Wizards 6-31 vs Hawks 15-22
When: Saturday, January 13th, at 7:30p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
TV: MNMT, Bally Sports SE-ATL
Radio: The Team 980 AM/ WFED 1500 AM, WZGC
Injury:
Wizards: Landry Shamet (Day to Day, Personal), Johnny Davis ( Day to Day, Illness)
Hawks: De'Andre Hunter (Out, Knee), Wesley Matthews (Day to Day, Calf)
Keep an eye on:
Wounded Hawks: is an understatement. Atlanta comes into tonight’s contest having lost three of their last four games while allowing 131 points per game during that span. The Hawks are also one of the worse teams defensively in the NBA, allowing 124 points per game (29th in the NBA) while sitting 27th in the league in defensive rating at 121.3. There is a chance where Washington can jump on Atlanta and get a much needed win at home, despite, their own defensive struggles (125.9 ppg allowed and 122.0 defensive rating/ both rank dead last in the NBA) if they put together FOUR quarters of respectable defense. A tall order considering, yes, although not an impossible one.
Jalen Johnson: had his way in the Wizards last match-up with the Hawks on December 31st. A Wizards loss by the way. Johnson dominated in pretty much every facet of the game, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists on 9-12 shooting from the field, 2-4 from three point territory and 4-5 from the free throw line. The third year forward is coming into his own this season, posting career highs in points (15.4 ppg), rebounds (8.3 rpg), assists (3.0 apg), steals (1.1 spg), minutes (31.3 mpg), field goal percentage (58.8%), 3-point percentage (40.3%) and free throw percentage (79.3%). Washington already has their hands full with the Hawks back court of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray along with Clint Capela inside, yet, they now have to give a lot of attention to Johnson. Failure to do so will result in a second loss for Washington to Atlanta in just as many weeks.
Jordan Poole: has played well, offensively, over Washington's last two games, quietly, appearing to regain his rhythm and full confidence. Poole is averaging 26 points, 6 assists and 1.5 steals on 50 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from the field and 72 percent from the charity stripe during that span. He's showing more poise while simplifying the way he attacks the opposition. It's a good thing to see from Poole who has endured a tough seeing of struggle on both ends of the floor. If this becomes more of the norm, it changes a lot of things for Washington offensively which will allow them to dictate things a little more defensively, due to better shot selection and shot efficiency. Stay tuned to see if the Poole we have seen over the last two games is here to stay.
Defense: for Washington, play 48 minutes of it. Show pride, compete, play for one another and live with the results.