The Wizards had chances to make this one interesting, but Toronto kept squeezing the life out of their possessions and left Washington with a 112-102 loss that never really felt in doubt for long. The Raptors’ length and activity on defense kept the home team from finding a rhythm, and the Wizards’ problems on the glass only made the climb steeper.
For Washington, the biggest bright spot continues to be Bub Carrington. After earning 105 starts over his first two complete seasons as a Wizards prospect, he’s now come off the bench in back-to-back games, and he’s handled the shift with a little more edge than some young players would show. Carrington has paired his shooting with pressure at the point of attack, meeting ball-handlers early and fighting through screens away from the ball.
“He's always ready to compete, ready to play, brings energy every day,” Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said after the game. “He's changed the games for us, [I] think he's really stepped in and did a nice job for us this season.”
That kind of impact matters, especially for a player whose role has changed so quickly. Carrington’s energy has helped keep him firmly in the second unit, and Washington can use it.
Anthony Davis was a different story. After his huge Wizards debut earlier this week, when he put up a game-high 34 points, this outing looked much more like the kind of night that comes with a 15th season.
Toronto crowded him, bothered his handle, and made life miserable when he caught the ball in traffic. Playing alongside Alex Sarr in Washington’s double-big setup didn’t help his downhill game much, either.
Davis still had flashes, including a fast-break dunk set up by Sarr’s passing feel, but the numbers tell the story: 9 points on 3-for-12 shooting. That’s a sharp drop from the opening-night buzz he created, and he never looked comfortable finishing through the crowd.
The Wizards’ young bigs had a few moments in transition, but Toronto made clear that this group still isn’t built to carry the offense when the stars aren’t carrying their weight. Washington spent most of the night chasing the game, usually stuck somewhere between six and 12 points behind.
The late stretch summed up the frustration. Back-to-back missed open finishes slowed a tight fourth quarter after both Trae Young and Khris Middleton failed to convert at the rim. Middleton, especially, had a rough one, looking every bit his age as he threw up a flailing brick in the restricted area.
That matters because Middleton’s fit already looks shaky. His 3-point shot has gone quiet, and his defense wasn’t holding up in a game with this much speed and length. Through Washington’s first two games, he’s averaged 14 minutes, and that number could keep sliding.
So who gets those minutes instead? For now, Will Riley is the name to watch.
Among the bench players who’ve mostly been limited to garbage time, he’s the only one with real juice to push into the back end of the rotation. Keefe pointed to the depth on the roster when explaining Riley’s limited run, but if Washington wants a different look, he may be the most interesting card still on the table.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Brian Keefe Already Faces One Wizards Problem He Cant Ignore
The Wizards loss to the Raptors offered an early reminder that Brian Keefes rotation may need a quicker adjustment than expected. Washingtons three-point shooting was too thin to keep pace, with only Trae Young and Tre Johnson hitting multiple triples, and that kind of imbalance puts extra pressure on the rest of the lineup to create cleaner looks and better spacing.
Keefe has options to tinker with, especially as the roster waits for AJ Dybantsa to get back into the mix. The question now is how aggressively he wants to reshuffle the offense to help the Wizards shoot better and score more consistently, because the current setup is already leaving too much burden on too few capable shooters. [Read more 🡒]