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Utah Jazz: The J-Notes staff composite first round playoff predictions

By Jared Woodcox

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 8: The Utah Jazz bench celebrates during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 8, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 8: The Utah Jazz bench celebrates during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 8, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC –  MARCH 2: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors hugs John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards after the game on March 2, 2018 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC –  MARCH 2: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Toronto Raptors hugs John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards after the game on March 2, 2018 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

#1 Toronto Raptors vs. #8 Washington Wizards

Ryan Aston: A tale of two teams. I was one of the many who expected the Toronto Raptors to take a small step back this season. Instead, Dwane Casey mixed it up, DeMar DeRozan‘s evolution continued and the Raptors were better than ever. Their net rating of 7.6 speaks volumes.

Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards continued to disappoint. Would it have been different if John Wall had remained healthy? I tend to think not, at this point. I’ve been burned by the Wiz too many times. I don’t see them pulling off the upset here, either. They’ll fight, but they’re overmatched. Raptors in 5

Zack Padmore: Toronto has been a great regular season team over the years, but have struggled at times in the postseason. However, with a new play style and dominating bench, I think they will enjoy some success this year. Washington comes into this series trending downwards, and despite the high expectations they had entering this season, I don’t see them giving Toronto much of a fight. Raptors in 5

Jared Barker: The Raptors need to win this one quickly to shake off some of their playoff demons. These Wizards don’t seem as formidable as the team in 2017 that took the Boston Celtics to seven games. The most interesting thing about this series is probably how Dwane Casey keeps this Raptors team playing it’s best basketball ever. Raptors in 5

Tyler Thorpe: Entering the season, many considered Washington a serious threat to take the East’s one-seed. Now they find themselves on the wrong side of the 1-8 matchup. The Wizards finished the season as cold as any playoff team, including losses against the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic in the season’s final weeks.

The matchup of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan against John Wall and Bradley Beal will certainly be a highlight of the opening round. Sadly, not much else appears to be too exciting about this series. I’d look for Toronto to begin to exorcise their playoff demons quickly with an impressive series sweep over the Wizards. Raptors in 4

John Keeffer: On paper, this has the potential to be a close series. Washington has the star power with John Wall and Bradley Beal to match up with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. There is also the complicated history for the Raptors in the playoffs. Much like the LA Clippers last year, they are entering the playoffs with a lot of baggage and bad memories.

This has been a different year, though. The Wizards may struggle with consistency more than any other team in the playoffs. There seems to be tension brewing that could boil over at any time. On the flip side, the Raptors appear to have great relationships, and they’ve boasted one of the best benches all year. Raptors in 5

Austin Leonard:  In December of 2014, Fred VanVleet led the Wichita State Shockers into the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City riding a 35-game regular season win streak while ranked #8 in the AP Poll to face the #25 Utah Utes led by Jakob Poeltl and Delon Wright. The Utes won by a single point in overtime. These three are now arguably the best three bench players on arguably the deepest team in the league.

Dwane Casey is getting considerable Coach of the Year consideration as he has taken a middle of the pack roster and guided them to the 1-seed in the East. Meanwhile, relations seem frayed between John Wall and the ‘Everybody Eats’ gang. The Raptors are known for choking come playoff time but going up against a roster with zero chemistry in the first round shouldn’t be a problem. We can worry about choking for a later round (when they are confronted with their arch-nemesis, LeBron James). Raptors in 5

Tyler Crandall: The Raps have been given a bad rap for their past playoff problems. People are overlooking the fact that Toronto has gone through a major stylistic shift in the way they play to a much more modern, three-point shooting and egalitarian system, with a heavy emphasis on a strong and deep bench. Depth matters less in the playoffs, but Toronto can keep their foot on the pedal for 48 solid minutes. They still have something to prove to the world, but I’m betting heavy on them. Raptors in 4

Hayden Van de Maat: The Raptors have continued to show that they belong as a regular season contender by taking the number one seed in the East. The next step is to show that they belong as a legitimate threat to LeBron’s throne in the playoffs. The Washington Wizards are standing in their way of a potential date with the King. It’s been an up and down season for the Wiz with John Wall missing two major stints and they’ve looked just as good without him.

There has always been some well-known chemistry issues stemming from John Wall, but their ability to compete without him has been impressive. However, the Wizards don’t run very deep and Toronto may have the strongest second unit in the NBA. It looks as though the Raps will just about have the edge in every facet of the game and at every position. Raptors in 4

Jared Woodcox: John Wall didn’t play against the Raptors a single time in the regular season and the Wizards still managed to split the series two games apiece. He’s back in action now and could add a whole new dynamic to this matchup as two impressive backcourts duel against one another. I think Washington is going to challenge the Raptors, who have struggled in the playoffs before, but even with Wall, they’ve been too inconsistent for me to believe they’ll win the series. Raptors in 6

General Consensus: Raptors in 5

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