NBA Playoffs 2018: Washington Wizards vs. Toronto Raptors First Round Schedule Revealed
After losing five of their last six regular season wins, the slumping Washington Wizards enter the NBA playoffs 2018 as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed.
The Washington Wizards failed to better their playoff positioning several times throughout the last few weeks of the regular season to overcome their season-ending collapse.
For example, a win in their regular-season finale against the 25-win Orlando Magic would’ve bumped the Wizards up to the No. 7 seed and an ideal matchup against the injured Boston Celtics.
Instead, the Wizards fell flat and lost to the Magic 101-92 to conclude the regular season at 43-39, good enough for the last seed (8-seed) in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
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As a result, the Wizards will play the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the first round of the East playoffs. The Wizards and Raptors grabbed two wins apiece in their season series. All-Star point guard John Wall missed all four regular-season matchups.
Round 1, Game 1 of the Wizards-Raptors series begin Saturday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Below, is the complete first-round Wizards-Raptors schedule:
- Game 1: Wizards @ Raptors, Saturday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Game 2: Wizards @ Raptors, Tuesday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV
- Game 3: Raptors @ Wizards, Friday, April 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
- Game 4: Raptors @ Wizards, Sunday, April 22 at 6:00 p.m. ET, TNT
- Game 5: If necessary, Wednesday, April 25, TBD
- Game 6: If necessary, Friday, April 27, TBD
- Game 7: If necessary, Sunday, April 29, TBD
The last time the Wizards and Raptors battled in the postseason was in the 2014-15 NBA playoffs when the Wizards swept the Raptors, 4-0.
Per FiveThirtyEight.com, the Wizards have just a 16 percent win probability against the Raptors. Furthermore, the projections give the Wizards a nine percent chance to escape the first-round and a two percent chance of reaching the conference finals.
The Wizards will enter the NBA playoffs with a fresh Wall, who missed nearly two months due to knee surgery. However, Bradley Beal just wrapped up the first 82-game season of his career and many are questioning his ability to maintain a high-level of play into the playoffs.
Next: Ravens 2018 Preseason Schedule Released
Most recent 8-1 upsets in NBA playoff history include the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs and the 2007 Golden State Warriors over the Dallas Mavericks.