Without any doubts, the Washington Wizards expected a much better start into this year’s NBA campaign. Looking for a desperately needed win, Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards will travel to Ontario where they will face the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday at midnight GMT.

Before the season started, most experts thought that both the Washington Wizards and the Toronto Raptors could be able to compete for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference. Yet, after four weeks of play, it looks like neither team is a particularly safe bet to make it even to the playoffs. Albeit Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are back in uniform after being sidelined for the entire 2008-09 season, their presence did not transform the Wizards into the team the franchise’s front-office had hoped for. More specifically, Washington posted an unspectacular 4-9 record and is just ahead of the struggling New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. Most importantly, Flip Saunders’ squad’s ball movement has been mediocre at best while their defense has been far too soft. That said, Gilbert Arenas return the floor was fairly impressive as the former All-Star combo guard put up 22.1 points, 6.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest.

In contrast, the Toronto Raptors got off to a slightly better start, but came nowhere near living up to their own expectations. Posting a 7-10 record, the Raps are still hanging on to the eight playoff spot but have arguably showcased the worst defense in the entire league so far. Allowing no less than 109 points per game, Toronto’s explosive offense had a tough time outscoring their opponents night in and night out. Especially T.O.’s interior defense has been the center of numerous breakdowns due to weak 1-on-1 coverage and relatively poor team defense. However, the team around Chris Bosh still managed to secure seven wins so far and demonstrated entertaining up-tempo basketball. Former number one overall pick Andrea Bargnani has finally become the offensive threat GM Bryan Colangelo had hoped for as he averaged 17.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Taking everything into consideration, both teams appear to be on a fairly level playing field and could come away with a win on Wednesday. So far, the Wizards and Raptors both had their moments but lack any consistency in their defensive efforts night in and night out.

You can watch all games of the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.