Playoffs! Round 1, Game 1: Washington Wizards 106 - Toronto Raptors 114 (TOR 1-0)

[rocwell]

"What the f*** rhymes with 'notorious'? Valanciunas!"

I caught up with Kardinal Offishall to talk about the new Raptors hook he wrote for his classic tune 'Northern Touch.' https://t.co/nz9mRqe2or

— Dave Zarum (@DaveZarum) April 14, 2018

[GLF]

Agreed. Your stars don't only have to score to have an impact. They are the stars, they should have an impact in a variety of ways. Lowry and Derozan didn't need to take over the scoring load for the Raptors to win. Ibaka and Wright took care of that. Lowry played terrific defense, both Derozan and Lowry moved the ball well, got the other players good looks and fed the hot hands. There will definitely be times where the role players struggle, thats when Derozan and/or Lowry will have handle the scoring load and hopefully they step up. This wasn't one of those games.

Agreed. Every game is different and they will have to step up in terms of scoring sooner rather than later but as you said tonight wasn't one of those nights. I think we can actually beat Washington without Kyle or Demar having to go off scoring wise. Now Cleveland is a different story. They have to hit shots and play more aggressive offensively for us to beat Cleveland. Cleveland always gets so lucky man. I wish they were playing a tougher team than Indiana. To me they got the least scary team in the playoffs. Hopefully I'm wrong and Indiana actually pushes them

[Scraptor]

Game 1 is done and over with. Hopefully Raptors can play the way they are capable of playing.

To be honest Lowry saying they should treat Game 1 like it was a Game 7 was dumb, they put too much pressure on themselves. At least they got the job done, now hopefully they don't worry and they loosen up and play their game.

I disagree. I would have been more worried if they treated Game 1 like just another game. It was four straight years coming out flat... I'm glad they gave this one the respect it deserved, even if they were nervous to begin with.

Now we just need to keep the pressure on and get the job done as quickly as possible. I think the Cavs will be done in 4 or at the most 5, so we don't want to draw this out any longer than necessary.

[Chr1s1anL]

Coach Of Year Casey with a great move throwing Bebe out there. Changed the whole game.


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[Bendit]

This reporter from the Washington Post seems quite pessimistic about the Wiz chances. Gives the Raps too many kudos I think.... maybe I am a bit superstitious.....haha.

While the gap between the teams isn’t wide, it is still noticeable. Toronto is the deepest team in the NBA, and in a fast-paced matchup of great athleticism and end-to-end action, that great depth exposes the Wizards’ mediocre depth. And then there is the biggest problem the Wizards have in this series: They’re facing an opponent that seems to have developed an unflappable commitment to an identity and an improved style of play built around ball movement and trust. The Raptors know who they are; the Wizards are still all over the place.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...=.37a3fad56daa

[RandomGuy]

SI was big

His 3 language presser was awesome too

Haha indeed, KL must have felt a bit ignorant after making the joke about SI english.

[Axel]

Round 1, Game 1: Washington Wizards 106 - Toronto Raptors 114 (TOR 1-0)

I think Game 1 was exactly what this team needed. Against a familiar foe they’ve had struggles with, they came out and executed like the 2018 team has this year. They took a shot from the Wiz and corrected themselves instead of forcing the issue like in years past. This game really highlighted the strengths of this team and should go a long way to really erase the ghosts of the past from the minds of the players (mostly Kyle and Demar).

We waited 82 games to see what this team would do when it really mattered and when they were down, they responded the right way.

[Rudy Bargnani]

I think Game 1 was exactly what this team needed. Against a familiar foe they’ve had struggles with, they came out and executed like the 2018 team has year. They took a shot from the Wiz and corrected themselves instead of forcing the issue like in years past. This game really highlighted the strengths of this team and should go a long way to really erase the ghosts of the past from the minds of the players (mostly Kyle and Demar).

We waited 82 games to see what this team would do when it really mattered and when they were down, they responded the right way.

Nice to see your posts again axel.

[JawsGT]

Great game, nice to get that victory out of the way. Serge was awesome last night, and I think we should be confidant going forward that this guy is gonna put forth a solid effort each game. Might not hit shots like he did last night, but I doubt we see a drop off in intensity like occasionally happened in the regular season. Miles looked confidant shooting the ball too. Lowry was amazing. First half was so so but that second half was off the charts. Solid D and he's playing like a true floor general. Finally getting to see PG Lowry, not some hybrid guard like years past. And the best thing, he can be better. Same with Demar, glad he never forced too much last night and trusted the system, but he needs to be more aggressive going to the hoop. OG and Delon were great as well, and Bebe really stepped.

Overall, gotta cut down on the turnovers and maintain a high pace, I don't think this team should be interested in playing a half court game every possession against this Wiz team.

Bright side: Lowry and Derozan can be better scorers, if necessary. We can take care of the ball better. We can play with a higher pace. We have players to defend the Wiz guards. They have no answer for our bench.

Down side: none. This Wiz team is weak and fragmented, I don't think things are great in the locker room. As good as Wall is, their offence is predictable and boring and limited, much like previous versions of the Raps, when Wall dominates the ball. If they move it around effectively they can push the Raps, but as is, their 7 or 8 guys can't go toe to toe with the Raps 10-12.

[G__Deane]

The weather is crappy out, Jays rained out, Raps air it out and Leafs get blown out. What a time to be a fan

[Rudy Bargnani]

[QUOTE=JawsGT;826983 As good as Wall is, their offence is predictable and boring and limited, much like previous versions of the Raps, when Wall dominates the ball. If they move it around effectively they can push the Raps, but as is, their 7 or 8 guys can't go toe to toe with the Raps 10-12.[/QUOTE]

I said this to a buddy last night. Washington reminds me of the raps before the culture reset. John Wall is like Derozan attacking the hoop and not moving the ball. The team doesn’t shoot enough 3’s. Wizard fans are mad at the coach for rotations. A lot of similarities.

[golden]

People like Pierce will look at a game like this and say our all stars didn't show up because they didn't drop 30. But it doesn't matter because Paul Pierce is a giant bag of hippopotamus droppings

Imagine being one of Pierce's non all-star teammates and having to listen to him say over and over that ".... the playoffs are all about your stars." That ego is way out of control and what he's really doing is low-key putting himself and few others on a pedestal and congratulating himself all over again.

Pierce probably cannot even comprehend the concept of "team", and appreciate the fact that role players, coaches, GMs, medical staff, etc... actually do contribute to winning. He's probably still scratching his head trying to figure out how the Raps won game 1. This Raps team will win or lose in these playoffs with our depth advantage, because we've been down that other road before.

[JawsGT]

I said this to a buddy last night. Washington reminds me of the raps before the culture reset. John Wall is like Derozan attacking the hoop and not moving the ball. The team doesn’t shoot enough 3’s. Wizard fans are mad at the coach for rotations. A lot of similarities.

yep. Wall is a great passer and gets alot of assists, but all the action is designed for wall to get a shot or an assist, not to get the ball moving around the court for a high percentage look. Which is almost exactly like the Raps used to be. And Wall dominates the ball so much that other guys may not even touch the ball on multiple consecutive possessions. Eerily similar.

[JawsGT]

Imagine being one of Pierce's non all-star teammates and having to listen to him say over and over that ".... the playoffs are all about your stars." That ego is way out of control and what he's really doing is low-key putting himself and few others on a pedestal and congratulating himself all over again.

Pierce probably cannot even comprehend the concept of "team", and appreciate the fact that role players, coaches, GMs, medical staff, etc... actually do contribute to winning. He's probably still scratching his head trying to figure out how the Raps won game 1. This Raps team will win or lose in these playoffs with our depth advantage, because we've been down that other road before.

draymond said it best, pierce really didn't do shit until KG and Allen came along.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

I think Game 1 was exactly what this team needed. Against a familiar foe they’ve had struggles with, they came out and executed like the 2018 team has this year. They took a shot from the Wiz and corrected themselves instead of forcing the issue like in years past. This game really highlighted the strengths of this team and should go a long way to really erase the ghosts of the past from the minds of the players (mostly Kyle and Demar).

We waited 82 games to see what this team would do when it really mattered and when they were down, they responded the right way.

Yeah this is exactly why I wanted to play Washington. This is the best way for this team to exorcise some demons.