I was incorrect on my last Raptors free pick as the Raptors (-7) were victorious, but only by 5, 127-122 in overtime at Brooklyn last night. I am now 18-16 in Raptors free picks. Tonight the 32-15 Toronto Raptors face the 31-16 Wizards in Washington.
(32-15) Toronto Raptors @ (31-16) Washington Wizards
Probable starting line-ups:
Toronto – PG – Kyle Lowry SG – Greivis Vasquez C – Jonas Valanciunas SF – DeMar DeRozan PF – Amir Johnson
Washington – Point Guard – John Wall Shooting Guard – Bradley Beal C- Marcin Gortat Small Forward – Paul Pierce Power Forward – Kris Humphries
Stats Leaders:
Toronto – PPG – Kyle Lowry 19.2 RPG – Jonas Valanciunas 8.5 APG – Kyle Lowry 7.4
Washington – Points Per Game – John Wall 17.2 Rebounds Per Game – Marcin Gortat 8.2 Assists Per Game – John Wall 10.1
Team Scoring: (with league ranking in parentheses)
Toronto – PF – 106.5 (5th) PA – 101.1 (21st)
Washington – Points For (Per Game) – 99.8 (17th) Points Against (Per Game) – 97.7 (9th)
Overview:
The Toronto Raptors have won 5 in a row and 6 of their last 7 games. Last night they were victorious in overtime 127-122 at Brooklyn. Small forward DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points on 9 of 17 shooting in 41 minutes. He was 8 of 9 from the foul line. He also had 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Backup shooting guard Louis Williams netted 25 points on 6 of 12 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench. He was 3 of 7 from the 3 point line and 10 of 11 from the free throw line. Power forward Amir Johnson scored 24 points on 10 of 11 shooting in 35 minutes. He also had 7 rebounds. Center Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He was 7 of 7 from the field in 33 minutes. Power forward Patrick Patterson contributed with 12 points and 5 rebounds in 32 reserve minutes. Point guard Kyle Lowry chipped in with 10 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. He played a team-high 44 minutes. The team shot 51.1% from the field, 26.9% from the 3 point line (7-26), and 86.7% from the free throw line (26-30). The Raptors were out-rebounded 50-45 in the contest. The team took a 9 points lead in to the 4th quarter but were out-scored 31-22 in the period. They out-scored the Nets 14-9 in overtime. Toronto is 14-8 on the road this season. Tonight is the 2nd game of a back to back. They are 7-3 in the 2nd game of a back to back so far this season. Their next game is Monday at home versus Milwaukee.
The Washington Wizards have dropped 3 of their last 5 games. On Wednesday they were defeated 106-98 at Phoenix. Center Marcin Gortat scored 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting in 34 minutes. He also had 8 rebounds. Backup small forward Otto Porter Jr scored 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 24 reserve minutes. Shooting guard Bradley Beal netted 13 points on 5 of 15 shooting in 36 minutes. He was 3 for 3 from the 3 point line. Power forward Kris Humphries had a double-double as he scored 11 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. He was 4 of 8 from the field in 33 minutes. Point guard John Wall contributed with 11 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. He was 5 of 16 from the field in 36 minutes. The team shot 42% from the field, 44.4% from the 3 point line (8-18), and 69.6% from the free throw line (16-23). The Wizards out-rebounded the Suns 50-41. The team was out-scored 29-17 in the opening quarter. Washington is 18-6 at home this season. Including tonight they play 4 of their next 6 games at home. Their next game is Monday at home versus Charlotte.
In their first meeting this season Toronto sailed to a 103-84 home win versus Washington. After tonight the 2 teams play 1 more times this season, February 11th at Toronto.
Prediction:
The Wizards are only 1 game behind the Raptors for the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs race. The Raptors should be a little bit tired tonight after having to go to overtime last night to defeat the Nets. The fresher Wizards team that hasn’t played since Wednesday will get it done at home. Take the Wizards -5 (1.90) (Bet365)
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