The NBA Playoffs will kick off with an Eastern Conference battle between the No. 4 Toronto Raptors, and No. 5 Washington Wizards at the Air Canada Centre on ESPN in a game that can be live streamed free by clicking this link. Raptors fans can listen to the game on TSN 1050, while Wizards fans may find the radio broadcast on WFED-AM 1500.
The Toronto Raptors enter this series with home-court advantage, but the less balanced of the two teams. Toronto's offense was explosive all year, and it was led by point guard Kyle Lowry. The Raptors were fourth in the NBA in points per game (104), but only 19th in opponents' points per game (100.9).
The Wizards are more balanced, but only because they had a more drought-prone offense and an above-average defense. The Wizards figure to have the edge in the backcourt, with John Wall and Bradley Beal leading the way, although Washington's scheme often creates less-than-ideal shot attempts for everyone one the floor.
The matchup between Wall and Lowry at point guard will go a long way toward determining which side advances to Round 2.
In the post, the Wizards have the bulk advantage. Marcin Gortat and Nene are not All-Star big men, but they crash the boards and have more combined size than Jonas Valanciunas, arguably a superior offensive player to either Gortat or Nene, and Patrick Patterson. On the flip side, Patterson may create problems for Washington's frontcourt because of his stretch capabilities; Patterson shot 37 percent from beyond the arc on 3.5 attempts per night.
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