The Washington Wizards are off to Canada for the playoffs.
The fifth-seeded Wizards will play at the fourth-seeded Toronto Raptors beginning Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in an Eastern Conference quarterfinals best-of-seven series. The Wizards are 0-3 against the Raptors this season.
An early look at the storylines includes an intriguing point guard matchup between All-Stars John Wall and Kyle Lowry, questions about how the Wizards can better defend a team that spreads them out and how much veteran Paul Pierce will be able to contribute in the playoffs.
Playoff matchups came down to the final night of the regular season. Toronto beat the Charlotte Hornets, 92-87, but the Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 91-85, to move ahead of Toronto and claim the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed.
The teams will play Saturday and Tuesday before the best-of-seven series shifts back to the District.
Washington took the opening two games in Chicago last season and eventually closed out the Bulls out to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. The Wizards have not won a playoff series in consecutive seasons since 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons. Pierce is the only player on the Wizards’ roster who was alive both of those seasons.
The Raptors lost in seven games last season against Pierce and the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Toronto has the league’s longest run without winning a playoff series: 13 seasons. The only time the Raptors advanced was in the 2000-01 season when Lenny Wilkens was coach and Vince Carter was still revving his motor bike with authority.
Washington closed the regular season Wednesday night with a 113-110 overtime loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a game both teams rested key players. The Wizards finished 46-36 a year after going 44-38. The Raptors finished 49-33.
Game 1 – Sat April 18 Washington at Toronto 12:30PM 12:30PM ESPN
Game 2 – Tue April 21 Washington at Toronto 8:00PM 8:00PM NBA TV
Game 3 – Fri April 24 Toronto at Washington 8:00PM 8:00PM ESPN2
Game 4 – Sun April 26 Toronto at Washington 7:00PM 7:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Washington at Toronto TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Toronto at Washington TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Washington at Toronto TBD TBD TBD
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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