3 Who flashed and 3 who crashed in Raptors embarrassing loss to the Wizards

The Rookie Centers Crashed

We could mention Jamal Shead shooting 1-for-8 from the field here, but he was extremely active defensively and didn't play bad despite the cold shooting. Jah'Mius Ramsey was terrible, shooting 2-for-7 from the field with three turnovers, two fouls and literally no other counting stats, but he's not expected to factor into the roster conversation in any way.

We will instead look at two centers together, Branden Carlson and Ulrich Chomche. Both are rookie centers signed to two-way contracts, Chomche going with the penultimate pick of the second round and Carlson going undrafted. Neither should be ready for productive NBA minutes, but the Raptors' uncertainty at backup center could mean one of the two is called up for rotation minutes from time to time.

Right now, neither looks ready. Chomche is an incredible athlete but lacks the instincts or experience to know when to be where on the basketball court. He went 0-for-2 from the field, had just three rebounds and managed five fouls and two turnovers in his eight minutes of playing time.

Carlson, on the other hand, tried his hand at spacing the court but caught the same ice-cold bug as the rest of the roster, going 0-for-2 on his 3-point attempts and managing zero rebounds, steals or blocks. Together they managed 0 points and 0 blocks between them. It was a dismal showing as they were destroyed by the likes of Jonas Valanciunas, who came off the bench and seemed unstoppable, drawing a plethora of fouls on the Raptors' backup centers.

Davion Mitchell Flashed

Davion Mitchell did not have a particularly awesome game, shooting just 1-for-3 from the field for three total points, and he didn't actually have a steal despite the Wizards turning the ball over 21 times.

What Mitchell did do was capably run the offense, handling the ball and spraying it to shooters and cutters. He racked up six assists, 3 more than anyone else on the roster, and while he is not Chris Paul out there, his play answered a major question about whether he was enough of an on-ball point guard to deserve the backup spot. His perimeter defense at the point of attack paired with steady point guard play should be enough to hold off Jamal Shead, at least for now.

Honorable mention to Bruno Fernando, who was everywhere on the court on Friday, for good and for ill. He had five rebounds and a whopping four steals but also shot 2-for-9 as a center and was absolutely no match for Valanciunas. If there were a "flashed-while-crashing" category he would have fit neatly into it.

The preseason for the Raptors continues Sunday in Boston to take on the defending champion Celtics.