
The Toronto Raptors are having to look in the mirror after losing 138-117 to the Washington Wizards on the road.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic spoke about why Toronto didn't have its best against Washington.
"It's never what the other team does, right? It's what we can control," Rajakovic said postgame.
"And from the start of the game, I thought that we did not do good in our job with our physicality the way we were guarding the ball. Just being in our position that we can help each other. We just allow them to play too free. ... That was the main thing. Once the team catches fire and get confidence, it's much easier for them to play, and that was the case tonight."
The Raptors are trying to hang their hat on the defensive end of the floor, but that identity was not shown against the Wizards. Raptors forward Brandon Ingram explained why he believes the team was not successful in this mission.
"They shot the hell out of the ball," Ingram said of the Wizards.
"You got to give it to them on the offensive side of the basketball. I don't think we were the aggressors on the defensive side. That's usually our identity, but they saw a lot of shots go through the hoop tonight, and they were aggressive and getting downhill and spraying to the corners and to the wings and knocking down shots. So kudos to them."
The Raptors have had moments during games where they allow a team to have a strong quarter, but they have often figured out a way to eventually stunt their growth. That wasn't the case against the Wizards, who never got cold.
"Usually we find it throughout the game. We may have one bad quarter, one and a half, or we usually figure it out tonight, we just didn't figure it out. They kept attacking us, going downhill, and they made plays. Like I said, we got to give give some kudos to Washington tonight," Ingram said.
This game is proof that the Raptors have to be more aggressive, especially early in the game. If they are able to do that, they would have had a much better chance to come out on top against the Wizards.
Perhaps things will change when they play against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in their next game at home.
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