Washington Wizards vs. Toronto Raptors: Game 1 Prediction, NBA Playoff Odds
Raptors fans should know that a No. 8 seed upsetting a No. 1 in a series is rare in the NBA. It last happened in the 2012 postseason when Chicago was knocked off by Philadelphia. That deserves an asterisk because Bulls star Derrick Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 (and was never the same).
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
By pretty much any standard, this was the greatest regular season in Raptors history. The 59 victories were a team record and second only to Houston in the NBA. That means Toronto would get a home Game 7 in any series other than an NBA Finals matchup against the Rockets. The Raptors’ plus-7.8-point differential was by far the best in the East and second only to Houston (plus-8.5). In fact, if you go by differential, Raptors-Wizards is the most lopsided first-round matchup as Toronto holds an edge of plus-7.2.
No. 8 Washington is in the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons. In each of the previous three, the Wizards won in the first round but then were stopped in the conference semifinals. They swept Toronto in the 2015 first round. That’s the only previous postseason meeting between the franchises.
Toronto is +110 to win the Eastern Conference for the first time, just behind Cleveland (+100). Those two appear on a collision course in the next round. Washington is +4000 in the East, tied for the longest odds with Miami.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards are more talented than a typical eighth seed with one of the NBA best backcourts featuring All-Stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal. They likely wouldn’t have been a No. 8 had Wall not missed two months due to knee surgery. The team has been very uneven since his return, although Wall has been sitting out the second half of a back-to-back. Ball sat Wednesday when the Wizards lost at a bad Orlando team 101-92. Had Washington won that game, as things turned out, it would have moved up to No. 7 and gotten a more advantageous first-round matchup against injury-ravaged No. 2 seed Boston.
One injury note for Washington is to valuable reserve power forward Mike Scott, who suffered an apparent concussion against the Magic. He’s questionable for Game 1. If he sits, the Wizards might play smaller lineups.
Toronto Raptors
Only three Raptors remain from the 2015 club that lost to Washington the playoffs, albeit three important players in DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors split the four-game season series with Washington, each team winning once on the road. The most recent meeting was March 2 in D.C., a 102-95 Raptors victory. Wall missed that game. The Toronto bench outscored Washington’s reserves 50-15. That should be a huge advantage in this series as the Raptors reserves ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring, while the Wizards are not a deep bunch – especially now that Scott could miss some time.
