Washington Wizards vs Brooklyn Nets Preview

Wizards 3-12 vs Nets 13-8

When: Sunday, January 31th, at 7p.m.

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

TV: NBCSWA, NBA League Pass / Radio: WFED 1500 AM

Injury

Wizards: Thomas Bryant (Out/ Left ACL Surgery), Raul Neto (Out/ Groin)

Nets: Nicolas Claxton (Out/ Knee), Spencer Dinwiddie (Out/ Partially Torn ACL in his right knee)

Wizards -

115.7 - points per game

120.4 - points against

46.3 - Field Goal %

Nets -

121.0 - points per game

116.2 - points against

49.6 - Field Goal %

Keep an eye on:

Nets Efficiency: offensively is the best in the league and with Washington ranking dead last in points allowed (120.1), if there ever was a night where Washington needs to defend at a high level, it's most certainly tonight. Brooklyn brings three of the top individual scorers the game has to offer in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Brooklyn's deadly trio averages 82.5 points, 23.1 assists and 20.1 rebounds per game. Also, all three are shooting AT LEAST 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep and 86 percent from the charity stripe this season. Tough to soak in...it gets worst. Brooklyn as a team ranks first in field goal percentage (49.5%), third in 3-point percentage (39.5%), third in free throw percentage (82.0%) and fourth in assists (26.8). The Nets are a hard team to slow down, so for Washington to pull out a win, they need to correct the main weakness that has plagued them all season, their defense. Stay tuned.

Strong Offense Is Sometimes The Best Defense: and in the Wizards case tonight, It MUST certainly hold true. Washington, who ranks sixth in points per game (114.7), is led by Brad Beal who leads the NBA in scoring at 34.7 points per game. The Wizards are good at moving the ball, averaging 25.6 assists per game, good for 11th in the NBA and are first in pace, getting just over 104 possessions per game. Unfortunately with the firepower that Brooklyn brings to the table, even if Washington's team defense does show up, it still may end up being a shootout tonight. Brooklyn isn't a great defensive team by any stretch of the imagination, so an efficient, high pace game offensively may be just what the doctor ordered for Washington to pull off an upset and get back on the winning side of things.