Vying to stay in the top group of the Eastern Conference standings, the overachieving Toronto Raptors will look to continue an impressive season away from home Saturday when they travel to face the Washington Wizards.
Currently leading the No. 6 Philadelphia 76ers by a game in the East, the Raptors have done enough so far to build a cushion from the play-in group. Projected before the season to be a .500 team, part of the reason Toronto has been one of the league’s surprise teams has been its success on the road.
The Raptors are 18-10 away from Canada but enter Saturday riding a two-game home losing streak. Given one of the tougher tasks in a back-to-back, Toronto fell to Oklahoma City and San Antonio on consecutive nights.
Head coach Darko Rajakovic’s team led by 15 late in the third quarter against the Spurs on Wednesday before being outscored 32-17 in the fourth.
“I thought that we fought for 48 minutes. Unfortunately, they made tough shots down the stretch, and we missed some of the shots we usually make,” Rajakovic said. “I’m really proud of the fight of our team. We’ve just got to continue to study, analyze, get better, find ways to improve how we close games.”
Immanuel Quickley has scored in double figures in 10 straight games and is averaging 20.8 points since the All-Star break. The sixth-year guard is looking to lead the Raptors to their first playoff appearance since 2022 and believes the team’s recent stretch against heavyweights is just what Toronto needed.
“We’ve seen playoff-level physicality from some good teams. I think this is good for us,” Quickley said. “The last couple of games, I’ve gone against some really good defenders. This is good for me and the rest of our team, just being able to get a taste of that.”
Brandon Ingram leads the Raptors with 21.8 points per game, while Scottie Barnes adds 19.1 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per contest.
Toronto won’t be squaring off with a future postseason team Saturday. The Wizards have lost three straight and own the league’s fourth-worst record (16-42). Washington finds itself in a familiar situation, as the team is in play for a third straight 60-loss season.
The Wizards dropped a pair of lopsided games to the Atlanta Hawks, with leading scorer Alex Sarr (17.2 ppg) out with a right hamstring strain and Kyshawn George (14.8 ppg) missing Thursday’s 126-96 loss with a knee contusion. George is questionable for Saturday’s game.
Trade deadline acquisitions Anthony Davis and Trae Young remain out with ailments, leaving head coach Brian Keefe’s roster without much experience.
“It’s great opportunities for guys to be in there,” Keefe said of Washington’s depleted roster. “The guys will take advantage of them like they’ve done the last couple of years when we’ve been in these types of situations.”
Of the Wizards’ youthful — and available — core, Jaden Hardy is averaging 13.5 points in four games since being traded from Dallas. Tre Johnson adds 12.7 ppg in his rookie campaign.
–Field Level Media
