ESPN Per Diem article: Raptors are 1 of 2 EC 'Cinderella' teams

[white men can't jump]

Yeah Val doesn't seem to play Gortat very well. He does seem to play Nene well though - however, switching Val onto Nene and Amir onto Gortat isn't the kind of subtle strategic tinkering Casey likes to explore, so I doubt we'd see it.

Another key matchup in that series will be Demar v Beal. No reason that Demar shouldn't shred him up, but I have no idea if he'll play balls out in playoffs, or if he'll turtle.

Amir is not a good matchup for Gortat either though. Gortat ain't exactly Shaq. He's not going to singlehandedly win them the series, but he is a very bad matchup for us. Casey has cross-matched before. He's put Jonas on Griffin, or on Randolph. It can work, but it has to work for possibly 7 games. And we still don't have great personnel to handle Gortat.

[white men can't jump]

In the end, I think Ross would be our most critical player. The x-factor that could win the series for us.

He can guard Wall pretty well. If it takes Wall until the 3rd or 4th game to find his stride against us, the series could basically already be over. As much as I hate their bigs, without Wall playing strong Washington is pretty fucked. And on the flip side he can score a bit and make Beal work defensively, where he's not exactly strong.

[JimiCliff]

Amir is not a good matchup for Gortat either though. Gortat ain't exactly Shaq. He's not going to singlehandedly win them the series, but he is a very bad matchup for us. Casey has cross-matched before. He's put Jonas on Griffin, or on Randolph. It can work, but it has to work for possibly 7 games. And we still don't have great personnel to handle Gortat.

True, but I think he's better than Val.

Either way, I don't think the advantage the Wiz may have in the post is nearly enough to swing the series their way.

Wall is the main concern. I'm also scared of Andre Miller. That guy is insane in the playoffs. At this point he may be too old though; plus, he's a bit of a awkward fit for that team. Their best lineup might even be Miller-Wall-Beal-Ariza-Gortat/Nene or Miller-Wall-Beal-Nene-Gortat, but Wittman may not have the stones to go there, especially in crunchtime.

[Axel]

I'm less worried about Gortat because his impact is negligible if we can contain the perimeter players. Keep Wall from penetrating and then the help doesn't come off of Gortat. Force Beal out of catch and shoot, and his value decreases. Make Ariza do too much, and the Wiz are in trouble.

[white men can't jump]

I'm less worried about Gortat because his impact is negligible if we can contain the perimeter players. Keep Wall from penetrating and then the help doesn't come off of Gortat. Force Beal out of catch and shoot, and his value decreases. Make Ariza do too much, and the Wiz are in trouble.

I generally agree that it all starts with Wall. That's why I think Ross is the biggest key for the Raps.

[Axel]

I generally agree that it all starts with Wall. That's why I think Ross is the biggest key for the Raps.

Yeah, the combo of Ross and Lowry would give Wall trouble. It's difficult for a player to find a rhythm when faced with 2 different defensive styles through-out a game/series. Ross would use his length and athleticism to stay in front of Wall, while Lowry would be more physical and get into his body more. I think Wall would struggle adjusting from one to the other on a regular basis.

Take away Wall and Washington's offence completely falls apart. Without Wall, it is based on the hope that Beal can catch fire or dump it into the post and hope Gortat/Nene can carry it from the block.

[Scraptor]

I suspect this means Dwane Casey is going to turn into a pumpkin.