Regular Season Game 43
Nets (16-26) at Wizards (24-18)
January 13, 2018 at 7:00 PM Capital One Arena | Washington, D.C.
TV: NBCSW Radio: 1500 AM
Odds: WSH -9.5
What to Watch:
Wizards turn it around or revert to bad habits?
Two of Washington's many terrible losses this season have come against the Nets. The first one was not that bad because they lost by 5 on the road without John Wall (knee soreness). The second was excrutiatingly bad with a 25 point drubbing when Wall was back, although on a quirky minutes restriction. The Nets may have some talented pieces, but if Washington wants to be taken seriously, they have to take care of business at home and start showing some consistency against sub-.500 teams as well as defensively.
Key Matchup:
Spencer Dinwiddie vs. Wizards Guards
This season, the 24-year old point guard has been thrust into a starting role at the point guard position because of injuries to Jeremy Lin and D'Angelo Russell. He has made the most of it by averaging 13.2 points and 6.4 assists per game on a lowly Nets squad. In two games against Washington this year, both Brooklyn wins at home, Dinwiddie averaged 13 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and a whopping +15 NetRTG (105-90) according to Basketball Reference.
X-Factor:
Three-Point Shooting
Although they only shoot 34.9 percent from beyond the arc, 28th in the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets sure like to jack them up with 34 per game leading to nearly 12 makes. In the two previous matchups, Brooklyn shot 84 three-pointers. The Wizards have one of the better three-point defenses in the NBA, but a lot of that has to do with luck, in my opinion, as they have given up a ton of open looks that the opposing team just does not knock down at a high enough clip.
Fun Factor:
Polish Heritage Night
After the game, Marcin Gortat will host his fifth annual, in D.C., Polish Heritage Night, which is always a fan favorite (maybe not as much as Big Daddy Kane on Friday night, but still). What it means to Gortat and what he hopes to get out of the event goes well beyond the basketball court. You can read all about it here.
Prediction:
Washington exacts a small bit of revenge on Brooklyn and sweeps their first back-to-back in season to move fan's hands away from the pannic button, for now.