Tip-In: Raptors Drop Ugly Game To Wizards 90-84

That was hard to watch.

Kudos to those who stuck it out past the first half. I had to put on my Beer Goggles just to make this game look good.

The Toronto Raptors drop to 23-34 on the season after losing one of the worst games you'll see all year to the Washington Wizards, 90 to 84.

Rookie Bradley Beal led the way for the Wizards, hitting eight of 13 shots on route to 20 points and six rebounds.

The first quarter was the beginning of the end, despite the Raptors only trailing by one after 12 minutes. Toronto turned the ball over eight times, while no one player had more than three points.

By halftime, Toronto was trailing 40-32 with neither team shooting better than 35%.

Only two Raptors scored in double-digits for the entire game. DeMar DeRozan was the only player to have any success scoring the basketball, finishing with 25 points on 9 for 17 shooting. Kyle Lowry, who had 18 points on the night, only shot 6 for 17 from the field.

For as much praise as we give a guy like Rudy Gay, we must take into account that before he arrived in Toronto, he was having a hum-drum season shooting the ball. His heroic performances late in games over the past few weeks have gotten a lot of attention, but all good things hit their share of speed bumps once in a while.

Rudy missed his first six shots before hitting a dunk in the fourth quarter. That was his only field goal on the night, as he shot just 9% on the day (1 for 11). He contributed in other areas (six rebounds, four assists, four steals), but his poor shooting and sloppy play (five turnovers) were one of the main reasons the Raptors could never quite get their footing in this game.

Andrea Bargnani was, well, Andrea Bargnani. He had his opportunities, but as was the case with a majority of his teammates, he could never quite get into a rhythm on offense, hitting four of 11 shots on route to just eight points. The booing was far more timid than it has been in recent games, so that's a step up at least.

By the way, speaking of the booing, from someone who covers the team and has a genuine interest as a fan and writer, all of that negativity really needs to come to an end. Bargnani is going to be a Raptor for the remainder of the season at the very least, so he's not going anywhere, whether we want him to or not. If this team has any chance of making the postseason, then "Il Mago" is going to have to be on top of his game. He brings most of the booing on himself with his emotionless tendencies and lackluster efforts, but you know what? Booing him isn't going to make things better. Let's take the good with the bad for the time being, and during the summer, Bryan Colangelo will do what's in the best interest of this team.......hopefully.

Sorry. I just wanted to get that off my chest. Peace and love.

The Raptors actually had the lead cut down to five with a little under two minutes left (83-78), but Washington just had their way against Toronto's defense, attacking the basket and getting easy drives at the bucket.

Look, we all know that this was a game we should have won. We're running out of games to make that final push for allusive eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, so victories against lesser competition are all the more important.

Let's give some credit where credit is due though to Washington. They've now won three in a row and seven of their last ten to improve to 18-37 on the year. This was just their fifth road win all season long. They could prove to be a potential spoiler to a lot of playoff-bound teams over the next month or so.

There were plenty of turnovers, Rudy Gay had an off night, and there were enough bricks laid by Toronto to build a bloody condo in the city.

With all of that being said, I think we know the REAL reason the Raptors lost this game....

Rachel McAdams. Why does she have to be so damn pretty? No wonder no one could score.

With the action as bad as it was, I'm surprised the camera didn't pan to her more often.