The Toronto Raptors will look to end their nine-game losing streak Saturday night when they visit the Washington Wizards.
Toronto (23-47) continued its momentum on Friday with a 123-103 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, leader of the Western Conference. The Raptors gave up a 22-7 fourth-quarter run that turned a competitive game into a blowout and Toronto’s fourth straight double-digit loss.
Many Raptors missed Friday’s game, with 17.7 ppg scorer Immanuel Quickley out for a second straight game and RJ Barrett (20.8 ppg with Toronto) out for a fifth straight outing – both for personal reasons.
Scottie Barnes (19.9 points per game) missed a 10th straight game with a broken hand, and Jakob Poeltl (11.1 points, 8.6 rebounds per game) has been out since March 5 due to injury. a finger injury that required surgery.
“In my 26 or 27 years of coaching, I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t think I’ve seen this on other teams either,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said Friday. according to the Toronto Sun. “A lot of injuries, a lot of situations, personal reasons, missing time, a lot of things hit us, but at the same time.”
The Raptors have put together some makeshift lineups, including rookie Javon Freeman-Liberty who starts against Oklahoma City despite playing in only his ninth NBA game. All nine were in March.
Toronto rookie Gradey Dick, making his seventh straight start, scored a team-high 21 points on Friday. It was his best performance since recording 22 points on Feb. 5 in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Toronto will look to avoid losing a 10th straight game when it faces one of the three teams below it in the Eastern Conference.
Washington (12-58) plays the fourth of four straight home games on Saturday and is in the middle of a streak of 10 of 11 home games overall. The Wizards posted a 109-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday thanks to Kyle Kuzma’s 31 points in his return from a two-game absence due to a shoulder injury.
“Any victory is a big victory,” Kuzma said. “It’s really the NBA because any team can be beaten on any given night. You’ll always get a win. It’s about playing together and playing hard, playing smart. I have the “I feel like this is one of the smartest games we’ve played all year. From start to finish.”
Washington lost the two games played without Kuzma by 26 and 23 points, respectively. The Wizards had lost five in a row in total.
Washington’s last eight losses have been by double digits.
Despite the team’s struggles, Kuzma said he hopes the final weeks of a trying season will bring some positives for the 2024-25 campaign.
“Together and being there for each other. Playing to our strengths defensively,” Kuzma said of the big points. “If we can find some sort of defensive rotation, that would be positive.”
The defense has upset Washington all season long. The team’s average output of 123.9 points per game is the highest in the NBA.
