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After six months without Wizards basketball, we’ve finally made it.
The Washington Wizards will kick off the preseason on Monday night as they take on the New York Knicks at Capital One Arena. The game marks the beginning of a new chapter in D.C. as it’ll be the first game with Tommy Sheppard running the show.
No more guessing, no more hypothesizing - we have real basketball to watch, folks!
Game Info
When: Monday October 7 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington
Injury Report
Wizards: Troy Brown Jr. (Calf, Out), Isaiah Thomas (Thumb, Out), C.J. Miles (Questionable, Foot), Ian Mahinmi (Achilles, Out), Admiral Schofield (Hamstring, Questionable), Isaac Bonga (Knee, Questionable)
Knicks: Dennis Smith Jr. (Back, Questionable), Damyean Dotson (Questionable, Shoulder), Reggie Bullock (Back, Out)
What To Watch
Our first glimpse of Rui Hachimura
Rui Hachimura will make his Wizards debut on Monday night. The rookie alone will cause more buzz than usual as there will be plenty of media members to cover the first Japanese basketball player to play in the NBA.
The 21-year old will get his first taste of NBA action as we’ll be able to see if his performance from the FIBA games this summer can carry over to the big leagues. All eyes will be on Hachimura early on as he not only will get plenty of opportunities, but he’ll likely see increased playing time due to the injury blows the Wizards have already suffered at the forward positions.
How long will the starters play?
The Wizards are banged up - like really banged up. Don’t trust me? Scroll up a little to check out the starting report. Washington will be without two starters in Troy Brown Jr. and Isaiah Thomas and will be lucky to see any of those guys on opening night. With the team already very banged up, I wouldn’t be surprised if the starters only played a quarter or two before being pulled for guys fighting for final roster spots.
The last thing this team needs is another injury setback.