On Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7:00pm EST, the Toronto Raptors (1) will face the Washington wizards (8) at the Air Canada Centre in the second game of the best of seven series in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Raptors currently lead the series 1-0, after they broke the “curse of game 1”. The Toronto Raptors have never won a game 1 in the playoffs until last night. The last time the Raptors played the Wizards in the playoffs was in the 2014-2015 season where the Wizards swept the Raptors winning the series 4-0. For game two, Toronto’s starting lineup is most likely to consist of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, and Jonas Valanciunas.

The Wizards starters will probably be John Wall, Markieff Morris, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, and Otto Porter.

Game one

The Toronto Raptors came out of game 1 victorious with a 114-106 win, putting them up 1-0 in the series. Without Fred VanVleet, arguably the best bench player and candidate for Six Man of the Year, Toronto still managed to do well. CJ Miles, Delon Wright, and Serge Ibaka were outstanding players for the Raptors scoring a combined 53 points in 77 minutes, while Toronto’s all stars only accumulated 28 points. The Wizards defence could not prevent CJ Miles’ threes and Serge Ibaka all around game. Lucas Nogueira played in late minutes in the game in order to rest Siakim, Poetl, and JV.

He played 9 minutes scoring 1 point and getting 1 assist. Many people wonder why Dwayne Casey put him in such an important game so late. The Toronto Raptors are a special team in a way. Every game it’s someone else who makes the clutch shot or provides a spark for the team. The bench kept the game tied by the Raptors needed a spark, so they brought in Nogueira to try and start something.

Injuries

Fred VanVleet is back for the Toronto Raptors. He is not at 100% but we will likely see him in game two. Since Delon Wright played well in his spot, we will most likely see more minutes from him and fewer minutes from VanVleet, to make sure his injury (bruised right shoulder) doesn’t get wore. Mike Scott and Otto Porter have both made full recovery and will likely play in Tuesday’s game.

Player remarks

In CJ Miles post game interview he mentioned that “[There’s] no secret. We need everyone on his team.” He exclaims that there is no one player or two players on the team that win it all. It’s a team effort and even if you are not scoring baskets assists and blocks and steals and screens are crucial to the performance of others. When coach Dwayne Casey was asked about CJ Miles three-point shooting ability, he said that “There’s nights where the net looks like Lake Ontario to him.”

Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards Game 2 broadcast

The 7:00pm EST game will be aired on NBA TV and TSN.
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