History could be made on Sunday night for the Washington Wizards.
Should the squad take down the Phoenix Suns in the two teams' first meeting this season, the Wizards will reach 20 wins faster than ever before and be on pace for its winningest regular season in franchise history.
Plus, a 20-6 record plus a seven game winning streak sounds like a pretty good early Christmas present, doesn't it?
"We have an ultimate goal to reach the finals. We know how much harder we've got to work and what we've got to do," John Wall said after Friday's hard-fought win against the Miami Heat, which helped them match the team's franchise-record 19-6 start from the 1974-75 season. History, We. Are. Ready.
Where and when? Game time is 6 p.m. at the Verizon Center and if you didn't snag a ticket, you can watch on Comcast or listen to 99.1 FM.
Who's out? MARTELL WEBSTER MAY BE MAKING HIS SEASON DEBUT, I REPEAT MARTELL WEBSTER (MAY BE) BACK. But besides that, Wizards' Paul Pierce remains day-to-day (even though he played Friday, because damn you sore toe!) and Suns' point guard Goran Dragic is also day-to-day with a strained back.
Are they good? You see a 14-14 record and think no - but the Suns haven't been doing so bad lately. Currently on a two game winning streak highlighted by a win over the New York Knicks Saturday, they are 6-1 in road games against Eastern Conference teams this season. They have also won 11 of the last 15 games versus the Wizards, who are 1-7 in the last eight games hosting the Suns.
What has gone on in December? *knock on wood* BUT, Washington hasn't lost a game since Dec. 7 at Boston aka the team is on fire aka they have won 10 of 11 games played this month. It's also important to keep in mind that they haven't lost at home since Nov. 25 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Any other history lessons? Yes - John Wall and Eric Bledsoe are old University of Kentucky teammates. Both played together as Wildcats for one season (2009-10) before becoming first round NBA draft picks together: first and eighteenth, respectively.
Wizards' big man Marcin Gortat also has a bit of history in tonight's game - but with the Suns, who'd drafted him in the second-round of the 2005 NBA draft before sending him to Orlando. He made his NBA debut with the Magic in the 2007-08 season. Gortat then went back and actually played for Suns beginning in the 2010-11 season until he was traded to the Wizards prior to the 2013 season.
Can you entice me a bit more to watch? After winning in New York Saturday, Isaiah Thomas called their backcourt "the strength of our team." You know who else is the strength of the team? Washington's backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Who doesn't like a little backcourt duel?
Who's going to win? The Wiz are on a roll this year. Honestly, they look friggen' good. As noted, the backcourt matchup will be one to watch - Dragic is averaging 16.0 ppg to Wall's 17.9 and Bledsoe's averaging 15.8 ppg compared to Beal's 15.1 - but so will defense.
The Suns may average 104.4 ppg, but they also allow an average of 103.5 ppg - the Wizards average 101.2 ppg but allow just 96.6 ppg. Rebounds will be the key to Washington winning this game - watch for the Markieff Morris vs Nene vs Kris Humphries rebounding matchup.
Wiz by 11. Oh, and Happy Holidays!