggression with their defense this season and that has clearly paid dividends so far as they are third in the NBA in steals averaging 10.0 per game.
One source of concern, however, for head coach Randy Wittman is their poor rebounding. For the third game running, the Wizards lost the battle of the boards as they were beaten by the Pacers in that department 57-43. The Wizards are fourth-worst in the NBA in rebounding this season averaging just 38.2 per assignment.
The Wizards are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Toronto’s offensive onslaught continued last night as they used a late second-half surge to upend the Boston Celtics 110-107 for their fourth win in five games.
Kyle Lowry was the hero this time around as he made the big plays down the stretch to give the Raptors a 1 ½ game lead in the Atlantic Division heading into their seven-game home stand. Lowry led all scorers with 35 points as he helped the Raptors buck the absence of key big men Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas who were both sidelined because of injuries.
The Raptors opted to use their speed advantage instead as they outscored the Celtics in fastbreak points 19-8. They will be hard-pressed to repeat that feat against Washington this coming Friday, though, as the Wizards are ranked ninth in the NBA in opponent fast break points allowing just 10.4 points per game this season.
Still, the Raptors will fancy their chances of beating the Wizards as they have been relentless on the offensive end to start the year. They are now third-best in the entire league in terms of scoring averaging 105.8 points per contest. DeMar DeRozan has been the main gunner for Toronto averaging 22.0 points through five games to lead all Raptors this campaign.
He will have his work cut out for him, however, as the Wizards are 11th in the league in defense this season, allowing just 95.8 points per game. In their last four victories, the Wizards have limited their opponents to just 93 points per outing.
In addition to that, they have forced their opponents to commit 19.4 turnovers per game, the fifth-best mark in the NBA this year.
The Raptors are 7-3 SU in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Wizards extend their win streak to five games.
