Raptors vs. Wizards: 3 things you need to know

In what looks – on paper, at least – to be the closest Eastern Conference first-round matchup, the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors will try to outfox their mirror images. 

Here are two teams that deserve each other; teams that looked, for the briefest instant, like Eastern Conference juggernauts of the near future, before being sucked back down to earth and burning up upon re-entry.  

Still, a little over two weeks from now, one of them will be playing in the second round. Here are three things you need to know about the series.  

These teams peaked four months ago 

Back when the last calendar year was winding down, when the Atlanta Hawks hadn't yet gone bananas and the Cleveland Cavaliers were still figuring things out, a Raps-Wizards conference final seemed well within the realm of possibility.  

Both were thriving on roster continuity and elite guard play, and both had carried over momentum from the previous season – for the Raptors, a 41-22 regular-season finish after the Rudy Gay trade; for the Wizards, a first-round upset of the far more seasoned Bulls. 

That well has since dried up. 

The good news: There's evidence that first-half results correlate just as strongly (if not more so) to playoff success than second-half play. 

Will either of these teams rediscover their best selves before the series it out?  

Raptors swept the season series, but do they have 'it'?

Paul Pierce is far from the most important player in this series, but he's the player with the most postseason experience, by a mile, and he's always given the Raptors problems. (That's why they brought him to Brooklyn last year, remember?)

"We haven't done particularly well against Toronto, but I don't feel they have the 'It' that makes you worried,'' Pierce said in a recent ESPN interview. 

Does he have a point? The Wizards have lost six of their last seven against Toronto (including all three games this season), but the playoffs, as we know, are a different animal. 

The Raptors looked out of their depth at times during their first-round series with Pierce's Nets a year ago, losing in seven despite being the more talented team. They've yet to prove they can execute when the stakes are highest and the games get physical. 

Another factor worth considering: The Raptors' biggest edge in this matchup is their bench. Things may look different when John Wall is playing 45 minutes a night. 

Great offense vs. great defense: Who ya got?

You could snap these teams together like jigsaw pieces and get a picture of a bona fide contender; each possesses in spades what the other so glaringly lacks. 

While the Raptors' offense isn't an aesthete's dream – dependent as it is on foul-baiting and clock-killing isolations – it's been ruthlessly efficient and finished the season ranked third in the NBA. 

Their defense is a different story. They get routinely torched at the point of attack, consistently over-help and leave 3-point shooters open, get pummeled on the defensive glass, and are vulnerable in the pick-and-roll, especially with Amir Johnson playing on two bad wheels.

The Wizards are an incoherent mess on the offensive end – mainly in the halfcourt, where they lose the benefit of Wall's devastating open-court speed – but they're a top-five defensive outfit that excels at containing penetration and limiting second-chance opportunities. 

What does all that mean? 

The National Post's Eric Koreen probably put it best:

Starting Lineups

Series Outlook

*If necessary