24 hours after defeating the LeBronless Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors (9-7) travel to Washington DC to face off against the Wizards (7-9). Carlos Delfino led the Raptors with a career high 24 points and Jose Calderon had his third straight double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.
The Wizards are coming off a loss last night to the Philadelphia 76ers 85-84. Caron Butler led the Wizards with 20 points and Antawn Jamison had his tenth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Both teams will be without their superstars for Saturday’s game. Gilbert Arenas is out three months with a knee injury and Chris Bosh is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Starters:
Jose Calderon/Antonio Daniels
Anthony Parker/Deshawn Stevenson
Jamario Moon/Caron Butler
Andrea Bargnani/Antawn Jamison
Rasho Nesterovic/Brendan Haywood
Key Match-ups:
With Gilbert Arenas out of the line up, Caron Butler has stepped up. Butler is averaging 22.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg so far this season. Jamario Moon will most likely get the job of guarding Butler and should fair pretty well, but it will be a match up of athletic forwards.
In the absence of Chris Bosh last night, Andrea Bargnani stepped up with a career high 26 points. El Mago will be full of confidence going into Washington, Antawn Jamison will make it hard for Bargnani to repeat last nights numbers.
Predictions:
Both teams have to travel to Washington for Saturday’s game, so jetlag will be a factor. Which means the strength of the bench will become crucial for victory. The Raptors go deeper than the Wizards and should hand them a loss at home.
X-men:
Raptors: Jamario Moon. Moon fell one point and one rebound shy of his first career double-double. He may not show up on the stat line much against the Wizards, but his tough defense on Caron Butler will be key to a Raptor victory.
Wizards: Brendan Haywood. Haywood is averaging 10.0 ppg and 8.4 rpg so far this season. He’s a great offensive rebounder and if the Raptors don’t box him out, he’ll help his team with second chance buckets.
Game Notes:
Raptor forward Jorge Garbajosa requires further surgery to repair his ankle\leg, he will miss the remainder of the season, it looked as though Garbajosa was in the Raptors dog house as he was averaging just over 10 minutes per game after averaging almost 30 mpg in his rookie season; TJ Ford returned to the lineup last night, coming off the bench and dishing out 6 assists in 16 minutes; Maceo Baston, Juan Dixon, Joey Graham, and Derrick Martin all had DNP’s versus the Cavaliers.
The Wizards are 4-4 since losing Gilbert Arenas; Antawn Jamison averages 21.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg in his career vs. the Raptors. Jamison was drafted 4th overall in 1998 by the Raptors, but was traded to the Warriors for 5th overall Vince Carter and cash.
Technorati Tags: Toronto Raptors, Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, Jose Calderon, Jamario Moon, Rasho Nesterovic, Andrea Bargnani, Jorge Garbajosa, Maceo Baston, Juan Dixon, Joey Graham, Derrick Martin, Washington Wizards
December 1st, 2007 at 11:45 am
jetlag? its a 20 minute flight to D.C.
December 1st, 2007 at 2:50 pm
this is an important game for the Raptors. They need to beat up on some weaker/injury prone teams now because the Wiz will be a much bettter team when Agent 0 comes back. No Bosh? No problem! aslong as Bargs plays like last game and the supporting cast plays within themselves. Go raps Go
December 1st, 2007 at 3:46 pm
the raptors have had the luxury of a pretty easy schedule so far. they need to strike now, cause as the season goes on, games will get tougher. the wiz aren’t very good without arenas, but they are still a pretty big team.
December 1st, 2007 at 9:05 pm
well they certainly shot the lights out tonight, and penetrated and filled the lane at will. the raptors off the ball defense is horrendous and our weak side help is atrocious. our defense is abysmal. make me sick actually.
Kapono needs more minutes.