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Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles said it best in 2009 when they sang "Who says you can't go home?"
Well, when the Washington Wizards host the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, the Verizon Center in-arena music man should play that song over and over again to remind Kevin Durant that the nation's capital is his home.
[Kidding, that's a terrible idea.]
Alas, Durant knows the speculation surrounding his potential 2016 home to play for the Wizards - as does most of the country - so we have to push that aside for a bit as we realize tonight's game is actually extremely important to both teams.
Not to mention... The John Wall and Russell Westbrook matchup?!?! Hello, heaven.
When and where? MORE TV TIME FOR THE WIZ KIDS. Watch live from the Verizon Center at 8 p.m. (EST) on ESPN.
Who's out? No one for the Wizards. Mitch McGary is out for the Thunder.
Are they good? Don't get that 21-20 record fool you. Yes, OKC is good. With the 5th best record in the NBA since Nov. 26 (18-8), the Thunder are on a three game winning streak and have won six of their last 10. They score a lot. They defend well. And they have two of the best players in the league.
How are the Wiz playing lately? The blowout over the weekend against the Brooklyn Nets seems to be lightyears away. They're still in second place in both the Southeast Division and Eastern Conference. They're 4th in the league in assists per game (24.9) and 3rd in points allowed (96.9). ALSO IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND: The Wizards have won nine of their last 11 meetings hosting the Thunder.
JW vs RW? This makes my heart pitter patter. Wall leads the Wizards in three categories (points, assists and steals) while Westbrook leads the Thunder in two (assists and steals). But, Westbrook has gotten the best of Wall in six career meetings, with five wins and only one loss. Sure, Wall averaged 9.2 assists in those games, but he also shot under 30 percent from the field in them at the same time.
BB3? According to ESPN, the Wiz are insanely better when Bradley Beal is taking three-pointers (duh). He averages 4.3 trey's per 36 minutes, and when doing so at that rate or higher, Washington scores 107 points per 100 possessions. When he's below the rate, they score 103 points per 100 possessions. Key to tonight's game may just come down to B3AL.
KD2DC? C'mon, there's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said.