Wizards (39-24) at Kings (25-39)
March 10, 2017 at 10:30 PM Golden 1 Center | Sacramento, CA TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic Radio: 1500 AM
Last time they met was..
November 28, 2016: Wizards 101, Kings 95 (OT)
What to watch:
The Wizards continue plowing through road trip, and up the Eastern Conference ladder.
While a prolonged Western road trip (5 games in 7 nights) of any sort is brutal, it certainly helps when the opponents you face in said road trip have a combined winning percentage of .404 (Page Not Found). The Wizards have fared decently in the first two games, mounting early leads large enough to not be totally squandered - the Wizards lost a 22 point lead in Phoenix but prevailed; had a 20 point lead cut down to 8 in the final minute against Denver.
Tonight in Sacramento, the Wizards look to go 3-0 on this trip against a Kings team who won their game in the post-Boogie era, but have lost six straight since. While the Kings do employ some serviceable pieces, they are far from formidable, as newly acquired guys from the Cousins deal are still finding their way after fleeing their homeland. The season-ending Achilles injury to Rudy Gay doesn't help much either. So, Garrett Temple revenge game!?
Key Matchup:
The Wizards vs. Sacramento's pick-and-roll defense.
Earlier today we tweeted this cool stat depicting the number of assists generated by Marcin Gortat screens
And just recently, CSN's J. Michael exposed the Kings' awful pick-and-roll defense in their last game against San Antonio:
With Gortat on deck, pick-and-roll offense with Wall (and Beal) has been the Wizards' obvious bread and butter, whether it's been in the Wittman era or with Scott Brooks. And If the Kings suck this much at textbook pick-and-roll defense, the Wizards should have a field day in the scoring department.
X-Factor:
Wear and tear.
The halfway point of the road trip is typically where a little fatigue may kick in as bodies start to endure the tolls of traveling and back-to-backs. That considered, don't be surprised if the Wizards go through lackadaisical spurts and give up potentially costly runs. What's going for them is a well-rounded rotation, one that features enough bodies off the bench that can produce points and hold fort in the event there is some player slack. I literally have to pinch myself to believe what I just typed. Man, how the tables have turned since November.
Fun Factor:
It's March and we are legitimately considering the Wizards finishing as the top seed in the East. What is life.
Prediction:
Wizards plow through.