Wizards 8-7 vs Heat 7-8
When: Friday, November 18th, at 7:00p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
TV: NBC Sports Washington, Bally Sports-Sun
Radio: WQAM/WAQI, WTEM
Injury
Wizards: Delon Wright (Out, Right Hamstring Strain), Jordan Goodwin (Out, Left Knee Soreness)
Heat: Tyler Herro (Out, Ankle), Victor Oladipo (Out, Knee), Omer Yurtseven (Out, Ankle), Jimmy Butler (Out,Right Knee Soreness), Duncan Robinson (Out, Right Hand Sprain)
Keep an eye on:
Free Throw Shooting: is something Miami excels at. The Heat lead the NBA in free throw shooting percentage knocking down 86.7 percent a game. Washington must defend without fouling. In their shocking loss to Oklahoma City, the Thunder shot 26 free throws, 17 of which came from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Wizards dodged a bullet due to OKC only hitting 65% from the line. That will do them in tonight. Again, stay disciplined on defense and they should be fine.
Continue to Move The Ball: Wednesdays loss to OKC didn't have much to do with the offense. For the most part, the execution offensively was beautiful. Washington finished with a season high 32 assists, a great accomplishment considering they average 24.5 per game which is 15th in the NBA. Four Wizards had four or more assists. All but one player who saw action had an assist. The result was 51% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from deep for the game. Continuing to move the ball is ideal and will help maintain the high level of shooting efficiency displayed against the Thunder.
NO COMPLACENCY: A number of the Heats go to players are listed out tonight. Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and possibly Bam Adebayo will be out tonight. Still, Washington should come out with a sense of urgency, especially after Wednesdays heart breaking loss at the hands of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander game winning three pointer. For a team trying to establish itself in a loaded Eastern Conference, you can't drop what these type of games and expect the rest of the league to respect you. Come out, handle business and add another win to the equation.