WAS @ TOR 6PM EST. April Fool's Dray is absent

[FAH1223]

Start of a winning streak? Or will Bargs put up buckets with our depleted frontline..?

[nate33]

The Raptors could catch a break Sunday with Wizards big men Trevor Booker and Nene both uncertain to play. Booker exited in the first quarter Friday with a pulled ligament in his left foot before Nene left in the fourth with the same injury.

I think we can win if one of those guys are out. If they're both out, we've got problems. Seraphin and Vesely can't play the entire game. Vesely will have to play center most of the time, and Cook and Singleton will see extended time at PF.

[hands11]

The Raptors could catch a break Sunday with Wizards big men Trevor Booker and Nene both uncertain to play. Booker exited in the first quarter Friday with a pulled ligament in his left foot before Nene left in the fourth with the same injury.

I think we can win if one of those guys are out. If they're both out, we've got problems. Seraphin and Vesely can't play the entire game. Vesely will have to play center most of the time, and Cook and Singleton will see extended time at PF.

Pulled ligament ? Is Plantars consider that ?

So how committed to the tank are the Wiz ? They just got their feel good win to stop the losing streak. They could afford to lose this one and secure their draft slotting. I will be so happy when we can stop thinking that way.

I think they could play well without either of those players. It would allow them to give other players more playing time so they can gain experience. I wouldn't mind them taking the training wheels off of Ves and giving him a green light. I know he would probably miss a lot of those shots but a some point he needs to gain that experience in actual games. That is the path most take to making shots. You have to get those initial misses out of the way so you can gain the emotional experience of doing it in a game. That leads to things finally slowing down for a player.

Kevin could also play a bigger role in scoring which would be fun to see. And they have Martin now which will help them in the fourth.

I think they could sit both and see what happens. If they win, great. They would have done it with pieces that need the experience.

Then there is this:

Ranking near the bottom of the league with an average of 99.8 points allowed, the Wizards (12-39) have surrendered just 87.8 per game over their last eight -- giving up 97 or fewer each time. Washington hasn't held opponents to under triple digits in nine straight contests since Nov. 30-Dec. 17, 2002.

I could see how they would want to break that streak. That would be a good achievement and something that would reenforce the idea that they have turned the page. They may want to use all of their assets to achieve something like that.

Also:

"Maybe this is a game we need to have that ice broken," said coach Randy Wittman, whose team limited the 76ers to 36.6 percent from the field and outrebounded them 52-38. "That was spectacular by our guys."

I could see them wanting to build on that. If so, they need Nene to play. I think they can survive without Booker.

I guess we will see soon enough what they are thinking. There are different ways to address their long term goals. Do they want to set a new standard to lift the assets that are here, or go for the luck of ping pong balls. Bird in hand would say go for the win. Give Nene the shot and send him out there.

[closg00]

Toronto lost to the Bulls 102-101, beat Memphis, and were competitive vs Miami.

[cubd8]

Any update regarding Trevor Booker's status for tonight?

[hands11]

Toronto lost to the Bulls 102-101, beat Memphis, and were competitive vs Miami.

And they beat Denver and NY.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_ ... a-bargnani

Basically since Andrea returned they are playing better. Obviously it takes a few games for a player to settle in once they get back.

Mostly I want Wall to close down Calderon. That guy really annoys me. He has 16 assists against Miami. Can't let that happen.

Team defense should help Wall shut him down.
Ves will have his hands full with Bargnani. KS can bang him. Ves can go after him with length. Having Nene would certainly help since he has the experience to do it.

[MOrgil]

I'm excited for tonight. Would love to see a solid game from Wall. Hopefully, tonight is not a big let down.

[Jay81]

John Wall had 5 of his best games of his career in the first 15 games of his career

game 2--28 pts 5 reb 9 assists vs Atlana
game 3-29 pts 13 assists 9 steals vs Philly
game 6- 19 pts 10 reb 13 assists 6 steals vs Houston
game 9 25 pts, 6 assists vs Philly
game 14 22 pts, 14 assists vs Lakers

[7-Day Dray]

I hope we lose this game. NO is gaining ground on us for that #2 spot.

[tontoz]

John Wall had 5 of his best games of his career in the first 15 games of his career

game 2--28 pts 5 reb 9 assists vs Atlana
game 3-29 pts 13 assists 9 steals vs Philly
game 6- 19 pts 10 reb 13 assists 6 steals vs Houston
game 9 25 pts, 6 assists vs Philly
game 14 22 pts, 14 assists vs Lakers

He also averaged 19/8.6 shooting 48% just last month.

[koolguy]

the raptors always finds a way to lose against lottery teams.

[montestewart]

John Wall had 5 of his best games of his career in the first 15 games of his career

game 2--28 pts 5 reb 9 assists vs Atlana
game 3-29 pts 13 assists 9 steals vs Philly
game 6- 19 pts 10 reb 13 assists 6 steals vs Houston
game 9 25 pts, 6 assists vs Philly
game 14 22 pts, 14 assists vs Lakers

He also averaged 19/8.6 shooting 48% just last month.

In fact, comparing February 2012 to his first 10 games last year, his numbers across the board are remarkably similar, with the primary significant differences being better shooting and rebounding percentages in the more recent set of games. Cherry picking from among those fourteen February 2012 games will easily produce five games comparable to the ones listed.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Wizards need to shut down Booker and Nene. Just tank. This isn't Al Davis and "just win, baby". It makes a whole lot more sense to just play for lottery ping pong balls.

No need overtaking the Hornets and getting less of a shot at Anthony Davis.

[Jay81]

update from Lee----Booker and Nene are out. Now we have a chance to lose and i am being dead serious...A Davis is a franchise changer...better than Griffen..better than Love..better than Wall or Irving. You must do whatever it takes to tank as much as possible. in fact, he is in the Durant/Oden(pre injury) class

[nate33]

I don't see how we can win with both Nene and Booker out. Seraphin is going to need to get 30 and 15 while playing 42 minutes and avoiding foul trouble.

The matchups are favorable though. The Wizards can put Vesely on Bargnani and hopefully disrupt his pick-and-pop game. At least Bargnani isn't the type of guy who will abuse Vesely in the post.

[FAH1223]

update from Lee----Booker and Nene are out. Now we have a chance to lose and i am being dead serious...A Davis is a franchise changer...better than Griffen..better than Love..better than Wall or Irving. You must do whatever it takes to tank as much as possible. in fact, he is in the Durant/Oden(pre injury) class

[truwizfan4evr]

A must lost for wizards. We have no need to win anymore games this year what's the point? We need as many ping pong balls as we can get. New Orleans is on are heals. I hope Nene and Booker out for a few games. We should just shut them down.

[GhostsOfGil]

Time to bump the epic Bargs vs Blatche thread.

[hands11]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=320401002

Bos 91 MIA 72

[Hassassin]

Hey guys, I'm running a live chat for the Raptors board. Feel free to join. Here is the link.