Feb 25, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Rudy Gay (22) gets by Washington Wizards forward Trevor Ariza (1) during the first half at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

After dropping a very winnable road game to the dreadful Orlando Magic on Friday night, the Washington Wizards will return home to meet the struggling Toronto Raptors. Here is tonight’s quick game preview:

Key Match Up

Rudy Gay, who has been dealing with some back issues, returned to the Raptors lineup on Friday night against the Detroit Pistons, in where he helped them snap a 5 game losing streak. Prior to Gay’s arrival in Toronto, the Raptors didn’t  have a legitimate “go to” threat. With Gay in the lineup, Toronto has thrived on both sides of the floor. His length and athleticism separates Rudy Gay from the rest of his peers. Washington has to do a better job in forcing athletic forwards to take difficult outside jump shots. On Friday night, the Wizards allowed 5 dunks in the first quarter, all which seemed to have come from Orlando’s athletic wing players. Shooting just over 40% from the floor, Rudy Gay isn’t a particularly good shooter. If Washington stops Gay from getting out and transition and forcing him to take difficult shots from the perimeter, they should be able to contain him.

With that said, Martell Webster and Trevor Ariza (if active) will get the defensive assignment on Gay. Webster returned to the Wizards lineup on Friday night, but didn’t have a particularly good shooting night, which is odd in Webster’s case. Shooting just 1 for 7 from three, Martell Webster has to regain that shooting touch which we’ve seen throughout the season. When Webster is knocking down threes at the rate we’re used to (6th in the league in 3 point percentage), defenses are forced to collapse on him, which opens up driving lanes for himself and his teammates. Ariza also scored just 5 points in 25 minutes of play on Friday night against the Magic. Washington looks for contributions on the defensive side of the floor from Ariza, more so than scoring. Washington has been devastated by injuries, so Ariza has to do a good job of containing Rudy Gay, without getting into foul trouble.

Prediction

Washington has been a completely different team when playing at the Verizon Center. With 19 wins and 17 losses at home, the Wizards have done a good job in taking care of games at home. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re continuously struggling to pick up wins against horrendous teams on the road. I honestly can’t even wrap my mind around their road woes. Thankfully, the Wizards will return home to meet the Raptors tonight.

With Bradley Beal, Nene, Martell Webster, Trevor Ariza and A.J Price all missing significant time due to injuries, John Wall has stepped up in the scoring department. Averaging nearly 28 points and 8 assists during the past five games, John Wall has looked like the best player on the floor each night he steps on the court. His jump shot has looked very good, especially from the right elbow. When John Wall is shooting and hitting his jump shot with confidence, he becomes nearly unstoppable. Despite Wall’s spectacular play as of late, the Wizards haven’t been able to pick up wins. Wall will be matched up against Kyle Lowry, who has become more of a facilitator than a scorer as of late. Struggling to shoot the ball, Lowry has taken it upon himself to get his teammates involved. We’re used to seeing Lowry play like a shoot first point guard, so it’s unusual to see him rack up 10 or 11 assists during his past couple games. With Rudy Gay in the lineup, Lowry has done a pretty good job in transitioning his game to benefit the changed lineup. He’ll have a difficult time defending John Wall tonight, since he isn’t a particularly big point guard. Wall needs to continue playing with his new found aggressiveness, since Toronto will most likely have trouble keeping up with his speed and explosiveness. This is the type of game where Wall should be able to take over. Toronto lacks some size in the paint, making Wall’s job even easier.

But the key to winning the game will be stopping Toronto’s transition game. Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay are all very good players in transition. Toronto is ranked just 23rd in pace, but their ability to score quickly off turnovers has the potential to win them games. DeRozan has averaged nearly 18 points per game because Toronto’s offensive capabilities fit his offensive tools.  DeRozan has also averaged close to 25 points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor against the Wizards this season, and has clearly taken advantage of Washington’s lackluster transition defense. It is important for the Wizards and John Wall especially, to limit their turnovers. If Washington turns the ball over at a high rate tonight, they’ll be in for another long night.

Washington needs to close out the season on a high note. With just 10 games remaining, the Wizards have to get wins against sub par teams. As I mentioned before, the Wizards have been pretty good at home, so I’m picking them to win tonight’s game.

Happy Easter to all those which celebrate. Enjoy the game.

February 19, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal (3) shoots the ball over Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (3) in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Raptors won 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

After winning two back to back games against the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards will look to pick up their third consecutive victory. They’ll meet the Toronto Raptors tonight, who beat the Wizards 96-88 at the Verizon Center this past week.

Key Match Up

Since acquiring Rudy Gay from the Memphis Grizzlies, the Toronto Raptors have looked like a top Eastern Conference playoff team. With Rudy Gay in the lineup, the Raptors have won 7 of their last 10 games. With wins over teams such as the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, and L.A. Clippers, the Raptors are doing all the right things to make a push for the final playoff spot. Since joining the Raptors, Rudy Gay has averaged over 21 points per game, providing a scoring lift the Raptors have needed all season. Toronto has plethora of players which thrive in transition, so Gay’s adjustment into the Raptors system has gone smoother than expected. Toronto also has a good defensive player in Gay, which is another thing they’ve been missing all season. Toronto has been very tough to stop with their new look team.

Trevor Ariza will need to contribute as much as he did in Saturday’s win, if the Wizards want to pick up just their fifth road win of the season. Ariza scored 18 points to go along side 6 assists off the bench against his former team, the Houston Rockets. Ariza is probably Washington’s best on ball defender, so you’d expect him to help stop Rudy Gay in transition. Washington will prefer having Rudy Gay take difficult shots in the half court, rather than having him lead the fast break in transition. I expect Ariza to get plenty of minutes on the court tonight, so It’ll be his duty to help contain Rudy Gay.

Other Notes/Links

• Washington and the Los Angeles Clippers reportedly discussed a deal which would’ve sent Caron Butler back to Washington, in exchange for Trevor Ariza. The deal was supposedly vetoed at the last minute by Clippers owner, Donald Sterling. I’m torn because I would’ve liked to see Butler back in D.C, but I think Ariza still has more value.
• Bradley Beal has been a stud in Washington, and his game is continuously growing. He scored 25 points against James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Let’s hope Beal continues to grow, because he’s been amazing as of late.
• Jason Collins has joined the Washington Wizards. I’ll be interested if he gets any court time tonight, especially since Kevin Seraphin received his first ‘DNP-Coaches Decision’ on Saturday night. When asked about what he’ll being to Washington, Collins simply stated “Leadership and hard fouls”.
• Here at Wiz of Awes, we said our final goodbye’s to Jordan Crawford. I’ve took the time to watch a few Celtics games this past week, just to get a chance to watch ‘Steez’ play. I must admit, it was a bit weird to see him in a Celtics uniform. I sincerely hope he sticks in their rotation, seeing as though Boston has been dealing with a series of injuries.
• Not much else going on in Wizards land today.

Prediction

The last time these two rising Eastern Conference teams met, the Verizon Center wasn’t the only thing having technical difficulties. From air horns to makeshift shot clocks, this game was a mess for the Wizards. John Wall had what was arguably his worst game of his career, scoring 9 points on 1 for 12 shooting. Wall also committed a season high, 7 turnovers in that match up.

Since then, both teams have improved and left a lot of ‘what ifs’ for their fans, in terms of how the teams could’ve performed if they started on the same pace at the beginning of the season. John Wall and Bradley Beal are continuing to improve their chemistry and have shown us plenty of flashes and glimpses of what we should expect in the future. Wall had a double double last game, but most importantly, he only turned the ball over twice. It is important for Wall to have a bounce back game against the Raptors, since he was terrible the last go around.

Toronto isn’t the type of team which is great in the half court, so it is very important to cut down on unforced turnovers. With virtually no post player, the Raptors have to rely on their defense to create opportunities for points in transition. Kyle Lowry, Demar Derozan, and Rudy Gay are some of the best transition players in the NBA. Turnovers are inevitable and will obviously occur over the course of a 48 minute span, but Washington needs to limit their amount of turnovers.

With that said, I think Washington will have a great chance to potentially avenge their loss to the Raptors this season. Toronto doesn’t have very many big men, so the Wizards need to take advantage of mismatches much like they did against the Rockets on Saturday. Nene and Emeka Okafor should have their way against the Raptors big men.

Washington will win a close game at the Air Canada Centre tonight.

What happens to a fan base that has been promised a bunch of new max free agents, and then it doesn’t get them delivered?

That is the question to a great social experiment I want to see answered later in this NBA off season. Free agents can do what they want. It is out of a team’s control. They are unrestricted free agents. They do what they want, when they want. Good for them. They earned that right.

I never like being not in a semblance of control, not knowing how the strategy will be executed. It actually feels good to NOT be holding our collective breathe right now, doesn’t it?

We will be the tortoise. We will rebuild slow and steady. We still want to win the race. Time will tell which plan works best.

That’s all well and good Ted, except this isn’t really an ordinary offseason. There are four future hall-of-famers available–LeBron, Wade, Pierce, and Nowitzki, along with perennial All-Stars like Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay, and David Lee.  There’s a reason this free agent class has been hyped like no other before.

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