NBA preview: Both struggling, the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards look to improve
The Washington Wizards had an idea of what they were getting when they drafted John Wall as the No. 1 overall pick this past spring, they just may not have expected for his talent to translate so quickly. However, the Wizards (2-6) will likely be without
their top pick when they host the Toronto Raptors (2-8) at the Verizon Center on Tuesday 16 November.
If Wall is unable to go, the Wizards will likely miss the standout’s services. The rookie, who leads both his team as well as all first-year players in scoring this season with 18.1 points per game, is nursing an injury to his left foot that he sustained during
a recent 103-96 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Washington would also be without Wall’s 9.8 assists (also a team high) and 4.0 boards per contest, as the 20-year-old is expected to miss a few of the Wizards’ upcoming contests.
Still, Wall, who was seen sporting a walking boot following his squad’s most recent loss, looks to overcome the injury and get back out on the floor as soon as he can. “It’s swollen a little bit,” he said. “I sprained it. I just got to take some days off and
get treatment on it.”
Washington will undoubtedly look to embattled veteran Gilbert Arenas to pick up some of the slack in the rookie’s absence. The point guard, who is playing in his tenth season out of the University of Arizona, has been getting into the groove recently after
sitting out the beginning of the season with a nagging ankle injury.
After receiving a 50-game suspension from the league last year for bringing firearms into the locker room, Arenas is attempting to get back on track this season. And, if last Saturday’s performance against the Bulls was any indication, he is well on his way.
Arenas went 11 of 22 from the field, including seven of 10 from behind the three-point arc, en route to a 30-point output, far and away his best showing of the young 2010-11 campaign.
The Raptors, meanwhile, are also looking to get back on track, in the midst of a four-game road trip. Although their second win of the season came this past Friday against a competitive Orlando Magic squad, Toronto then dropped their next game to former teammate
Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat the following evening.
Although the Raptors have amassed just a pair of wins thus far this season, they’ve received positive production from the team as a whole. In their match-up with Miami, Toronto was able to keep it close throughout thanks in part to the efforts of Andrea Bargnani
and DeMar DeRozan, who added 22 and 21 points, respectively. The Raptors’ struggles against the Heat came on the defensive end, as they allowed Miami to shoot a blistering 50.6 per cent from the floor.
Still, Jose Calderon asserts that his team is no pushover. “We know people are going to think, ‘Oh we’re playing the Raptors,’ and OK, our record is not as good as it should be, but we’re going to play hard for 48 minutes,” the point guard told reporters. “And
we’re going to give teams a hard time. We’re a better team than our record says.”
They’ll have a chance to improve that record against a Wizards’ team that is bound to struggle without its brightest star.
Prediction: Toronto 97, Washington 90
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