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Wizards vs. Heat preview: Washington looks to salvage road trip with a win against Miami

NBA: Miami Heat at Washington Wizards Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Game Info

When: Saturday, November 10 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Where: American Airlines Arena
TV: NBC Sports Washington

Injury Report

Wizards: None

Heat: Derrick Jones Jr. (Out, Bruised Right Knee), Goran Dragić (Questionable, Right Knee)

What to Watch for

In Josh Richardson the Heat trust

There’s no doubt that Richardson is Miami’s go-to guy nowadays. While it is a new role for the shooting guard, he is settling in with a team-high of 20.7 points per game. During the Wizards’ season opener back in October, he led the Heat with 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Richardson is taking 17.7 shots per game, so the Wizards need to make sure they are contesting as many of his shots as possible.

Wizards are looking to avenge their season opener loss

On October 18, the Wizards lost their season opener 113-112 off a last-second put-back by Kelly Olynyk. The Wizards were without Dwight Howard but with him being back, maybe having a true center will allow the Wizards not to fully rely on playing small against the Heat. We’re sure Howard is fully aware that Hassan Whiteside went off with 29 points, 20 rebounds, and 9 blocks against the Spurs earlier this week because he certainly didn’t put up those kinds of numbers against Washington earlier this season. In addition to containing Whiteside, the Wizards have more work to do if Dragić returns for Saturday’s game. He’s averaging 18.1 points per game but if he does play, he will be coming off of a knee injury so he may not be on his regular workload.

Overall, the Wizards need to be prepared for Whiteside, Dragić, and Richardson, of course.

A random moment in Wizards - Heat history: Gilbert Arenas dropped 47 points against Miami in 2005