Wizards vs. Pacers preview: Wiz aim to start new home winning streak vs. Pacers

Game Info

When: Friday, February 10th at 8 pm ET
Where: Verizon Center in Washington, DC
TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic and ESPN
Radio: 1500 AM and Wizards Radio App

Injury Report

Wizards: Danuel House (Out, Wrist), Markieff Morris (Questionable, Calf)

Pacers: Thaddeus Young (Questionable, Wrist)

What to Watch For

The point guard matchup

When talking about the top point guards in the Eastern Conference, there is a pretty clear top five at the moment: John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry, Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving. (Notice who I put first and last, both were intentional.)

Then there’s Jeff Teague. While he may not be playing quite as well as those five guys, he has quietly been one of the more efficient guards in the conference the last couple months. Since December 1st, he is averaging 16.3 points and 9.0 assists on impressive 47/42/85 shooting splits. He may not be playing at Wall’s current All-NBA level, but he just needs to keep their matchup close to give the Pacers a chance to win.

The Wizards’ ball movement

Over the last six games, Washington has gone 5-1 in large part because they have been passing and protecting the ball so well. Over that stretch, they are averaging 25.3 assists and just 11.3 turnovers, good enough for a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Before the last six games, the Wizards were averaging 22 assists and 13.8 turnovers per game. They’ll look to keep that offensive fluidity going against the Pacers.

Can Otto Porter and Bradley Beal continue their hot shooting?

Here are Otto Porter and Bradley Beal’s per-game averages over their last two outings:

Porter: 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 58/53/82 shooting splits

Beal: 36.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 53/45/100 splits

I’m not going to go crazy about a two-game sample size, but their dominance and efficiency over that stretch is remarkable. Here’s to hoping they can stay hot against the Pacers.

Most Likely Wizard Killer: Kevin Seraphin

Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

The seventh-year big man hasn’t scored in double figures since January 12th, but he will be motivated to have a big game against his former team.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, remember that time he rode around Chinatown on a segway? No? Well here you go: