Regular Season Game 14
Wizards (8-5) at Heat (6-7)
November 15, 2017 at 7:30 PM American Airlines Arena | Miami, FL TV: NBCSW Radio: 1500 AM
Odds: MIA -1.5
What to Watch: Wizards' Memory
The matchup on Wednesday night in South Beach will be the first of four match ups with the Miami Heat this season. What to watch? The intensity the Wizards come out with knowing that this same Heat team man handled the Wizards last year sweeping the regular season series four-games to none.
(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images North America)
Key Matchup:
Bradley Beal vs. Dion Waiters
Let's look at a quick tale-of-the-tape:
Beal: 24 years old | 6'5 | 207 lbs | No. 3 pick in 2012 draft
Waiters: 24 years old | 6'4 | 215 lbs | No. 4 pick in 2012 draft
Despite being just one pick behind one another in the 2012 NBA Draft. The differences between the journey of these two budding stars contrast in a variety of ways. In his five-years in the league, Waiters has bounced around with three different NBA organizations. Waiters spent his first two-years in Cleveland before being traded in January of 2015 to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he played under Coach Scott Brooks for the rest of the 2014-15 season and spent the following season under Coach Billy Donovan. As a free agent in the summer of 2016, Waiters left the Thunder to sign a 2-year $6 million deal with the Miami Heat. Because of his strong play last season Waiters finally received the respect he had been yearning for, earning himself a 4-year $52 million contract this past summer.
Beal on the other side of the story is still in Washington and is guaranteed to be up until the 2020-21 season after signing his 5-year, $128 million max contract last summer. Long story short: the key matchup of the night will between two players that have been compared against one another since they entered the league as teenagers. Look for both players to come out aggressive on both ends of the floor, as they look to establish bragging rights.
(Photo: OC Register)
X-Factor:
The Polish Machine
Marcin Gortat is going to have his hands full Wednesday night battling against Miami’s 28-year-old big man. Hassan Whiteside has established himself as one of the toughest centers in the association. Standing at 7’0 tall and weighing in at 265 lbs, Whiteside has been nothing but a headache to opposing centers, largely because of his impressive 8’0 wingspan. Gortat’s ability to keep Whiteside from being a difference in this game can play a major role in the outcome of this showdown in South Beach.
Fun Factor:
Battle Of The Back Courts
The guard matchup between the Heat and Wizards will be a fun one to watch. The Heat’s back court duo of Waiters and Goran Dragic are coming into Wednesday’s night game averaging a combined 36.2 points per game. For the Wizards, John Wall and Beal are averaging a combined 44.9 points per game. Look for the guards to come into this game firing on all cylinders.
(Photo: ESPN, Jesse D. Garrabrant)
Prediction:
This is Miami’s first game home since November 1st. After going 3-3 on their recent road trip, look for the Heat to come out highly energized on their home court. This will be a physical game that will go back in forth. Look for Washington’s impressive defense which has held its last three opponents under 100 points to play a major factor in this game especially late in the fourth quarter. Wizards win in a close one.