It’s not uncommon to hear that the NBA preseason doesn’t matter. That’s certainly true of the outcomes of the games — the wins and losses don’t count for anything. But if ever you want a case study on why the preseason does matter in the NBA, look no further than last week’s tilt between the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards.
Toronto won the game, but again, that’s not relevant. What was relevant was that Raptors camp invitee Sam Dekker was given a good chunk of minutes, wherein he found his stroke and settled into the offense and made a huge impression, scoring 18 points (12 in the fourth quarter) and hitting 4-of-5 shots from downtown.