Wizards vs Lakers preview: Washington looks to get the job done against tanking LA squad

Game Info

When: Tuesday, March 28 at 10:30 pm
Where: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic, NBA TV
Radio: 1500 AM and Radio App

Injury Report

Wizards: None

Lakers: Luol Deng (Out: Old), Timofey Mozgov (Out: Also Old), Brandon Ingram (Questionable: Young, but hurt his knee)

What to watch for

Beware approaching tanks

The Lakers currently sit comfortably in the second spot of the NBA lottery standings as we come to the end of March. Just five games separate Los Angeles from the tanktastic Brooklyn Nets, and the Lakers have fully embraced their positioning over the last few weeks.

The Lakers recently shut down Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov for the rest of the season. That’s $34 million worth (!) of basketball players going unused for the team’s final month of the season.

In their places, young contributors — Ivica Zubac, Tyler Ennis, Tarik Black, and, uh, Corey Brewer? — have stepped up to play big minutes. Prepare for some sloppy basketball. Luckily, the Wizards never play down to their competition.

Most Likely Wizards Killer: Jordan Clarkson

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The man who gently stabbed Wizards fans’ hearts with every 20-point performance during his stellar rookie season in 2015 returns to the Verizon Center once more.

Clarkson was originally selected with Washington’s 2014 second round pick after the club traded it to the Lakers for “cash considerations.” Over the past couple years, one of Washington’s biggest holes on the roster has been a scoring guard to give the second unit some punch. Great foresight on that one, Ernie.

There is some hope that Clarkson will stay cool Tuesday night, though. He’s averaged about 14 points per game against the Wizards in his career — a fairly mediocre number for him. And Clarkson is only 3-of-17 on three-point shots in those games, good for a positively icebergian 17.6 percent.