The Toronto Raptors thought they would travel down to Washington D.C. and lay another beatdown on the Wizards.
They certainly embarrassed them on Sunday in Montreal when, playing without Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, the Raptors got out to a big lead over the Wizards and never looked back. On Friday for the rematch, however, it was the Raptors being embarrassed.
The Raptors got out to an 11-2 lead and it looked like another cakewalk before the Wizards battled back. Toronto couldn't get a 3-pointer to go down, shooting just 2-for-15 from 3-point range in the first half and 7-for-33 from the game (21.2 percent). That prevented them from keeping pace as the Wizards shot 17-for-43 from deep and ultimately won by 18 points.
Who stood out on the Raptors? Let's look at three players who flashed and three who crashed from Friday night's loss.
Scottie Barnes Flashed
After missing the start of Training Camp for the birth of his child, Barnes made his preseason debut in this game and looked the part of an All-Star player. He was confident with the ball in his hands and got to his spots, hitting a few mid-rangers and getting to the rim. He pulled down eight rebounds and scored 16 points, chipping in a pair of steals as well.
Barnes was also a contributing factor to the cold shooting night, going 0-for-5 from long-range. That's a worrying sign as he will need to demonstrate he can hit that shot to keep defenders from laying off of him, especially given a lack of shooting coming from the center position next to him. He also had five turnovers, not the biggest worry in his first game but not ideal. Even so, Barnes was +2 on the night, the only Toronto player with a positive plus-minus, and looked like a star player getting back into the groove of basketball games.