clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Wizards at 76ers preview: Washington goes for the sweep against Philly on Thursday

Who says March Madness is just for college basketball? The Wizards are creating their own.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Wizards are right now traveling to the city of Brotherly Love to play the Philadelphia 76ers, who are last place in the Eastern Conference. The last time these two teams met, Washington eliminated Philadelphia from playoff contention in a 116-108 win.

Tonight, it's the first day of the Round of 64 games in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, and that's the big even in the basketball world. But for a few hours in the evening, we'll be focusing on an NBA team that is focused on making March Madness of its own.

That team is the Washington Wizards.

After losing five in a row, they have played two games against Eastern Conference teams who are contending for playoff spots this week. The Wizards blew both teams out AND earned tiebreakers should they end up with identical records.

Those tiebreakers don't matter if the Wizards fail to take care of business tonight though if they lose. So let's hope they get a third win in a row AND sweep Philly for the 2015-16 season.

Where and When

When: Thursday, March 17, 2016 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia

TV/Online: Comcast SportsNet MidAtlantic (D.C.) or Philadelphia (in Philly). You can use the NBC SportsLive app locally and NBA League Pass worldwide to stream the game.

Radio: Bloomberg 99.1 FM in the D.C. area, 97.5 FM the Fanatic in the Philly area.

Injury Report

Alan Anderson (ankle) and Marcin Gortat (back) are questionable for the Wizards.

For the 76ers, Robert Covington and Jerami Grant have suffered concussions recently so they will be out. Tony Wroten is

Wiz Killer of the Night: Complacency

I'm copping out once again and not picking a player and picking the Wizards themselves. Philadelphia has been a team that Washington defeated three times this season -- even if two of those games were a bit close for comfort.

There is simply no excuse for losing this game, even if Gortat does sit out tonight though I doubt he will. And given the momentum the Wizards just gained, it's essential that they keep this performance going.

That leads me to the main key for tonight: STAY HUNGRY, just like what Apollo Creed said to Philadelphia's finest, Rocky Balboa in the third movie:

If they play like there is no tomorrow, the Wizards will pull off a crucial third win in a row as they look to stay alive in the playoff race. Now, I gotta play one more of those music videos from the Rocky series.