-It's one thing to get a much-needed home win but to get it big, AND reward the Air Canada Center faithful with pizza? Well the Toronto Raptors must have been playing the Washington Wizards. Indeed, the Wiz, were in town and despite fighting through a half and part of the third quarter, eventually succumbed to Toronto's dominant inside play, losing 106 to 89.
-Yep, I said it, DOMINANT INSIDE PLAY. The Raptors had 68 points in the paint tonight, exposing Washington's weak interior, not to mention 23 offensive rebounds, which in the end was too much for the Wiz to combat. Washington tried to shoot their way back in this one, but hit only 38 per cent of their shots from the field, including 26 per cent from long range, and were outplayed by the Raptors in virtually every way.
-Leading the way scoring-wise for Toronto was Leandro Barbosa with 19 points off the bench in 28 minutes, however four other Raptors hit double digits in points and Jose Calderon was brilliant with 8 points and 17 assists. Among the double digit point getters was Amir Johnson, who also stood out, playing his best game in weeks not only netting 18, but more importantly hauling in 13 rebounds, blocking three shots and being everywhere on the court, finishing +23 for the evening.
-Nick Young scored 21 points for the Wizards but considering his shot selection and his field-goal percentage (he hit only 7 of 17 shots), it's hard to say he "lead" his team. John Wall, Trevor Booker and Jordan Crawford hit double figures in points as well, but most of these buckets came in isolation, not due to great ball-movement or teamwork. Jose Calderon in fact had more assists himself than the Wizards had as a team!
-Unfortunately now the Raps go from the bottom to the top as they turn around and head to Miami to take on the Heat this Sunday. This will no doubt be one of their toughest challenges on the schedule so getting the win tonight, and an eventual laugher at that, is big. Even bigger though is seeing players like Amir Johnson and Jose Calderon getting back on track. Jose still didn't shoot well (2 of 6 on the night) but played with a lot more spark and precision than he has over the past while.
-Now if the club can just get DeMar DeRozan on that same path...