The Toronto Raptors kick off their second straight post-season appearance Saturday against the Washington Wizards. The Raptors go into the post-season after capturing their second consecutive Atlantic Division title and winning a franchise-high 49 regular-season games. Toronto is considered the series favourite after winning all three regular-season games against Washington.
Here are five things to watch in the series:
PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 — Toronto’s arch-rival Paul Pierce riled up the Raptors before the series even started, with his comment to ESPN.com that the Raptors don’t have the “it” factor. Pierce was already in Toronto’s bad books after blocking Kyle Lowry’s final shot in Game 7 of last season’s playoffs to clinch the series for the Brooklyn Nets.