DC Rising or Falling ?!

Playoff basketball is among us.  We already know the seedlings and match ups.  Our Wizards open up on the road in Toronto.  As most know Toronto has won all three meetings this season as well as 9 of the last 10 meetings so this isn't the ideal match up for the Wizards.  However if they play to the level they were playing at in the beginning of the season they can return to their role as the "dark horse" of the Eastern conference.  If they don't return to that form they can see a quick exit.  Both teams are polar opposites of each other one a solid defense, the other a formidable offense.  At one point the Wizards were in the top 5 in each category but could not regain that same tenacity post All-Star break.

If the Wizards want to make it out of this round they will need for superstar John Wall to be 100%,  Bradley Beal must find his shot and the bench must produce when the two aren't on the court.

The Achilles heel for them last year and parts of this year was bench production.  The trade for Ramon Sessions provides the Wizards with a point guard to match Wall's speed when he isn't on the court.  Another positive is that the Wizards do have Paul Pierce who has been successful against the Raptors.  Just last season his Nets found a way to beat a much more talented group in the Raptors.


In this post we'll be discussing some key match ups to watch as well as hot and cold players and x-factors for the Wizards and our picks for the game

GAME 1

Washington Wizards @ Toronto Raptors

Wizards
Going into game one both teams have a clean slate.  However, the regular season games did not bode well for Wall and co.  However, that Raptors team was healthy.  Not so much so right now.  If the Wizards plan to win they need to exploit those injuries.

HOT

JOHN WALL



John Wall has been playing some pretty good basketball.  The main thing going into this series is that he got some much needed rest. While periodically playing through injuries all season he still was effective.  Now with the rest over the last few games we may see Wall in another gear.  Wall had a season average of 17.6 PPG,  10 APG, and 4.6 RPG

COLD

BRADLEY BEAL



Bradley Beal has had some highs and some lows this season.  Already injured at the start of the season we saw Beal eased into the rotation.  He found time on lineups with mostly bench players giving them that extra push off the bench.  We saw his minutes increase and he got hurt again.  We had to watch the ease in process again.

X-Factor

Bradley Beal

He's had his highs and lows as you mentioned this season, much of which has been more of the same, because he's been in and out of lineup with various injuries since he first entered the league, but the fact of the matter is.....He also happens to the be the X-factor. With the Wizards facing a back court that features Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan, He and Wall will have to keep pace, Toronto has presented trouble for our bigs so their won't be room for guards to slack. Beal will have to play consistently well, being a threat that can get to rack but also knock down three pointers, if he's not, this one may be over early.

Key Matchup to Watch

John Wall Vs Kyle Lowry

Two of the best Point Guards in the NBA, and quite possibly the two best in the eastern conference face off in this series. They both averaging pretty good numbers against each other based on the regular season match up between the two teams, with Wall averaging 19 PPG and 9 assist, and Lowry averaging 16.3 PPG and 6.3 assist. The Wizards did lose each of the games, but the one game where Wall's production was greatly outdone by Lowry ended up being an easy victory for the Raptors. The way they perform against each other can greatly effect the chances each team has in game 1.