Raptors at Wizards
THE STORY: The Washington Wizards have never opened a season with nine consecutive losses. To avoid such a feat, they'll need to find a way to beat one of the stingiest teams in the league so far this season. Washington welcomes the Toronto Raptors to town Tuesday night as the lone remaining winless team in the NBA. Washington lost its eighth straight to open the campaign Sunday night, dropping a 93-72 decision to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that went on to lose in Toronto the following day. That Monday victory moved the surprising Raptors to within a game of the .500 mark - and the odds are good that they'll get there Tuesday as they face a Washington club struggling at both ends of the court. The Wizards rank near the bottom of the league in both points scored (84.9) and points allowed (97.8) and, despite having former No. 1 pick John Wall at the helm, they have the second-fewest assists per game in the league (15.3). Oddsmakers, however, have made the Wizards a two-point favorite as the Raptors come in playing the second of their lone back-to-back-to-back stretch of the season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN, Comcast SportsNet Washington
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (4-5): Andrea Bargnani's preseason vow to be a better rebounder hasn't exactly yielded earth-shattering results. While the 7-footer is averaging a career best 6.4 boards per game, it's only a modest increase over the 5.2 he managed a season ago. The former first overall pick is making up for it with a career-best shooting touch, averaging 23.7 points per game on 51 percent shooting from the field. He matched a season high with 31 in Monday's win over the Timberwolves.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (0-8): It still isn't clear why Rashard Lewis wasn't on the Washington bench during Sunday's loss to Minnesota. Conflicting reports have surfaced about the absence of Lewis, who is averaging 8.7 points per game while making more than $22 million this season. One report suggests Lewis got into a spat with assistant coach Sam Cassell and simply refused to play. The team says Lewis was not in the lineup due to a knee injury.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The clubs split four regular-season meetings in 2010-11, with the home side winning each game.
2. Wall averaged 16 points and eight assists in three games against the Raptors last season.
3. After averaging 18.5 points over his first six games, Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan has scored just 20 points in his last three games combined.