Raptors' Barnes shines in win over Wizards as Nurse sticks with tight rotation

Playing his best players a lot is a perfectly acceptable stance for a head coach to take. The Raptors have one of the most respected health and performance departments in the NBA -- led by Alex McKechnie. If the load is too much for any given player, it’s up to them to determine that, not the coaching stuff, and Raptors history has shown they’re willing to guard against overuse injuries and fatigue, as the way they managed Kawhi Leonard proved in their championship season.

But right now, Nurse is playing the cards he’s been dealt. On Friday night at the end of a tough road trip, the Raptors came out ahead and improved their record to 22-21 and dropped Washington to 23-23. The Raptors won the season series against the Wizards as well, which could be meaningful given Toronto is now just a half-game up on Washington for eighth place in the tightly packed East.

But their offence stalled and the Wizards were able to creep back in. It’s easy to say that fatigue was a factor in the fourth quarter, but it could just be that Bradley Beal was going to go off against anyone. He’s been rolling in January after a slow start to the season and got hot in the fourth. VanVleet came out of a timeout to make a big three thanks to a strong screen by Siakam; the Raptors dug in and got one more stop before Anunoby sealed it by scoring an offensive rebound off a rare Barnes miss on the night to put Toronto up five with 20.4 seconds left. They ended up shooing 7-of-24 from the floor in the fourth – tired legs maybe? -- but weathered the storm.

Barnes was everywhere defensively, but offensively he lived in the paint. Four times they went to the rookie inside six feet and four times he scored on his way to 17 first-half points in 17 minutes. Toronto forced nine turnovers in the second quarter while giving up just one of their own and took a 55-54 lead into the third quarter.

michaelgrange It good in theory, but it’s about having enough at the end. Raptors need a PG/SG or Center.

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