Raptors Look to Clinch 1st Perfect Preseason vs. Wizards: Where to Watch & More

The Toronto Raptors try to make it a perfect 4-0 this preseason as they take on the Washington Wizards: Where to watch, what to watch for, and more

Author:
Aaron Rose
Publish date:
Oct 20, 2023 8:56 AM EDT

In this story:

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

The Toronto Raptors will look to clinch the franchise's first undefeated preseason on Friday when the Washington Wizards come to town for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff at Scotiabank Arena.

Where to Watch

TSN and TSN 1050 will air the game in Toronto. Monumental Sports Network and The Team 980 AM/WFED 1500 AM will call the game for Washington.

What to Watch For

The Raptors are planning to use the preseason finale as a regular season test run as they try to ramp their starters up to regular season minutes, said head coach Darko Rajaković. Expect something resembling a normal rotation with Jakob Poeltl and Precious Achiuwa likely back in the lineup.
Gradey Dick appeared to be the 10th man in Toronto's rotation against Chicago and with the return of at least two of the Raptors' rotation players Friday, it's possible he falls out of the second group entirely. This will certainly change as the season goes along, but don't be too surprised if Dick's minutes don't come early against Washington.
It's hard to read much of anything into preseason games, but Rajaković said he'd like to see the team's offensive flow continue to develop. He admitted the half-court offense might take more time, but Toronto needs to be firing in transition to clinch some early-season victories.
At this point, the roster appears to be pretty set with Jeff Dowtin Jr. likely the odd man out. His contract partially guarantees for $900,000 on Saturday and it wouldn't be surprising if he's cut following Friday's game.