The Toronto Raptors demolish the Washington Wizards 106-82 for their 5th straight win.
Davion Mitchell’s impact
Mitchell had an impressive showing against the Wizards. He had 10 points to go along with 9 assists and 4 rebounds. He continues to be a pest defensively and he deserves a lot of credit for this Raptors’ turnaround. Since his insertion into the starting lineup the Raptors have had the best defense in the league. They have won 7 of their last 8 games and have won 5 games in a row for the first time since 2021-22. It’s been Mitchell’s presence in the starting lineup that has changed the complexion of the Raptors defensive identity.
Scottie Barnes dominance
Another big part of the Raptors resurgence on defense is Barnes who is playing some of the best basketball of his career on both sides. Barnes put up a cool 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field. The Raptors have a 89.9 defensive rating with Barnes on the court over the last 5 games and a 106.1 with him off, per TSN’s Keerthika Uthayakumar. Offensively, Barnes continues to be smart with his shot selection. He’s shooting 48 percent on off the dribble two-point field goal attempts. His mid-range game has been a nice development this season.
Raptors keep on winning
No one saw this coming, but the Raptors are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. They are tied with the New York Knicks for the longest active winning-streak in the NBA at 5 games. They will also finish the month of January with a winning record. This team looked destined for the bottom of the lottery just a few weeks ago and now they are inching closer to a play-in spot. With the win, the Raptors are 4.5 games back of the Chicago Bulls for the 10th spot in the East. They play the Bulls on Jan. 31.
Next on tap
The Raptors will look to make it 6 wins in a row when they return home to Scotiabank Arena to host the Bulls on Friday night.
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