The Wizards left Toronto with a loss, but not with a bad feeling.
A 112-102 defeat can look lopsided on the page, especially when the Raptors closed the game the way they did. But Washington pushed one of the East’s best teams, battled back after giving up 34 points in the opening quarter, and showed again that this version of the franchise looks nothing like the one fans watched over the last three years. Even without number one overall draft pick AJ Dybantsa for the second straight game, the message was clear: this rebuild is already in a different place.
The biggest reason for optimism is that Washington did not fold after Toronto jumped out to a 13-point lead after 12 minutes. In the past, that kind of start would have taken the air out of the building. Instead, the Wizards won the second and third quarters and kept the game alive deep into the night.
And there are still reasons to think the scoring picture gets better from here.
Trae Young hasn’t found his jumper yet, but the numbers say that won’t last. The four-time All-Star went 5 of 15 from the field against Toronto after opening the season 4 of 13.
He’s made just 4 of 16 from 3-point range through two games. Still, he controlled the game with 12 assists and only three turnovers against a Toronto defense that can suffocate opponents.
Young also continued to keep Washington’s offense afloat by getting to the line. He scored 20 in the opener by hitting 12 of 16 free throws, then added 22 against the Raptors after making 8 of 10 at the stripe.
The shot will come around. When it does, the Wizards’ offense gets another level.
Another piece of the puzzle is Dybantsa’s return, because Washington clearly needs him to help ease the burden on Kyshawn George. With Dybantsa sidelined, George has been asked to do too much as a secondary creator, and it showed.
Against the Raptors, he finished with eight turnovers and only three assists. He had four turnovers and three assists in the opener, too, and foul trouble has followed him in both games.
Dybantsa changes that equation. The rookie led the NCAA in scoring and flashed serious scoring ability in the preseason.
He doesn’t need to be a full-time distributor to help George; just creating space and pulling defenders away will make life easier for the second unit. George is talented, but right now he looks stretched thin in a role that asks a lot from him.
Then there’s Anthony Davis, who had one of those nights every star has now and then. Davis scored just five first-half points, went 2 of 9 from the field before halftime, and committed four turnovers. Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard made life difficult, and that kind of defensive attention can bother just about anyone.
But one rough night doesn’t change what Davis already showed in his Wizards debut, when he dropped 34 points and 12 rebounds in the opener. Washington hasn’t forgotten that version of him, and it shouldn’t.
The bigger issue is getting him cleaner touches. He took 12 shots against Toronto and finished with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, while the Raptors fronted him in the post and made entry passes difficult.
The Wizards need more easy looks for their best player. Davis isn’t going to live in single digits very often. The challenge now is finding him earlier and more often.
For all the missed shots and turnovers, Washington still walked away from this one with something useful: proof that the season opener wasn’t a fluke and that game two wasn’t a collapse. The Wizards believe they can make the playoffs, and after two games, that doesn’t sound like empty talk. Once Dybantsa is back, the ceiling gets even more interesting.
In Other News...
Wizards Loss To Toronto Exposed A Problem They Still Havent Solved
The Wizards 112-102 loss to Toronto was another reminder that their offense can still get bogged down when a defense takes away the first option and forces the rest of the roster to manufacture clean looks. The Raptors made life difficult throughout, and Washington also came up short on the glass, leaving too many possessions on the table in a game that never really found a rhythm on the Wizards side.
Bub Carrington brought energy and defensive effort off the bench, continuing to carve out a more stable reserve role, but the overall scoring burden was still hard to balance. Anthony Davis also had a tough night, finishing with 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting, and for a team trying to find more reliable answers, nights like this keep exposing the same issue without providing a clear fix. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Have A Will Riley Problem They Can't Ignore
Will Riley entered his second season with some momentum after a promising rookie year and a strong showing in Summer League, the kind of early rsum that usually earns a young forward a bigger look. Instead, the 21st overall pick from 2025 has found himself on the outside of the rotation to start the season, a wrinkle that stands out even more because Washington is already without its top draft pick.
Head coach Brian Keefe was asked about Rileys limited role after a recent game, and the situation has become hard to ignore for a player the Wizards presumably want to keep developing. When a young forward with his profile is fighting just to find minutes, it raises questions not only about the current lineup decisions, but also about how Washington plans to balance short-term results with the long-term growth of one of its more intriguing recent additions. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Miss Out On A Debut Fans Wanted To See
The wait for AJ Dybantsas NBA debut will have to continue a little longer. The Wizards announced the No. 1 overall pick will miss their upcoming game against the Bulls because of a left ankle sprain, a setback that has kept him sidelined since Washingtons final preseason game and pushed his absence to three straight games.
For a team that already had plenty of attention on its young centerpiece, the timing is frustrating even if the injury is being treated as day-to-day. Chicago will still have to wait on the debut fans have been circling, while Washington keeps monitoring a situation that remains fluid heading into the next stretch of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]