Raptors vs Wizards injury report for March 4: Is Fred VanVleet playing?

There is nowhere to go but up for Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors, as they were taken behind the woodshed by the Washington Wizards in the first of two road games before a long West Coast road trip against some very impressive opponents.

Both the VanVleet haters and supporters found ammunition for their respective arguments in this game. While the Raptors were a laughable -26 when VanVleet was not on the floor, VanVleet himself put together yet another pitiful shooting performance.

Against a Wizards team with three 20 points per game scorers in Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma, such play should not be tolerated. For Nick Nurse and a Raptors team that still has designs on making it to the postseason in relatively short order, this game is close to a must-win.

Will the Raptors be able to come out on top, or will Washington show that they are a superior play-in team?

Is Fred VanVleet playing vs. Wizards?

VanVleet is healthy and ready to go against Washington, though you wouldn’t know he has a clean bill of health from watching his most recent games. The poor shooting needs to be fixed very soon.

Is Kristaps Porzingis playing vs. Raptors?

Porzingis is going to be in the Washington starting lineup despite some general knee soreness. The 7-3 Latvian proved to be a handful against a smaller Toronto team, even with the addition of Jakob Poeltl.

Full Raptors injury report vs. Wizards:

VanVleet being healthy means that the only players who will be out for Toronto in this game will be Otto Porter Jr, who is out for the season due to a foot problem, and potentially Dalano Banton, who is day-to-day.

Full Wizards injury report vs. Raptors:

The only player listed on the injury report for the Wizards is point guard Monte Morris, who arrived in Washington in the Will Barton trade that has since proven to be a disaster for Wes Unseld Jr. He is considered week-to-week as he tries to deal with a back injury.

Raptors upcoming schedule and opponents:

Toronto will start a long West Coast stint after their second Washington game before coming back home to face Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

March 6 @ Denver Nuggets

March 8 @ Los Angeles Clippers

March 10 @ Los Angeles Lakers

March 14 vs. Denver Nuggets