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The Warriors come into this game flying high, winners of seven straight. The Wizards? They've currently lost four of their past five games and are hoping things don't completely spiral out of control before the All-Star break.
The Wizards have given up 113.25 points per game in their last four losses (Not including 122 points in a win against the Rockets) whereas the Warriors are the highest scoring team in the NBA averaging 115 points per game.
On paper, this game does not bode well for the Wizards. The only glimmer of hope is that the Warriors four losses have come to underwhelming teams aside from Dallas.
Game Info:
When: February 3 @ 8 p.m. EST.
Where: Verizon Center
TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Bay Area, ESPN (USA), TSN4 (Canada), NBA League Pass worldwide
Radio: Bloomberg 99.1 FM in the D.C. area, KNBR 680 AM in the Bay Area
Injury Report: For the Wizards, Kris Humphries and Alan Anderson (remember how pumped we were to get him in the offseason?) remain out. For the Warriors, they'll be without Festus Ezili and James McAdoo.
What to Watch:
More previews on Wednesday's Game
More previews on Wednesday's Game
John Wall vs. Stephen Curry: The Wizards haven't been playing well but that hasn't prevented Wall from turning in his best season statistically to date. He'll have quite the task trying to lock up Curry who's averaging an NBA-high 29.4 points per game.
Wall has the speed to stay in front of Curry; it's just you need a full team effort on defense to stop him. On the flip side, Wall has been jacking up a ton of shots as of late and is averaging 19.5 points and 9.8 assists per game. If the Wizards are going to win this one, they'll need a triple-double or near triple-double from Wall.
Who's going to step up for the Wizards: A triple-double from Wall might not be enough to beat this team. The Wizards are going to need an extraordinary performance from someone not named Wall if this game is going to be competitive.
Bradley Beal: if there were a night to have a 30-point game this season this would be a good time. Beal, still in his reserve role, will most likely be matched up against Shaun Livingston or Leandro Barbosa. Livingston poses a problem as he has a solid 3-4 inches on Beal. Barbosa is quick but isn't the best defender.
We've seen that Gortat, Porter, and Temple pretty much have a cap which is 20 points. The Wizards are going to need an all-around great team effort but will also need a huge game from Beal as I'd be surprised if this game isn't played in the 110's or 120's.
The Warriors are exactly what pace and space small ball looks like: This one is self-explanatory.