Regular Season Game 19
Wizards (10-8) at Blazers(11-8)
November 25, 2017 at 7 PM The Vault| Washington, D.C. TV: NBCSW+ Radio: 1500 AM
Odds: Wizards +4.5
What to Watch: Life Without Wall Begins
I’m not really sure if I’m still hungover from Thanksgiving but part of me is relieved to at least have some closure on Wall’s knee situation. It’s obviously never ideal to lose your star player but better to get the rest he needs early-ish in the season than to have this linger longer than it needed to.
This stretch of games will also allow the Wizards to see if Porter, Oubre and Gortat can help Beal carry the offensive load while Wall is out. All the Satoransky fans should be happy because his playing time is about to increase significantly as well.
Washington will have a chance to get the foul taste of the Thanksgiving Eve debacle in Charlotte out of their mouths but it’s going to take an extra special effort without their Point Gawd.
Key Matchup:
Bradley Beal vs. C.J. McCollum
NBA fans will be robbed of the chance to see two of the best guard duos in the league go head to head but the battle of the ‘sweeter stroke’ will continue as planned this evening.
Beal is statistically having a better year than McCollum but Portland’s 4th year sharpshooter is killing it from behind the arc and the Wizards will need to protect the perimeter much better than they typically do if they want to pull off the victory tonight.
I expect Beal to put up at least 30 points tonight with the extra shots he’ll get in Wall’s absence but if it comes at the expense of tired legs from having to carry the rest of the Wizards offense the game could get ugly.
X-Factor:
Supporting Cast
When it comes to replacing Wall on the court the Wizards have no one on the roster that can do it by themselves. The scoring load will have to be shared by many but the bigger factor will be how well Washington can get into their offensive sets with Frazier running the show and how well they can defend the Blazers backcourt.
Those Gortat screen assists are going to be huge the next two weeks and I’ll be looking for Oubre and Porter to get their PPG numbers up during this stretch. They both have the matchup advantage in this particular game and will have to balance out whatever advantage goes to the Blazers backcourt for tonight.
Prediction:
The Wall-less Wizards pull out a squeaker and beat the Blazers who are playing the second game of a back-to-back set. Bradley Beal has himself a night and Kelly Oubre, Jr. sets a new career high in points. Wizards win 117-115.