The Toronto Raptors managed two beat the Washington Wizards in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the series, and Kyle Lowry wants to ice it in the next game.
Lowry, Toronto's mercurial point guard, has led the Raptors all season, along with DeMar DeRozan. But the difference this season has been the revamped offense of Dwane Casey and the play of Toronto's role players. All of that translated to getting the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Now the Raptors have a chance to close out the Wizards in the first round. To do it, they have to win Game 6 in Washington, and it won't be such an easy task. Lowry knows this, and told Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun that the Raptors have to treat the next game as if it was their last of the series.
Lowry says Game 6 is a Game 7. Not must-win, but close to it for Raptors. Need to change some things on the road.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 26, 2018
The whole idea of Game 6 really being Game 7 is not much more than coach speak that players and coaches use as motivation and as for fodder for the media. But there is something to be said about the mentality of a team going into a closeout game on the road.
The adage is that closeout games are the most difficult in a series, and that must be even more of the case if a team has to do it in a hostile environment. The Wizards have proven they can win games against the Raptors, and if they win, anything can happen in Game 7.
So for the Raptors, it makes sense from a mental standpoint to treat the next game like a Game 7, because they definitely don't want to give the Wizards any confidence going forward.
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