Wizards vs. Raptors preview: Top backcourts face off in Washington's home opener

Game Info

When: Wednesday, November 2nd at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic

Radio: 1500 AM and Wizards Radio App

Injury Report

Raptors:No Injuries to report

Wizards: Ian Mahinmi (Out, Knee)

Three Keys

Battle of the Backcourts

With another slow start to the season, John Wall and Bradey Beal will be matched up against the All Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan. Lowry and DeRozan combined for 62 points on 23/43 shooting against the Denver Nuggets on Monday in their best outing of the season. If Wall and Beal don't bring their A game, this might not be a close contest at all.

The Bench

After years of saving money, trading away draft picks and gearing up for the free agency class of 2016, the Wizards walked away with Trey Burke, Marcus Thornton, Jason Smith, Ian Mahinmi and Tomas Satoransky. All five acquisitions have either been out of the rotation or had a negative impact so far. In the first two games into the season. Trey Burke has a plus/minus of -18, Thornton is -6 and Smith is -8. Meanwhile, Mahinmi is sidelined with a knee injury and Satoransky is yet to crack the rotation. This will need to change to have a shot against Toronto, and help their odds for the rest of the season.

The Matchup

In the last 12 regular season meetings, Washington is 1-11 against the Raptors. But as we all know, the Wizards are 4-0 against them when it counts.

Most Likely Wizards Killer: Cory Joseph

Corey Joseph. "CoJo" earns the title of Wizards Killer for this game based on the fact he hit this game winner against the Wizards at the Verizon Center last season.