Bulls (32-36) at Wizards (41-26)
March 17, 2017 at 7:00 PM Verizon Center | Washington, D.C. TV: CSN Mid-Atlantic Radio: 1500 AM
Last time they met was..
January 10, 2017 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC: Wizards 101, Bulls 99
What to watch:
A must-win!?
Yep. After two consecutive losses to sub-.500 teams, the Wizards have dipped from top-seed contenders to a soft must-win status. After enjoying a super-brief stint at the 2-seed, the Wizards defense got bored, struggled mightily over two losses to the Timberwolves and Mavs, and the team now finds itself back in the 3 spot a game behind the Celtics in the loss column and four games behind Cleveland. WELP.
If there's any time for the Wizards to play clean-up, it's tonight. The Bulls, struggling at 32-36, are losers of six of their last seven and losers of their prized Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, shelved for the season with an elbow fracture. With the team in complete disarray, Bulls bloggers are now suggesting new methods of tanking. Personally, I am all for them starting that process tonight in DC.
Key Matchup:
Defense vs. dignity
If not a must-win game, it certainly is a must-defend-better game. Here's Scott Brooks discussing his team's defensive woes after the Mavericks loss:
Perimeter defense is largely what Brooks is losing sleep over. The Wizards allowed the Mavericks to make a total of 14 three's on Wednesday. HALF of them, yes SEVEN of those 3's came in the 4th quarter, propelling the Mavericks to 39 points in the period and causing the Wizards to relinquish the 7-point lead the had going in. The Mavs average a league-low 98.3 points per game. They scored 112 against the Wizards. The Mavericks shoot a 5th-worst 44 percent from the field. They shot 50 percent against the Wizards.
Brooks did allude the fact that the Wizards have struggled defensively for much of the season. It was just disguised by better offense. Their "relaxed" state on defense has been exposed by their inability to counter with points, and now it's time to wake up. The Bulls are similarly bad on offense, 4th worst in points per game and 6th worse in offensive efficiency. Again, if there's any time to clean up a mess and feel dignified again, it's tonight against the Bulls.
X-Factor:
Jimmy Butler.
In the absence of Dwyane Wade, the Chicago Bulls will undoubtedly look like the Chicago Butlers. Outside of Jimmy, there isn't a lot of resources for buckets. Mirotic can score off the bench. I guess Rondo could break out every now and then as well. But the overall scoring landscape for the Bulls looks utterly bleak. And for that reason, I look for Butler to go off tonight and the rest of the season. For that reason, somehow I feel this could kill the Wizards.
Fun Factor:
You soft!
John Wall called out the NBA recently over the concept of players resting when healthy. Mind you, John once played in a playoff game with five broken bones in his hand. He can say this.