On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, at 7:00 pm EST the Toronto Raptors (1) will face the Washington wizards (8) in game five of the best of seven series in the NBA playoffs at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors and Wizards are tied 2-2 in the series after the Wizards won two games straight at home to tie the series.

This goes to show how important home court advantage is in the NBA, especially since Toronto’s playoff offense is usually trash while playing in other stadiums. Will the Raptors pull ahead one game in the series, or will Washington keep their win streak going making it three?

Starting lineups will probably consist of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, and Jonas Valenciunas for Toronto and for Washington John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris and Otto Porter Jr. We are highly likely to see a close and high action game in Canada as both teams are in it to win it. Tension has been heating up throughout the series after seeing some scraps in game one two and three between the two teams as things got physical. It is use a matter of time before a big fight starts.

Previous games

After the Raptors won the first two games of the series at home. The Washington Wizards took it back to their city and tied the series up. The Raptors had a devastating game four loss after being up for the majority of the game.

Their offense struggled and they made the same mistakes that they did in game three.

While the game was close, Washington Wizard Bradley Beal fouled out of the game. Many people thought it was game over for the Wizards but after he fouled out Washington went on to shoot the best they have all game and win. They are now going back to Toronto with a win streak, but more importantly, Confidence.

Washington May have confidence, but the Raptors will have plenty of confidence playing where they do best. On home court.

Injuries

The Toronto Raptors’ Fred VanVleet is highly doubtful for game five due to his bruised right shoulder. After he sat out game one, he played for three minutes in game two but his shoulder started acting up again, and since then he has not played.

He has often mentioned in interviews that the hardest part about it isn’t the pain and reduced range of motion, it’s that he has to sit on the bench and watch his teammates play. All Fred wants is to get into the game and help his teammates win, he just wants to be a part of the action.

Player remarks

After game four, head coach of the Washington Wizards Scott Brooks said that the team needs to defend better without fouling and get off to a better start. In all of the games this series, Raptors have been ahead of the bat, except sometimes Washington came back. Head coach of the Raptors Dwane Casey says that he believes his team could do better and that’s they need to make more shots offensively.

All-star and star player for Toronto DeMar DeRozan did not perform well in game four in Washington, and neither did CJ Miles, the teams best three-point shooter or Kyle Lowry. If both teams follow through with their coach’s demands, we should see a very good game.

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