Game Info
When: Friday, December 16 at 7 pm EST
Where: Verizon Center, Washington D.C.
TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic:
Radio: 1500 AM and Wizards Radio App
Injury Report
Wizards: Danuel House (Out, Wrist), Ian Mahinmi (Out, Knee), Markieff Morris (Day-to-Day, Foot)
Pistons: None
What to Watch for
Familiarity
The Wizards and Pistons have some unique connections and history with one another. You’ve got the battle of the Morris brothers, the beef between John Wall and Reggie Jackson over who deserves more money, and the Pistons were the team who officially eliminated the Wizards from the playoffs last season.
On top of that, you’ve got plenty of players on opposing sides who are familiar with each other. Tobias Harris spent time with Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith in Orlando, Jon Leuer and Markieff Morris played together in Phoenix, Scott Brooks coached Reggie Jackson in Oklahoma City, and Ish Smith started last season in Washington before he was cut at the end of the preseason.
Detroit’s defense is back
Stan Van Gundy has the Pistons defending at the same high level he was able to reach when he was coaching the Magic during their peak years. Detroit currently has the second-best Defensive Rating in the NBA, holding teams to 100.4 points per 100 possessions. The formula is pretty simple: Andre Drummond is keeping teams from getting good looks in the paint, and their versatile perimeter defenders are keeping teams from getting good looks from beyond the arc.
Washington will either need to force a lot of turnovers like they did on Wednesday against Charlotte to create better looks, or they’ll need to hope Bradley Beal or someone else can get hot in the midrange area if they want to overcome Detroit’s stingy defense.
Most Likely Wizards Killer: Jon Leuer
Leuer has always been a thorn in the Wizards’ side. Last season, in the one game he played against Washington he had 13 points in 22 minutes, making 6 of his 7 shots. On Wednesday, he had a similarly effective game on the road in Dallas, scoring 19 points on 9 shots in 30 minutes off the bench. If Markieff Morris is out or limited, it’s going to be hard to someone who can defend Leuer’s rare combination skills.