Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
This Saturday, the (22-26) Washington Wizards will travel to New Orleans, LA to take on the (26-23) New Orleans Pelicans. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Smoothie King Center. This will be the second and final meeting between these two teams this season, as the Pelicans won the last matchup, 132-112.
The Wizards are entering this one after defeating the Houston Rockets, 108-103. They looked great on the defensive end of the floor, as they will have to continue applying pressure if they want to challenge the Pelicans on the road.
New Orleans is coming into this game after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-102. They have continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court, as they will have to be more efficient in this one if they want to take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Wizards are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are 12 games back from the first-place Boston Celtics. On offense, they are scoring 112.7 points per game and they have shit 47.9% from the floor. This is the 20th most points scored per contest, but the 10th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Wizards have the 13th-highest adjusted offensive rating in the NBA. Kyle Kuzma continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 22.2 points per game on 46% shooting from the field. Washington has also shown that they have more success when they are attacking the basket and scoring in the paint. They have only shot 34.9% from deep, which is the 21st-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. The Wizards have also shot 77.6% from the charity stripe, which is the 20th-highest free-throw shooting percentage.
On t he defensive end of the court, the Wizards are allowing 113.4 points per game and their opponents have shot 46.4% from the floor. This is the 16th least amount of points surrendered per game and the fifth-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Wizards have the 16th-lowest adjusted defensive rating in the NBA. They have shown that they will contest shots near the rim or on the perimeter, as they have forced their opponents to shoot 35.9% from behind the arc. This is the 14th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The Washington Wizards have also grabbed 44.2 rebounds per game, which is the ninth most. They will have to crash the offensive and defensive glass if they want to stay competitive in this game.
Injury Report: Monte Morris PG (Hamstring) is questionable. Kristaps Porzingis PF (Ankle) is out.
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