(Photo: AP/Nick Wass)
Regular Season Game 45
Wizards (25-19) at Hornets (17-25)
January 17, 2018 at 7:00 PM Spectrum Center | Charlotte, NC
TV: NBCSW Radio: 1500 AM
Odds: WSH +1.5
What to Watch:
Taking Care of the Basketball
During the last five-game homestand, the Washington Wizards had games with 14, 23, 12, 15, and 24 turnovers, which led to 10, 27, 14, 23, and 25 points, respectively, for their opponents. "Twenty-four turnovers is basically one whole entire quarter not playing offense. It's hard to win that way," Scott Brooks said after the most recent loss to the Bucks on MLK Day. The Wizards transition defense is not good and they are still not a consistently good enough defense that they can afford not to simply outscore teams. If the road team can keep their turnovers limited during the upcoming five game, 14 day road trip, they will have success.
Key Matchup:
Marcin Gortat vs. Dwight Howard
Aw, those precious kodak moments back when Marcin Gortat was merely the shadow of a superstar center playing on a championship-contending Orlando Magic team.
Those days are now well behind us. Dwight went on to face struggles both on and off the court in Orlando, got dealt to a number of different teams seeking rejuvenation before finally landing in Charlotte last season.
Gortat went on to evolve into a forceful starting center in Phoenix, and eventually upped his value to that of a first-round pick, which is what he was traded for by the Washington Wizards at the start of the 2014 season.
Oh, and about that rejuvenation Dwight Howard was seeking. It seems he may have found it. Here are some of the numbers that prove it:
24 double-doubles this season - good for 7th most in the league.
15 games with 15+ rebounds. Four games with 20+ rebounds.
2 straight 17-rebound games leading into tonight.
Shooting 59% from the field in January.
X-Factor:
Curing Otto Porter
You may have been hearing some buzz about the lack of Otto Porter usage after Yahoo!'s Michael Lee tweeted about it:
After doing a bit of number-crunching, I can confirm the buzz is real.
Otto, Wall and Beal are the only three Wizards who have average 30+ MPG.
Otto has a better TS% (58.2) than both Wall (51.3) and Beal (56.0).
Yet Otto's USG% (17.7) is substantially lower than Wall (28.8) and Beal (28.5)
(!!!!)
Moreover - in the 4th quarter, where Wall and Beal have especially struggled, Otto's USG% is just 11.7 - a WHOPPING drop from Beal (34.6%) and Wall (30.8%).
WHY?
Fun Factor:
Fun memories: Muggsy Bogues vs. Gheorghe Muresan
Prediction:
Washington will be motivated to avenge their overtime loss from before Thanksigivng and John Wall, in a bit of a homecoming, will lead the Wizards to a victory over the sub-.500 Hornets.