Raptors 93, Wizards 88: Afterthoughts

I'm not going to lie. I didn't watch the game and I've been cramming all night for a midterm, so this isn't going to be too comprehensive. A few quick thoughts, however.

-Looking at most of the core statistics, the Wizards showed lots of improvement. Toronto only shot 38 percent from the field, which is a really encouraging stat. Washington also outrebounded Toronto 48-35, including 37-27 on the defensive glass. Both of those stats are very promising, considering those were arguably the Wizards' two biggest weaknesses last year.

-The Wizards lost this game because of their horrendous second quarter, their 24 turnovers, and their inability to defend the three-point shot in key sports. Toronto hit 10 key three pointers and the Wizards kept giving Garbajosa open looks throughout the fourth quarter. The turnovers don't worry me; the Wizards didn't turn the ball over much last season. The three-point problems worry me a bit, but the Wizards did well everywhere else on defense.

-Jarvis Hayes looked really good at the end of the second half. I'll let Ivan Carter tell you that, though.

-Andray Blatche looked lost. 5 turnovers and 0 points. Not exactly an encouraging performance for the youngster.

-Gilbert Arenas is an insane basketball player. 29 points in 29 minutes? Dammmnnn!

-Toronto looks like a pretty frisky club. The Wizards killed their first unit, but Toronto's second unit played really well. Garbajosa and Bargnani both played really well when they were in there, and Kris Humphries looked very good inside. The Raptors have plenty of depth to institute the Colangelo Phoenix style.

Alright, back to studying. Don't look too much into this loss. The biggest concern was Blatche, but otherwise, the Wizards looked very good. The defense looked a lot better than last year, and the Wizards are rarely going to turn the ball over 24 times this year.

What were your impressions from this preseason game?