Washington Wizards

Washington Wizards

We kick things off in Washington, where the Raptors had a humbling road loss against then league-worst record holders, the Wizards (they picked up another win the following game against the Memphis Grizzlies). The play starts with a dribble handoff from Immanuel Quickley to Jamal Shead, and Barnes sets a pick after, rolls to the rim recieves a nice bounce pass from Shead and flushes home a dunk with two Wizards in the paint.

To make matters worse, the early season challenge to his players from head coach Brian Keefe, which was followed by a players only meeting, made it seem as if the young team was heading in the wrong direction as a whole. Fortunately, things in the DMV finally seem to be turning around, at least considering the state of the organization this time last week when they found themselves at the bottom of the NBA standings for yet another season.

In the Raptors' last game on December 26, they went up against the Washington Wizards, who hold one of the worst records league-wide at 6-23. Even though Toronto has been going through quite the rough patch lately, their struggles persisted into this Boxing Day affair, where they completely faltered against Washington, thanks to some great performances from Kyshawn George, wily veteran CJ McCollum, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, as well as efficient showings from youngsters Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington.

Obviously, the Wizards injuries have began to add up over the last few weeks, with several key players out of the lineup including Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and reigning top 10 pick Tre Johnson. Washington's far from full strength, but if we're being completely honest, the team's underwhelming play to start the season suggest that even if they were healthy, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

The Washington Wizards injuries have managed to make an already bizarre start to the season take a turn for the worse. Washington's injury woes have forced head coach Brian Keefe to search for answers deep on the team's bench and after declaring that no minutes would be given, but instead earned this offseason, Washington found themselves turning to a second-round pick on Thursday night.

When Washington opted to land Middleton, the expectation was that the forward would use the fresh start to his advantage proving he had plenty left in the tank. Obviously, the main motive behind the Wizards decision to acquire the veteran was to move on from Kyle Kuzma, who had increasingly become a distraction for the struggling team with his growing frustration throughout the Wizards struggles.

The Washington Wizards struggles to start the season can't be pinpointed to one specific reason. Between sophomore breakouts, sophomore slumps, inconsistent play from veterans and the fact the team is just inexperienced can all be linked back to the main reason for Washington's early season woes. Nonetheless, the reason why the Wizards have opened the season stacking losses is irrelevant when it relates to the inevitable roster moves that loom in the future for general manager Will Dawkins.

Ryan Rollins found himself in Washington during the 2023-24 season, after landing with the Wizards following a minor stint with the Golden State Warriors. In 10 games with the Wizards, the Toledo product averaged ojnlu 4.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in limited minutes. While the guard didn't flash star-level potential in his minimal role, his young age and college success is what gave the team and the fanbase hope he could breakout in the right situation.