Wizards vs Raptors Gameday Thread: Battle of Surging Teams

Let's take a trip down memory lane.

Wednesday December 14th, ten weeks ago, the Raptors entered a match with the Mavericks in the ACC. The Raps were coming off a loss to the Nets, in which they blew yet another late lead. Mickael Pietrus started at SF, Ed Davis at PF, and Bargnani's injury was all Raptors fans had to celebrate.

The Raptors beat the Mavs - in fact, it wasn't even close - in a game that was the beginning of a run to the playoffs for the Raptors. Although, if you mentioned it then, you were sure to be perceived as crazy, and told to look at the Eastern Conference standings.

However, that optimist, the rare fan that still believed when the team was 4-17, seems to have been not so crazy after all.

The Raptors are 19-14 since that Dallas game, and currently hold a 23-33 record, good enough for ninth place in the East. Milwaukee's recent struggles, and Toronto's trade for Rudy Gay has helped in turning the tables for the Raps, as their impressive February run has put them just four games back of a playoff spot.

Considering Toronto's relatively easy schedule they have ahead of them, and Millwaukee's difficult one, the Raptors could seriously find themselves in the playoffs come April. John Hollinger's algorithm currently gives the Raptors a 32.5% change of making the playoffs.

After two weeks of tough games, the easy part of the schedule starts today, as they face the 13th place Wizards, in a game that Adam broke down via video, for Washington's Monumental Network today. The Wizards have been playing fairly well as of late, having beaten the Rockets and Nuggets in their two games since these two teams last faced off.

GO RAPS!!

Note: Sebastian Telfair is active for tonight's game, and Mickael Pietrus has been placed on the inactive list.