Caught off guard
Wiz didn’t expect bench bonanza
Whether it was the Mike Scott flagrant foul on Kyle Lowry and the subsequent 7-0 run the Raptors would produce, the four-minute long drought that turned a onepoint lead into a nine-point deficit, there’s a lot for the Wizards to clean up.
Like any team beginning a best-of-seven series on the road, returning home with a split is all one can ask, especially when Game 1 does not go in one’s favour.
Washington led at the break by four, took a one-point lead into the game’s final 12 minutes and then saw as Toronto’s bench, namely Delon Wright and C.J. Miles, made shots, stops, all the while as the Wizards turned the ball over, three times during that wretched stretch when they couldn’t buy a basket.
With 8:39 remaining, Washington led 96-95 following a Marcin Gortat dunk.
Washington didn’t produce a point until there was 4:41 left.
Lucas Nogueira, another Raptors reserve who stepped up, helped Toronto on a mini 4-0 run, the lead suddenly at 12, the game, for all intents and purposes, over leaving the Wizards in that position of having to make the necessary adjustments for Game 2, which tips off Tuesday.
The extra day to prepare is always good, especially for a team trailing a series, especially for a team who can redeem itself after allowing the Raptors to shoot 66.7% from beyond the arc in the fateful fourth, a period where Washington was a minus-9 in distance shooting, minus-8 in points scored off turnovers.
Teams, when playing on the road, need to be on point, their attention to detail precise and yet the Wizards failed to execute.
It’s only one game, but the Wizards need to find a way to slow down players not named Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan, Toronto’s primary scorers who, not surprisingly, drew plenty of attention from Washington’s defence.
When Toronto’s leading scorer is not Lowry or DeRozan, on this night it was veteran Serge Ibaka, and Toronto’s second-leading scorer is not Lowry or DeRozan, it was Wright filling that role, the glass, from a Wizards perspective, is halfempty.
If you continue to do whatever scheme on defence to force the ball out of the hands of Lowry and DeRozan, you must account for the supporting cast.
Washington didn’t and now it’s up to the Wizards to adjust.
Toronto’s bench outscored its Washington counterparts 42-21.
The Raptors made 16 threes. Washington attempted 21 deep balls, draining eight, a minus-24 from distance.
“There were a lot of sloppy plays, transition threes, offensive rebounds, kick-out threes,’’ said Bradley Beal, who scored two points in playing all 12 fourth-quarter minutes. “I think C.J. and Wright, they hit some big shots down the stretch, a lot of threes.
“DeMar even made some threes in the fourth, those threes, they were 16 for 30 from three, so that hurts you when you’re competing, and on the road too. And there were lot of guys who we didn’t expect to make those threes. They made them. You know, we live with those.”
In a make or miss league, the Raptors made their looks, while the Wizards were amiss.
There’s no question the Wizards must be better on many fronts.
The question now is whether the Wizards can live with the likes of Miles and Wright forcing to beat them.
Washington picked its poison in Game 1 and it ended up costing it.
The Wizards’ task of returning home with a series split becomes daunting if Toronto’s bench continues to put up 42 points and the Lowry-DeRozan tandem shoots better than their combined 10-of-26.
The Raptors have more depth than the Wizards.
It could make for a long night and the potential for a short series if the Wizards don’t find a way to step up.
“We had some good moments and we had some bad moments obviously, but we just have to go back to the video and just watch,’’ said Marcin Gortat, who was called for a foul on the game’s opening tap, a sequence that set the tone for the night. “We had too many situations where they shot a three wide open and it is unacceptable. We have to protect the three point line.”
Eight of the 20 points scored by the Raptors off Washington turnovers came in the fourth.
“They obviously have an unbelievable crowd here, those fans are very loud,’’ said Scott, who netted 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. “At some point you can’t hear your teammates next to you, talking to you, so we do a lot of things on the fly and read our body language.
“We know each other; we know the tendencies of our teammates. That’s a moment where you just have to react. These guys had moments where they were rolling, but I think we kept our composure and did a pretty good job and we were able to respond back quickly with a good shot and a good play.”