This Friday, the (17-22) Washington Wizards will travel to Oklahoma City, OK to take on the (16-22) Oklahoma City Thunder. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Paycom Center. This is the second time that these two teams will match up this season, as the Thunder won the first meeting, 121-120.
The Wizards are coming into this matchup after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, 123-113. They struggled on the defensive end of the court, as they couldn't come up with enough stops to stay competitive in that game.
The OKC Thunder are entering this game after losing to the Orlando Magic, 126-115. They also struggled defensively, as they couldn't slow down the Magic in that game. They will have to apply more pressure and be more efficient if they want to dominate at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Wizards are currently in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are still 9.5 games back from the Boston Celtics. On offense, they are scoring 112.1 points per game and they have shot 48.1% from the floor. This is the 21st most points scored per game and the seventh-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Wizards have an adjusted offensive rating of 113.5, which is the 15th-highest rating in the NBA. Kristaps Porzingis continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 22.2 points per game on 48% shooting from the floor. Washington has also shown that they have more success when they consistently attack the basket. They have only shot 34.4% from behind the arc, which is the 20th-lowest three-point shooting percentage. They haven't been much better at the charity stripe either. They have only made 77.1% of their shots at the line, which is the 22nd- highest free-throw shooting percentage in the league.
On the defensive end of the court, the Wizards have held their own. They are currently surrendering 112.7 points per game and they have held their opponents to 46.1% shooting from the field. This is the 13th least amount of points surrendered per game and the seventh-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Wizards have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.8, which is the 12th lowest rating in the NBA. They have continued to contest shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has hurt them at times. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 36.1% from deep, which is the 19th-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. They are also grabbing 43.9 rebounds per game, which is the 11th most. They have to control the boards if they want to stay competitive in this game.
Injury Report: Daniel Gafford PF (Elbow) and Taj Gibson PF (Groin) , and Bradley Beal SG (Hamstring) are questionable.
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