Resilient Raptors Clinch Crucial Loss For Lottery Odds

The Toronto Raptors fell to the Washington Wizards and lost their 10th straight game to move a full game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies in the lottery standings

The Toronto Raptors aren’t tanking.

Sure, the front office may not be too upset about how the past few weeks have gone. There’s certainly nobody rushing Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl back from injury. And nobody is going to be upset if Toronto does end up finishing the season with the sixth-worst record in the league and a 46% chance to keep its own pick.

All that may be true.

But what’s also true is everyone who takes the court for the Raptors is trying to win. There’s too much at stake for Toronto’s roster these days to do anything other than give it 100% effort.

The Raptors did look competent on Saturday. In that respect, a 112-109 loss to the Washington Wizards was progress, at least relatively speaking. Toronto's young core — at least the healthy ones — held their own, showing the kind of competitiveness the organization has been looking for lately.

Look at Jahmi'us Ramsey, for example. His contract with Toronto comes to an end Sunday and there’s nothing guaranteed for him after that. It’s why he’s been hustling so hard lately, trying to prove to the Raptors and anyone else watching that he deserves an NBA shot.

So far, he’s looked good enough to deserve another deal with Toronto, even if it’s just partially or non-guaranteed for next season. He got the start for the Raptors on Saturday and chipped in with eight points including a corner three-pointer that put Toronto up six midway through the third.

Gary Trent Jr. too has millions of dollars on the line with his unrestricted free agency coming up this summer. He’s trying to finish the year strong after a pretty disappointing first two thirds of the season.

Lately, Trent has looked much more like his old self in a bigger role for the Raptors. He came into Saturday night averaging 18.3 points over his last 12 outings and led Toronto with 31 points including 13 points in the third quarter.

The Raptors led by as many as 11 in the third, but a 13-0 run by the Wizards as Toronto’s defense began to sag allowed Washington to jump back ahead early in the fourth.

A three-pointer from Trent with four minutes to go Saturday allowed the Raptors to recapture the lead. He found Brown cutting on the ensuing possession, as Toronto eked ahead.

It just couldn’t last.

An erratic pass from Kelly Olynyk sailed way over Ochai Agbaji’s head in the corner and Trent got stuffed by the rim trying to dunk in transition. Moments later, Kyle Kuzma scored an alley-oop in transition and the Wizards jumped ahead.

Bruce Brown's would-be game-tying three-pointer hit the rim and bounced out and Toronto its 10th straight and moved a full game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies for the sixth-worst record in the league.

The race to the bottom will certainly come down to the wire.

Memphis’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night allowed the Raptors to take a narrow lead, but the Grizzlies have been among the league’s worst teams all season and that doesn’t look like it’s suddenly going to change.

But Toronto’s situation doesn’t appear to be changing either. Barnes and Poeltl are likely out for the season and RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley will be given time to deal with their family situations. If that means the organization takes losses, so be it.

The roster, though, it’s going to play its hardest night in and night out.

Up Next: Brooklyn Nets

The Raptors will return home Monday night for a date with the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET.