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After a painful (though expected) loss against the Warriors in Oakland on Tuesday night, the Wizards travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings.
I know I sound like a broken record, but virtually every game is a must-win now. Though not an elimination game, the Wizards find themselves three games back with just eight games left to play. Every loss makes their slim hope of making the playoffs shrink even more. This game is very winnable, particularly if the Kings' star players sit. The Wizards need to take care of business.
The Kings are a better offensive team than defensive one. They are fifth in the league in turnover ratio, eighth in the league in effective field goal percentage (followed by the Wizards in ninth), and right near the middle of the pack in offensive rating. But they are also fifth worst in opponent effective field goal percentage and seventh worst in defensive rating in the league.
The key for the Wizards will be defending without fouling. Sacramento is one of the better teams in the league at drawing fouls, and the Wizards are one of the worst teams when it comes to committing them. Despite their fatigue, the Wizards will need to play a clean defensive game, if they do, they probably win.
Game Info
When: Wednesday, March 30 at 10:00 p.m.
Where: The Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, CA.
TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic and CSN California
Radio: WNEW 99.1 in the DMV and KHTK Sports 1140 AM in Sacramento.
Injury Report
Alan Anderson's status is uncertain for the Wizards (groin; listed until out until at least March 30). For the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins (foot), Rajon Rondo (finger), and Marco Belinelli (foot) are game-time decisions
Most Likely Wizard Killer: Seth Curry
Curry has seen a huge uptick in his minutes lately. Though averaging just over 12 minutes per game on the season, he's played an average of 21 in the last two weeks, and is shooting 38 percent from deep in that time. The Wizards have a real shot at getting killed by two S. Currys on two consecutive nights.