When the Wizards last faced the 76ers on February 27th, the 76ers sent the Wizards to their sixth straight loss in a game that ended with a score of 89-81. This time around, John Wall and his Washington squad are going to make sure they do not lose to a team that has a goal of trying to lose games to improve position in the upcoming draft.
The Wizards have clinched a playoff berth and currently hold the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, while the 76ers have only 18 wins on the season, which is third worst in the league. The only teams worse than the 76ers are the Knicks, who are basically sending out a d-league team as their starting five, and the Timberwolves. Most would expect the Wizards to be able to blow out a team that is as low caliber as the 76ers, but in DC, anything can happen.
To win this game, the Wizards are going to have to score 81 points. Even against a 76ers team that is ranked 30th in the league in points per game with 91.6, the Wizards have to be able to score. The lack of offense from the 76ers will most likely take care of the issues presented from a defensive standpoint for the Wizards, but Washington will still have to outscore the 76ers to win this game.
Both Paul Pierce and Bradley Beal are expected to play in this matchup, which should improve the look sent out by the Wizards this time around. Last time, neither played in the game at any point. Beal was replaced by Temple, who scored zero points, while Pierce was replaced by Otto Porter, who actually had an impressive game with 19 point.
Both Marcin Gortat and Nene are also bound to have much better games than they had last time these two teams faced off. Gortat only scored eight points in 35 minutes, while Nene only managed to score six in 19 minutes. Both played terribly last time around, and are going to have to be the big men they are capable of being for the Wizards to avoid an upset.
The Wizards may be going through some struggles right now, but this game is going to help them turn things around in the last month of the season. Out of their last eight games, only three teams have records better the Wizards. Assuming they win all five of the gimme games, and can steal one of the three tough games, they will be smooth sailing. The Wizards are going to get hot down the stretch, and should be looking to carry some momentum into the playoffs.
