Wizards (46-30) at Warriors (62-14)
April 2, 2017 at 8:00 PM Oracle Arena | Oakland, CA TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic Radio: 1500 AM
Last time they met was..
February 28, 2017 - Verizon Center, DC: Wizards 112, Warriors 108
What to watch:
Some proper closure to this road trip.
The Wizards opened up this road trip by trouncing the defending world champs in Cleveland on the back of a fantastic individual performance by John Wall, who out-dueled inferior point guard Kyrie Irving with 37 points and 11 assists. The Wizards have struggled since that world-stopping win, needing more of Wall's magnificence late in the 4th to squeeze by the Lakers in L.A., followed by back-to-back losses to the Clippers and Jazz. And so here we are, the fifth and final game of this grueling road trip, against the final boss: the Golden State Warriors. Wouldn't it be fitting to close out this road trip the same way they opened it? By defeating a team that played in the Finals last year? This sounds like peak wishful thinking.
Key Matchup:
John Wall vs. Steph Curry.
Curry and Wall have both been having great seasons and both had an even greater March. Check their stats from last month:
Curry: 25.5 PPG, 7.5 AST, .385 3PT% on 10.4 3PA, 2.1 STL
Wall: 25.2 PPG, 10.2 AST, 1.7 STL
Both players are clearly focal points of their respective teams' scoring output, but while Curry is merely a contingent of an All-Star jam-packed basketball powerhouse that is the Warriors, Wall is the driving force that powers the Wizards. If Wall can outlast his individual matchup against Curry, it will seemingly point to the Wizards in position to outlast the Warriors.
X-Factor:
Just a little belief.
We've ranted and raved about the Wizards' colossally bad defense and it doesn't get any more disturbing than to know their opponent tonight is a league-leading 62-win team with a league-leading 112.9 in offensive rating and on a league-leading 10-game win streak. Worth mentioning, the Warriors have beaten their last 10 opponents by an average of 15.2 points, including two 25-point wins and a 30-point win. For the Wizards to have a chance, just a little amnesia to forget about their last two losses, and a little belief in what they've already shown their capable of doing: beating the Warriors.
Fun Factor:
That time John Wall told Klay Thompson, “Go the the basket and I swear to God, I’ll knock your ass out.”