Wizards at Raptors preview: Washington heads north to face Toronto

Mar 26, 2023 - 12:00 AM

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Game Info

When: Sunday, March 26 at 6 p.m. ET

Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto

How to watch: NBC Sports Washington, League Pass

Injuries

WIZARDS— Kyle Kuzma, OUT (ankle); Bradley Beal, OUT (knee)

RAPTORS— Scottie Barnes, QUESTIONABLE (wrist); Precious Achiuwa, QUESTIONABLE (hamstring); Gary Trent Jr., QUESTIONABLE (elbow); Otto Porter Jr., OUT (foot)

Pregame Notes

The Washington Wizards make their one and only trip to Toronto on Sunday to take on the Raptors. The teams split their first two contests this season, which means the winner would earn the tiebreaker.

The Raptors are a formidable home team, winning eight of their last nine games in the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena. The Wizards have trended the other direction on road contests of late. They’ve lost their last three away games by an average of 17 points and will be without the services of Kyle Kuzma and Bradley Beal.

An undermanned Washington side managed a win over the San Antonio Spurs thanks to Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, and Delon Wright stepping up to fill the offensive void. The trio combined for 71 points, with each shooting an identical 9-of-14 from the field.

But it’s one thing to do that against the tanking Spurs’ league-worst defense and another to duplicate that success against a lengthy and switchable Raptors defense. Toronto has turned up their defensive intensity of late, ranking in the top-7 in defensive rating over their last 15 games.

The Wiz remain three games behind the Raptors for 9th place and would need a win to keep pace in the play-in tournament race - or conversely lose and help the tank.