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A pair of Eastern Conference foes will face off in the nation's capital this Wednesday. The Toronto Raptors (11-18; 13-16-0 ATS) are back in action for the first time since last Saturday. Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards (5-23; 14-13-1 ATS) are treating the home crowd to a game for a second straight night. Wednesday's 7:00 p.m. EDT tipoff in Capital One Arena will be the second meeting between these franchises this season. Toronto took the first one 111-107 in November. Will the Raptors strike again, or do the Wizards have new tricks up their sleeves?
(Published before the Wizards game on Tuesday)
It has been a while, but the Raptors will finally be back in action. Their last game was a disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz at home. Toronto is 20th in offensive rating after 29 games, which has them 12th in the Eastern Conference. They're 24th in true shooting percentage, owed mostly to a 33.9% clip on threes (27th). Toronto's 64.1% finishing at the rim (11th) does most of the heavy lifting. The Raptors are also 29th in free throw percentage and 19th in turnover percentage. Their strength is an offensive rebounding percentage that's seventh in the NBA. They grabbed 16 the first time they faced the Wizards, so it'll be an important factor in this game.
As will a defense that held a fast-paced Washington team to 107 points in that game. Toronto is 18th in defensive rating, although they're below average at forcing misses. Instead, the Raptors allow the fewest free throw attempt s per game. They pair that with strong defensive rebounding and forcing the fifth-highest percentage of midrange shot attempts to keep opponents in check. Otherwise, opponents shoot 64.0% at the rim (20th) and 38.2% from deep (25th). Toronto is mediocre at forcing turnovers. They've excelled before, so let's see if the Raptors can limit this Wizards team again.