This Friday, the (11-11) Washington Wizards will travel to Charlotte, NC to take on (6-15) Charlotte Hornets. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM EST inside the Spectrum Center. The last time that these two teams matched up, the Wizards ended up walking away with a 106-102 win.
The Wizards are coming into this one after losing to the Brooklyn Nets, 113-107. Washington struggled on the offensive end of the court, as they only shot 43.8% from the floor. They have to be more efficient with the ball in their hands if they want to challenge the Hornets on the road.
Charlotte is entering this game after losing to the Boston Celtics 140-105. The Hornets were not good on the defensive end of the court, as they will need to create more stops if they want to give the Wizards a run for their money at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Wizards are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but they still trail the first-place Boston Celtics by seven games. On offense, the Wizards are scoring 110.4 points per game and they have shot 47.2% from the field. This is the 21st most points scored per game and the 13th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksadnthrees.com, the Wizards have an adjusted offensive rating of 111.6, which is the 17th-highest offensive rating in the NBA. Bradley Beal continues to lead the way for Washington, as he is scoring 23.6 points per game on 52.2% shooting from the field. The Wizards have also shown that they aren't afraid to attack the basket or step behind the arc to attempt deep threes. They are shooting 34.1% from deep, which is the 20th-highest team three-point shooting percentage in the league. Washington will also have to be better at the free-throw line, as they are only shooting 77.2% at the charity stripe. This is the 21st-lowest percentage in the NBA, as they can't miss out on these free looks at the rim and still expect to win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Wizards have consistently contested shots near the rim and on the perimeter. They are currently allowing 111.5 points per game and their opponents have shot 45.3% from the floor. This is the 12th least amount of points allowed per contest and the fourth-lowest shooting percentage allowed from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Wizards have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.4, which is the 15th-lowest rating in the NBA. Their perimeter defense has lacked at different times, though. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 36.8% from deep, which is the 25th-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. They have to contest more shots and apply more pressure behind the three-point arc if they want to get consistent stops. Washington has also snatched 44.2 rebounds per game, which is the 10th most. They have to clean the glass and secure the ball if they want to keep the Hornets from scoring second-chance points.
Injury Report: Rui Hachimura PF (Ankle) and Delon Wright PG (Hamstring) are listed as out.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!