The Raptors are back home to host the Washington Wizards. Can they make it two wins in a row?
The Toronto Raptors are back home, with the team and their fanbase feeling an all-season high as if they won a championship the other day, snapping their 15-game losing streak against Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Washington Wizards are in town, looking to snap their two-game losing streak.
With both teams on a “1-2-3 Cancun!” mindset, several key players are on the injury list. Some are really injured, but some would likely have played had this been a critical game involving play-in or playoff positioning. Kyle Kuzma is listed as questionable. He’s been on PTO (Paid Time Off) in half of their games since mid-March. He also has yet to play on the road since ending their road trip against the Chicago Bull on March 16th. On the other hand, Gary Trent Jr is listed as questionable and, like Kuzma, had been in and out of the lineup since early March.
The @Raptors get the road-WIN in Milwaukee as they top the @bucks 117-111!
— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) April 6, 2024
Gary Trent Jr: 31 PTS, 7 3PT, 5 REB
Immanuel Quickley: 25 PTS, 11 REB, 9 AST
RJ Barrett: 26 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL
Kelly Olynyk: 12 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST
Gradey Dick: 10 PTS, 2 3PT, 5 REB pic.twitter.com/8Y5ZtvBgsc
With Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett back, the Raptors should have a much better chance of getting at least two consecutive wins for the sixth time this season (very sad :( ). However, they will still have their hands full, depending on what kind of Jordan Poole we’ll see tonight, and oh, if coach Darko Rajakovic will have a better game plan stopping Deni Avdija, who looked like an All-NBA player the last time these two teams faced each other.
The head-to-head doesn’t matter despite the Raptors leading 2-1 this season. The Wizards are 9.5 games behind the Raptors in the standings. If you think the Raptors had a down year, the Wizards had it rough, too, as this game will feature two teams with at least a 15-game losing streak this season.
The key for tonight’s game is for the Raptors to replicate the same effort and defensive intensity against the Milwaukee Bucks the other night. The Bucks game was probably one of the rare signature wins under the Darko regime, despite Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting out that game. Other than that, the magic number is 110 points. The Raptors are 2-32 if they don’t score more than 110 points, and the Wizards are 5-59 when they allow their opponents to score more than that. Sounds like a plan, right?
Game Info:
How to Watch: 6:00pm ET on Sportsnet
Lineups:
Toronto: Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Kelly Olynyk
Washington: Jordan Poole, Corey Kispert, Johnny Davis, Tristan Vukcevic, Deni Avdija
Injuries:
Toronto: Scottie Barnes (Out — hand), Jakob Poeltl (out — hand), Chris Boucher (Out — knee), DJ Carton (Out — ankle), Bruce Brown (questionable — knee), Jontay Porter (Out — personal), Gary Trent Jr. (Questionable — illness)
Washington: Marvin Bagley III (Out — knee), Bilal Coulibaly (Out — wrist), Richaun Holmes (Questionable — toe), Tyus Jones (Out — back), Kyle Kuzma (Questionable — ankle), Landry Shamet (Out — calf)
