Who can out-tank the other?
The Toronto Raptors will host the Washington Wizards again tonight, after a Saturday night contest that yielded plenty of late-stage intrigue. With the bench trying to rather heroically lead the Raptors to victory (which at this point, we’d rather they not), what appeared to be a buzzer beater by Jamal Shead was overturned, giving the Wizards the win. Of course, it’s nearing the middle of March, and we’re watching the 13th team in the East battle the 15th. Both teams have lengthy injury reports including “injury recovery” and “rest”. Unlike most professional sports, it feels like neither team actually wants to win this game. Of course, no one can fault either team for wanting higher lottery odds, with a draft that appears to be full of potential.
Washington is currently 13-49, four games behind the Pelicans, two games behind Utah and a game and a half back of Charlotte. While the bottom four teams all share the best odds, they certainly don’t want to be any higher than that. They’ve won two in a row now, so that margin for error for them gets smaller as the other teams all appear to be out-tanking them at the moment.
Toronto is now only a half game behind Brooklyn for fifth-worst in the league, and a game and a half back of Philly. The odds drop off pretty quickly beyond that, so they’d likely rather stay where they are as well. With one of the easiest schedules to end the season, that might be a challenge.
The benefit to the “tanking” (ethical or not) is the ability to watch the younger guys really get some run. Jamal Shead, Jared Rhoden, Jamison Battle, and Orlando Robinson have all been able to get good minutes in a variety of different situations. Starting a game and playing in the final minutes of a close game are great experiences for those guys, especially as they look towards next season and try to figure out how to adjust the roster.
The biggest part of watching these games is to continue to be excited about the young talent on the roster and seeing what they can do when they get the opportunity. Hopefully we’ll see more of it tonight, with the expectation that all of Shead, Robinson, Lawson, Battle, and Rhoden will continue to get lots of time on the floor.
Where to Watch
Tune in at 7:30pm ET on SportsNet
Probable Starters
Toronto: Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, AJ Lawson, Orlando Robinson
Washington: Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Richaun Holmes
Injury Report
Toronto: Ochai Agbaji (Out: Left ankle sprain), Ulrich Chomche (Out: Partial MCL tear), Gradey Dick (Out: Bone bruise), Brandon Ingram (Out: Left ankle sprain), Jonathan Mogbo (Out: Nasal fracture), Jakob Poeltl (Out: Rest), Ja’Kobe Walter (Out: Right hip flexor)
Washington: Saddiq Bey (Out: Surgery recovery) Malcolm Brogdon (Out: Left ankle sprain), Richaun Holmes (Out: Knee contusion), Colby Jones (Out: Achilles tendinopathy), Khris Middleton (Out: Injury management), Marcus Smart (Out: Injury management)