Wizards vs. Trail Blazers preview: Washington returns home after a restful Thanksgiving break

The Wizards had the chance to spend Thanksgiving at home AND the opportunity to stay local for those Black Friday discounts. Now, it’s time to get ready for a Saturday night showdown against the Portland Trail Blazers:

Gametime

When and Where: Saturday, November 25, 2017 at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena

TV/Streaming/Radio: NBC Sports Washington (DMV) and NBC Sports NW (Portland) have the game on TV. NBC Sports has the game online as well as NBA League Pass worldwide.

On radio, you have Federal News Radio 1500 AM in the D.C. area, Rip City Radio 620 AM in the Portland area, and the Wizards mobile app has a clearer feed of the audio as well.

Injuries

For the Blazers, Wade Baldwin and C.J. Wilcox are out. Al-Farouq Aminu is questionable with an ankle injury.

For the Wizards, Sheldon Mac is out. But John Wall is also questionable due to a left knee injury. It’s the same knee that kept him out last Sunday against the Raptors.

And so is John Wall due to his left knee. He first got the injury on November 7.

What to watch for

Can the bench put out a solid performance? - Washington’s bench leaves a lot to be desired. But Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott have played well recently. Even Ian Mahinmi is coming along in the grand scheme of things. And of course, Kelly Oubre is the Wizards’ key performer off the bench.

Marcin Gortat’s passing - The Polish machine has disshed three or more assists in each of the Wizards’ last three game. His most notable performance was against the Raptors last Sunday when John Wall sat out the game due to a sore knee. He dished 7 assists in that game, along with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Can Washington take advantage of being fully rested? The Wizards got to spend Thanksgiving at home and take advantage of Black Friday shopping at the local hotspots heading into Saturday’s game. Meanwhile, the Blazers will play on the second end of a back to back, though their game on Friday was in the afternoon against the Nets.

It’s safe to say that the Wizards will be fully rested on Saturday. However, I hope they took it easy on the turkey and stuffing because the Blazers had to play on Black Friday and Saturday.