The Washington Wizards mistakenly think this playoff series against the Raptors is similar to the 2017 Boston Series.
The Washington Wizards are down 0-2 against the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. The Wizards believe that they have been in this position before during the 2017 Boston Series.
I am here to tell you that they have not.
During Game 2, before the ball was even inbounded, John Wall is smiling and joking with Kyle Lowry. Lowry would go and torch the Wizards on the play right after that.
If you watch the Raptors mannerisms compared to the Wizards, they are locked in.
The difference between this Raptors series and Boston, is that the Wizards saw Boston as the enemy. However, they now see the Raptors as their friends.
Once inside those four lines, the Raptors have the killer instinct.
Even before they step inside the lines, Toronto who is number one, sees the Wizards as Enemy Number 1.
‘Oh we know these guys, because we swept them before’. While the Raptors are thinking, this is the team that swept us.
I’m not up to date on pop culture, but under no circumstances should an entertainer on the sidelines be any part of the Wizards story. The “unnamed” entertainer is a storyline in Toronto and also when he’s in D.C.
The Wizards are not taking this serious.
In Boston, you would see the usual Bill Belichick or other Pats players sitting on the sidelines. But there was a certain decorum between the “celebrities” and the Celtics players.
Both sides know the seriousness of the game.
The Wizards have really done it now, they got me to write something good about the Celts. (But Jaylen Brown is something else).
No one has reached the level of respect of a Spike Lee status, such that a celebrity should be part of this series.
Bottom line, the Wizards don’t have the luxury (nor the luxury tax) to play around.
If the Wizards thought this was like the Boston Series you would see a fighting spirit, even after they lost. They’re acting like there’s 6 games left.
Don’t talk to me about chemistry either. Tuesday was the first day that Ty Lawson played a game as a Wizard, and he was the second-best player on the team.
What shocks me is that Wall and Bradley Beal can’t see that DeMar DeRozan and Lowry are smiling with them on the outside, but have a blazing fire on the inside.
How could the Wizards duo not see they were being played?
The Raptors backcourt have lulled the Wizards backcourt into being too comfortable. I hope Wall and Beal are just as comfortable being down 0-2.
The Raptors aren’t Boston from 2017, and neither are the Wizards.
Washington better start remembering who their friends are. Right now you don’t have any.
I don’t care which arena it is, Air Canada, Capital One, arena football. The Raptors are not your friends. When you finally come to that realization then you can compare this to Boston 2017.
Otherwise, after the series is over, you can call your friends all you want. But one of you will be on an early vacation, and the other will be too busy and locked in to pick up.