John Wall and Bradley Beal starred as the Wizards dismantled the Raptors' leaky defense in a 117-106 rout that gives them a 2-0 series lead coming back home.
The Washington Wizards have done it again. For the second straight season, the Wizards won the first two games of a first-round playoff series on the road. They flew to a 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors in remarkable fashion, riding young guards John Wall and Bradley Beal to a 117-106 victory that wasn't as close as the final score indicated.
The Raptors charged out of the gate, jumping to a 12-2 lead on the back of DeMar DeRozan. The Raptors' shooting guard nailed his first three shots and seemed to get whatever he wanted on Paul Pierce.
That energy failed to last. The Wizards cut the lead to five by the end of the first quarter, then made their move in the second behind their lethal small lineup and a Kyle Lowry-less Raptors unit. The Wizards scored 27 points in 15 possessions with Pierce at power forward, spreading Toronto's woeful pick-and-roll defense way too thin with shooting, speed and dribble penetration. They entered the half up, 60-49, having fully taken advantage of Lowry's foul trouble.
The Raptors made another hard charge after halftime, going on a 12-3 run to cut the Wizards' lead to 63-61 after three-and-a-half minutes. But the Wizards responded again, countering with a 18-4 run to swell the lead back to 15. Washington continued to pick apart Toronto's shaky pick-and-roll defense and swarmed Raptor ballhandlers. DeRozan and Lou Williams couldn't get anything going.
From there, Wall took over. He scored or assisted on the next five Wizards possessions and tossed in this mean block on Williams on the break.
The charge put the Wizards up 22 after the third quarter. The Raptors made a run to cut the lead to 10 with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter, but Wall delivered a perfect lob pass to Marcin Gortat for a three-point play that ended the rally.
3 things we learned
1. The House of Guards annexed the North
The Wizards won Game 1 in spite of a horrid performance from their much-acclaimed young backcourt. Beal and Wall shot a combined 11-of-41 from the field and only reached the free-throw line five times. They looked overwhelmed too often and were a big reason the Wizards blew a double-digit lead.
Boy was the story different in Game 2. House of Guards carried the Wizards, slicing through Toronto's defense and wreaking havoc from the perimeter. Beal poured in 28 points, while Wall notched 26 with 17 assists. Together, they dominated Toronto's backcourt, which features as many combined All-Star appearances.
Beal was aggressive and smart from the start, taking good shots and attacking the basket. He was great, but Wall was the mastermind executing the Wizards' offense. Toronto elected to play off Wall in the hopes of baiting him into jumpers, but Wall responded by manipulating the space given with well-timed hesitations and lookaways to set up easy passes.
The game was an illustration of Wall's growth. In the past, he would have taken those jumpers and looked confused by the space he was given. Now, he understands how to use that space to make life easier for himself and his teammates.
2. Toronto is in complete disarray
The Raptors will get killed by commentators for lacking fight, and with good reason. The second they faced any sort of adversity, they pulled apart instead of coming together. Every guard resorted to hero ball when faced with any sort of defensive pressure, whether it was Lowry, DeRozan, Williams or Greivis Vasquez. The Raptors defense -- normally shaky -- was especially out of sorts in this game, blowing nearly every sequence where someone was supposed to help the helper.
Pierce said before the series that the Raptors lacked the "it" to make the Wizards worried. The Raptors' lack of trust is the manifestation of that cliche.
3. Paul Pierce at the 4 opens so much
You have to wonder how much better the Wizards would have been during the regular season if they played small more often. For the second straight game, the Raptors had no answers when Pierce was inserted at power forward. They even gave athletic combo forward James Johnson a chance to stop it (much to the delight of Toronto's crowd), but it didn't work. The Wizards were too fast on the break, too athletic on the perimeter and too stretched out offensively for Toronto to stop.
The Wizards were reluctant to use the small lineup much during the regular season because they wanted to keep Pierce fresh for the playoffs and didn't fully trust second-year wing Otto Porter to step up as the third wing alongside Beal and Pierce. Well, it's the playoffs and Porter has emerged as a quality hustle player and defender. The Raptors aren't winning this series unless they figure out an answer to this vexing problem.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1OcNAQM
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire