On Sunday April 22, 2018 at 6:00pm EST, the Toronto Raptors (1) will face the Washington wizards (8) in game four of the best of seven series in the NBA playoffs at Capitol One Arena in Washington, DC. The Toronto Raptors currently lead the series 2-1 over the Wizards. Will the Raptors pull further ahead, or will Washington’s come back to tie the series? The Raptors won the first two, which is the first time in franchise history they have been up 2-0 in a series. Many people thought they could sweep, but those people were wrong. The starting lineups in game four will most likely be Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, and Jonas Valenciunas for Toronto and Washington will probably stick with the lineup that worked for them in game three, which consists of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter Jr., and Markieff Morris.

It is highly likely to see many more minutes from bench players on both teams, as Dwayne Casey always uses his bench, and the Wizards had much success with their bench in game three. If both teams play to their full potential, we should have a good game four.

Previous games

In game one, it was close throughout, and Toronto sparked in the fourth quarter coming out with the win. In game two, the Raptors shut down the Wizards in the first and second quarter. After Washington came back in the third and beginning of the fourth a three point basket for Toronto got the team hyped up as they went on to win. Game three was a struggle for the Toronto Raptors. Washington Out played them being ahead by more than 20 points at different points throughout.

Dwayne Caseys’ Raptors tried to come back in the fourth but weren’t able to. The biggest problem for Toronto was Gortat’s screen assists and the 2 man competition with the centres and point guards. With time to strategize on their off day, they might be able to guard it in game four. It will take a lot of time, and a lot of practice, but most importantly, it will take a lot of communication and effort amongst the players in order to succeed.

Washington is going to do everything they can’t to tie up the series and go back to Toronto with a two game playoff win streak, with hope on moving to the next round.

Injuries

After missing game one and being cleared for game two, Fred VanVleet sat out game three in Washington’s after experiencing pain in his bruised right shoulder after playing for only three minutes after game two In Toronto.

Dwayne Casey, head coach of Toronto will most likely sit VanVleet even if he is cleared to play. Fred is a very valuable asset to the team and if he is not at 100% he will not play many minutes to prevent further injuries. Because of this, Delon Wright will continue to see more minutes since he has been playing well. If Delon Wright is struggling there is potential to see more of Norman Powell and Lorenzo Brown like we saw in game three as the Raptors tried to pull it together and win the game.

Player remarks

After game three in post game interviews, all players and coaches on the Wizards agreed that they need to play the same way in game four as they did in game three. They want to run the same plays, use the same defensive strategy, and use the same players.

Washington found most of there offensive success in the two man pick and roll/screen assist, so we are likely to see more of that in game four. Many Raptors players and coaches believe the reason they lost by so much is because they turned the ball over way too many times. They believe that they weren’t focussed enough and were careless when’s it came to what everyone thought would be the easy stuff, but ended up being what they struggled with the most, such as travels, out of bounds, and many other things.

Toronto Raptors vs Washington Wizards game 4 broadcast

The 6:00pm EST game will be broadcasted on TNT and Sportsnet.
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