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Storylines, Where to Watch, Injuries, & Betting Info For Raptors at Wizards

The Toronto Raptors will conclude their road trip against Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards. Here's where to watch, betting odds, and injury reports

Author:
Aaron Rose
Publish date:
Jan 21, 2022 9:20 AM EST

The Toronto Raptors will wrap up their road trip on Friday night against the Washington Wizards at 8 p.m. ET.

What to Watch For

After a year and a half of anticipation, we may finally get Yuta Watanabe vs. Rui Hachimura Round III. The two and only current Japanese NBA players haven't played each other since 2020, back when Watanabe was with the Memphis Grizzlies. Since then, one of them has always been out of the lineup whenever Toronto has played Washington. Finally, the two forwards are healthy and ready to go Friday and may face each other again if Watanabe can crack the rotation for Toronto.
Speaking of the rotation, Raptors coach Nick Nurse has gone with a seven-man rotation for the past couple of games and it's taken a toll on the group. Fred VanVleet's numbers have begun to tail off and the team has struggled offensively in the second half. Even if the bench hasn't earned his trust, the Raptors need to open things up just a little bit to give their starters a break.
Scottie Barnes was very up and down defensively the other night against Dallas. He made a crucial mistake against Luka Doncic in crunch time, sagging off the Slovenian superstar and letting Doncic rise up to nail the game-winner. Barnes will likely get the Bradley Beal assignment Friday and he's going to need to do a much better job holding down the Wizzards' offensive facilitator.