| Toronto Leftovers Feast On Wizards Authored by - January 15, 2003 - 10:16 am
January 15, 2003
Raptors 84 Wizards 75 — MCI Center
By Kevin Broom
A day after talking openly of securing home court advantage in the playoffs, the Washington Wizards were inert against the injury-ravaged Toronto Raptors, getting out-worked, out-hustled, and ultimately out-scored, 84-75.
“I don’t want to disrespect Toronto, I mean, they’ve got a good team,” said Wizards coach Doug Collins. “But this has to be more important to us than it was to them.”
The Wizards couldn’t lament Jerry Stackhouse’s absence due to a groin injury because Toronto was missing seven players. The Raptors had just eight players in uniform, three of whom were working on 10-day contracts — the NBA equivalent of a temp.
Washington opened the game with solid defense, holding Toronto scoreless for the first four minutes and leading 10-0 at one point. But the Wizards lost interest and failed to score for nearly five minutes, while Toronto went to work. When And1 star and NBDL pickup Rafer Alston hit a running three at the buzzer, the Raptors had cut the lead to two.
It was more of the same in the second quarter. The Wizards built a 12-point lead, then squandered it by losing track of Morris Peterson, who scored 10 points in the period. Peterson had 21 points in the game.
“We didn’t quit, didn’t drop our heads,” said Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens. “I told them — [the Wizards] have 12 offensive rebounds and we’re down five.”
The Wizards returned from halftime as listless as they departed. Toronto got contributions from all eight players while Washington responded with production from Larry Hughes and missed shots from everyone else. Former Georgetown player Jerome Williams out-rebounded the Wizards 8-7 in the period. The Raptors as a group had a 19-7 advantage on the glass. Williams finished the game with 20 rebounds.
“When Jerome is at power forward he just seems to expand,” said Wilkens. “I hate starting him at three, but I changed it around when I saw it wasn't working.”
Washington never mounted a challenge in the fourth quarter. In a game they should have wanted desperately to win, the Wizards were blitzed by the Raptors in the fourth quarter. Jordan hit just 1-of-6 as Toronto steadily pulled away.
“I don’t drink, but we can pop some champagne,” said the Raptors’ Jerome Williams. “Get a couple wins and you start feeling good.”
When the game was over, the Wizards players finally showed some energy, hustling from the locker room before media could enter. Jordan stalked out, head still damp from the shower, muttering, “No comment, no comment, no comment.”
Hughes and Maryland star Juan Dixon were left to explain the debacle. Predictably, Dixon took responsibility for the team’s poor performance.
“I didn’t play well,” Dixon said. “I missed a lot of shots I normally make. I didn’t bring the energy like I normally do. Maybe it was [rust], but I won’t make excuses. I need to step up and play better.”
Learning Curve
Toronto’s Damone Brown was so new to the Raptors that he hadn’t even practiced with the team. An assistant coach taught Brown five plays a few hours before the game, and Wilkens rehearsed the plays with him before the game to be sure Brown was comfortable. When Brown was in the game, Wilkens made sure to call only those plays. Brown finished the game with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
With three players unfamiliar with Toronto’s playbook, Wilkens used timeouts to diagram the team’s basic offensive and defensive sets. He went to motion plays in the fourth quarter because that’s what his players were executing best throughout the game.
It may not have made much difference last night, but Collins continued his practice of matching up with opposing teams instead of trying to dictate match-ups. Russell started instead of Dixon or Tyronn Lue because of Collins’ desire to have a larger player against Raptor forward Jerome Williams.
At one point in last night’s game, the Wizards had Lue, Dixon and Hughes on the floor together. The Raptors dearth of quality big men — they started Jelani McCoy and their primary big man reserve was the forgettable Art Long — suggested that a tall lineup from the Wizards could be effective. A frontcourt of Kwame Brown, Brendan Haywood, and Kwame Brown could have created size mismatches and helped the Wizards shut down the Raptor rebounding advantage.
Thomas had five offensive rebounds in the second quarter alone, but played just 14 minutes. Brown had a poor shooting night, but had six rebounds (three offensive) and two blocked shots. Haywood had five rebounds (three offensive) in 29 minutes, as well as three blocks and some solid post moves.
The Raptors gave an object lesson on the value of effort. Playing in D.C., Toronto seemed to channel the Maryland Terrapin’s spirit. The Raptors played with palpable effort and determination even though they’ve already been virtually eliminated from postseason contention. Had the Wizards matched Toronto’s intensity, Washington would have won by 20.
Stackhouse will miss at least a week with a pulled groin muscle. According to Collins, the muscle is visibly swollen and has gotten progressively worse over the past week. The injury is in a different spot than the one suffered by Richard Hamilton last season, and is not as serious an injury.
While Bryon Russell replaced Stackhouse in the starting lineup against Toronto, and likely will do so against Orlando, that won’t necessarily be the case in other games. Collins decided to use Russell because Toronto was starting Williams at small forward, and the Wizards needed some size in the lineup to counter his strength. In the future, Dixon or Tyronn Lue could be starters until Stackhouse returns.
Jared Jeffries is having surgery today to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Rehabilitation will start soon, which Jeffries intends to do in Washington. When his leg is healthy enough, he’ll return to Florida to prepare for mini-camp and summer league.
Still no timetable for Jahidi White’s return to action. The big man continues to work on the treadmill each morning, and does what he can in practice. But he doesn’t have his legs yet, according to Collins, and isn’t ready to play. Specifically, White still doesn’t have the explosiveness leaping or his lateral quickness. Both attributes helped make White an effective rebounder and defender.
Up Next
The Orlando Magic come to MCI Center Thursday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m. because the contest will be shown on TNT. The Wizards figure to have an advantage in the frontcourt, but will likely have trouble trying to defend Tracy McGrady and Mike Miller. Local star Grant Hill is expected to miss the game.
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