Regular Season Game 42
Magic (12-30) at Wizards (23-18)
January 12, 2018 at 7:00 PM Capital One Arena | Washington, D.C.
TV: NBCSW Radio: 1500 AM
Odds: WSH -10.5
What to Watch:
How the Wizards will play against their competition.
We've harped about it for years. I harped about it a few pregames ago. Stephen A. Smith harped about it yesterday morning: The Wizards look elite against elite teams. They play like trash against trash teams. And enough is freaking enough.
One of Stephen A's strongest points - and he rarely makes strong points - was when he described the cause of the Wizards' lackadaiscal approach against inferior teams: they think they're too good, which is clearly something they're not. The Wizards have an issue with their game mentality. They think they can put themselves on autopilot and just cruise against teams that are less successful on paper. The Wizards have played 21 games against sub-.500 teams and they've lost 10 of them.
Tonight, they face the 12-30 Orlando Magic, who have lost 6 straight, 9 of their last 10, and 13 of 18 on the road. All of those facts should scare you about tonight.
Key Matchup:
Bradley Beal vs. his jitters in the clutch.
(Photo: Phil Long/AP)
It's really hard to knock on Bradley Beal given the All-Star-caliber season he's been having. After his first four seasons plagued by injuries, bad coaching, and inconsistent play, Beal has finally broken out and become an elite player at his position - no question about that.
But now it is time for Brad to start settling in when the game matters the most. Again, as Stephen A pointed, Bradley Beal is too good of baller to shrink during clutch moments. Beal's clutch time stats are, well, pretty horrifying:
Per NBA Stats:
Points: 2.8 (!!)
FG%: 30.2 (!!!)
3P%: 21.7 (!!!!)
FT%: 67.8 (!!!!!)
Granted "it's long season buddy" as John Wall snarkingly informed Kyle Weidie of TAI when he pointed out the backcourt's late-game meltdowns. But it's easy to get noticed and labeled as a choke-artist in this league.
X-Factor:
The Bench.
As bad as the Magic are, they've got some bodies on their bench that can make some noise - especially going up against an inconsistent second unit like the Wizards. Guys like Marreese Speights, Mario Hezonja, and Aron Afflalo have the propensity to put numbers on the board and keep the Magic in the game. Oh, and they also have a guy known to be a Wizards Killer - DJ Augustine. If the Wizards second unit can manage to fend off Orlando's, the Wizards should be a safe bet to win this game.
Fun Factor:
Elfrid Payton's hair is the Ocean Spray logo.
Prediction:
No way the Wizards keep this trend against inferior teams going, right? Tonight, they will be spell-breakers. Wizards win.