The Wizards won an ugly game that gives them homecourt advantage going forward.
The series between the Wizards and the Raptors was the one matchup in the East that was hard to predict. Both teams have clear strengths and weaknesses and struggled late in the regular season. Simply put, neither of these squads is very good. That means the team that will emerge victorious in each game will be the one that can limit their mistakes and exploit their opponent's.
On Saturday, that was the Wizards, who escaped with a narrow 93-86 overtime win despite nearly collapsing in the fourth quarter.
It was clear at the start that both teams were nervous. The pace was hectic and the shot selection atrocious. Surprisingly, the Raptors were the more energetic squad on defense early. It didn't last long but it allowed them to take control of the game. The Wizards eventually found their footing, with John Wall pushing the ball and the big men taking advantage of Toronto's questionable interior defense and rebounding to prevent the lead from ballooning.
As the benches checked in, Washington predictably struggled. Patrick Patterson and Amir Johnson outplayed Drew Gooden and Kevin Seraphin and the Raptors expanded their lead to seven. That's when Randy Wittman unleashed Paul Pierce at power forward and the game changed. Dwane Casey refused to go small with James Johnson guarding The Truth and Pierce feasted. In a matter of minutes, the tide change and Washington was ahead. At the half the lead was four but it could have been bigger.
With Kyle Lowry still playing erratically in the second half and DeMar DeRozan not finding his shot, the Wizards continued to build their lead. Paul Pierce hit shots and even their bench held down the fort against a Raptors' push. Going into the final quarter Washington was up nine but it quickly grew to double digits as the minutes elapsed. It looked like they were on their way to an easy win.
Of course, this is the Wizards we are talking about and they never make it easy. The Raptors made a push, the crowd got into it and the double digit lead quickly disappeared. It was an epic collapse by the Wizards, who simply stopped executing and couldn't buy a bucket. Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez hit some huge shots, non bigger than this Vasquez three which sent the game to overtime.
Williams didn't have anything left in the extra period and the Raptors couldn't get anything going on offense. The Wizards benefited from Nene's presence inside and with his offensive rebounding managed to escape with an ugly win that nevertheless puts them in the driver seat going forward.
3 things we learned
1. Paul Pierce at power forward gives the Wizards a new dimension
Everyone that watched the Wizards regularly was clamoring for Randy Wittman to give Pierce some run at power forward. The team didn't have a reliable stretch four (sorry, Drew Gooden) which cramped the spacing and made the offense predictable. Pierce had excelled at that role in Brooklyn, so it wasn't exactly uncharted territory. Yet Wittman refused to change his rotations, sticking with two traditional big man on the court almost at all times.
Apparently he was simply saving the move for the postseason. Pierce played most of the second quarter at power forward and heat up. It carried over to the second half and gave the Wizards and edge. Then in the fourth quarter Wittman went to it again, showing that he plans to make it a permanent fixture.
2. Both teams need to improve their late-game execution.
The Wizards only scored 17 points in the final quarter and only eight in the lat 8:45 minutes of regulation. They stopped executing and went one on one for contested shots instead of looking for Pierce, who had carried them for stretches during the game. There simply was no ball or player movement. Things didn't improve in overtime, as the Wizards used up clock without a plan. They were fortunate they got enough offensive rebounds to offset some of the bad decisions they made.
The Raptors weren't much better and just relied on Williams to bail them out. Whenever they looked for DeRozan, the Wizards simply doubled him and got him to pass the ball. The lack of inspiration by both teams to figure out ways to score late shows why they have a long way to go before either can be consider contender.
3. Kyle Lowry needs to play better
Kyle Lowry was an unmitigated disaster for the majority of the game, showing poor decision making at times by throwing wild passes and bad shots. He fouled out with a few minutes to go in the fourth quarter and it was a good thing for the Raptors, as it meant Greivis Vasquez was on the court to end the game.
Lowry is the Raptors sole All-Star and one of the best point guards in the league. Toronto has no shot at winning the series if he continues to score seven points in 10 shots. Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez almost saved the Raptors but it shouldn't come to that. Lowry needs to step up.
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1JgunXN
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