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As the Raptors put the regular season behind them and start preparations for their first round series against the Washington Wizards, they held a team media conference Thursday evening to update the world.
First off, we go to injury news. Fred VanVleet left Wednesday’s game against Miami after running into a hard Bam Adebayo screen, diagnosed with a right shoulder bruise. On that, there’s some good news.
Casey says X-rays on VanVleet's right shoulder came back clean but he's still sore, calls him day-to-day. Unsure about his status for Saturday's Game 1.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 12, 2018
Serge Ibaka, meanwhile, was hit in the teeth and appeared to be wiggling at a chiclet on the sideline. A day after, he’s perfectly fine.
Serge is fine. VanVleet is sore, x-rays are negative, day-to-day.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) April 12, 2018
Also an important update for those who are starting to worry, DeMar DeRozan assures you that the Raptors are... confident.
DeRozan says Raptors "swag is at an all-time high." Not thinking about Game 1 hex. Ready to do something different.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 12, 2018
He also wants you to know that the culture reset is not just a regular season thing.
Will the Raps new system hold up in the playoffs?
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 12, 2018
DeRozan: "We did it for 82 games. We won 59 games. If that's not the ultimate (proof) that what got us here wasn't a fluke... We know what works for us, what got us here and what's going to take us even further."
On the opposition side, the Wizards did not miss an opportunity to start talking spicy to the media. In a Washington Post interview, Jason Smith — between bites of plain chicken — said that the first round matchup with the Raptors is what they were hoping for.
I surveyed the landscape after the #Wizards settled in 8th and found a lot of optimism. Especially from Jason Smith.
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) April 12, 2018
Smith was VERY honest as to why he’d rather the Wiz start the postseason right where they are and not face a team like the 76ers. https://t.co/nrMn6WJNGT
I feel like we need more reporters down in D.C. so we can start cramming way more feet into mouths. We’ve still got 48 hours before Game 1 tips, there’s so much potential!
This post will be updated if we get any more breaking news from the availability.