January 8, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball over Washington Wizards power forward Trevor Booker (35) in the first half at Verizon Center. The Timberwolves won 93-72. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

After finally concluding their five game West Coast road trip, the Washington Wizards will return home to face the injury plagued Minnesota Timberwolves.

Key Match Up

It’s hard to think of a team who has dealt with more injuries than the Wizards this season. The only team which has dealt with more significant injuries are the Minnesota Timberwolves. After suffering a terrible ACL injury during the course of his rookie season, Ricky Rubio hasn’t had much impact since he returned this year. Rubio, who was touted as one of the best young guards in the NBA, is having one of the worst seasons amongst other players in the NBA. He’s averaged 4 points and 5 assists this year, while shooting a horrific 24 percent from the field. The once playoff bound Timberwolves, have now found themselves back in a familiar spot. This season has really been disheartening for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Injuries have been too common amongst the two franchises. Unlike Rubio, John Wall’s return to Washington has been meaningful. Granted, Wall has a supporting cast which is a lot more talented than Rubio’s, the Wizards have been picking up some wins since Wall’s return. Washington’s average points per game has increased by 12 since Wall has returned to the lineup. Although he’s still hovering around 20-25 minutes per game, Wall’s impact on this lowly Wizards team has been unexplainable. The team plays with a lot more effort, passion, and commitment if Wall is on the floor. Rubio isn’t a bad defender, but I can’t see how he’ll be able to stay in front of Wall, especially during transition opportunities.  Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of the John Wall-Bradley Beal combination than we did against Utah on Wednesday night.

Other Links/Notes

• In case you missed it, the NBA All-Star reserves were announced last night on TNT. Jan Vesely did not make the cut.
• I helped contribute on a BlogSoHardSports piece, which dealt with the Wizards and their recent momentum.
• John Wall has been vastly underrated in recent player rankings. Here is his take on the whole situation.
• Here’s Glenn Consor and Dave Johnson with another ‘Fast Break’ for tonight’s match up against the Wolves.
• As I mentioned, the Wolves are without many of their top players tonight. That list includes Kevin Love, Alexey Shved, Nikola Pekovic, Chase Budinger, and a few back ups. Washington is still without Cartier Martin.

Prediction

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Wizards compete at the Verizon Center. The Timberwolves are completely depleted, and that doesn’t help their chances of beating a Wizards team who has been playing at a high level as of late.

When healthy, the Wolves are a playoff contender. With Kevin Love out, who is in my opinion the best power forward in the NBA and the league’s best rebounding big man, the Wolves are nothing more than a lottery team. As Thomas Pruitt on Bullets Forever pointed out, the Wolves are still an exceptional defensive team. Andrei Kirilenko uses his length to disrupt offense, and create fast break opportunities off of steals. Their other role players such as Dante Cunningham and Greg Stiemsma are known for that scrappy style of play. Despite their injuries, Minnesota has remained mildly competitive, and they’re not a team Washington can fall asleep on.

Don’t get me wrong, Minnesota still has some guys who can get it done on a nightly basis. Luke Ridnour and J.J Barea can still put the ball in the basket, as well as get their teammates involved. Barea has a reputation of exploding for 20+ points on any given night. Wall, Beal, and Jordan Crawford have to do a good job in containing them from going off tonight.

Washington has been competitive in virtually every game since John Wall’s return from injury. Their intensity on both ends of the floor has been a pleasure to watch. For the first time in a very long time, the Wizards haven’t been a pain to watch play. Washington has the advantage in every aspect of tonight’s game. With Pekovic out, who has averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds per game, the Wolves don’t have a legitimate low post threat. They are decent defensively, but I can’t see how they match up with Nene, Emeka Okafor, and even Kevin Seraphin.

Not to mention, Bradley Beal and John Wall will probably use this game to bounce back. It would be a shame if Washington loses this one tonight, since they have a chance to continue their winning streak at home.

Washington will win this one tonight, and by a large margin. At least they should.

Dec 28, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Orlando Magic shooting guard Arron Afflalo (4) dribbles the ball around Washington Wizards center Emeka Okafor (50) during the second half at the Verizon Center. The Wizards defeated the Magic 105 – 97. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA Today Sports

John Wall was triumphant in his season debut, as the Washington Wizards took out the Atlanta Hawks this past Saturday. Tonight, the Wizards will look to pick up their third straight victory against the Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic.

Key Match Up

John Wall is back, ladies and gentleman. As a fan, I haven’t been this excited to watch the Wizards play in a very long time. With John Wall and Bradley Beal leading the back court, the cause for optimism is very high in Wizards-land. On top of all that, John Wall looked very good in his season debut on Saturday versus Atlanta. He seemed just as quick as he did prior to that awful knee injury, and didn’t seem the least bit hesitant. Wall finished with 14 points and 4 assists in just a little over 20 minutes of playing time. Above all, his confidence and swagger seems to rub off on the rest of his teammates. Wall missed a few easy layups, and it’s apparent that he still needs to get his legs back, but the confidence he showed getting to the basket was awesome, to say the least. One thing that I thought went unnoticed, was Wall’s tenacity on defense. There was times during his debut, in which he completely shut down the opposing guards. When Wall wasn’t on the floor, Jeff Teague was able to get to the basket at will. With John Wall defending him, Teague appeared to be passive and just couldn’t get off the shots he wanted. I honestly can’t wait to see more of John Wall in tonight’s game.

Wall can’t overlook the competition tonight though, as he’s matched up with his former Reebok family member, Jameer Nelson. The former All-Star clearly misses Dwight Howard, but his production has surprisingly been good. Averaging close to 15 points and over 7 assists, Nelson is able to put the ball in the basket in a hurry. He isn’t known for his play making ability, but he does occasionally set up his sharp shooting teammates with easy shots. Nelson isn’t nearly as fast as John Wall, but his deceptive quickness makes access for easy transition points. Wall needs to continue his defensive effort against Nelson tonight. Orlando doesn’t have much talent on their roster, so look for Nelson to pull the trigger whenever he gets the chance. He’s averaging 23 points and 8 assists during his past five meetings.

Other Notes/Links

• Bradley Beal’s name is coming up in a lot of Rudy Gay trade speculation as of late. Although I don’t think Beal is going anywhere, I asked Kevin Lipe of Straight Outta Vancouver to give us his take on the situation.
• Thomas Pruitt takes a look at how well John Wall and Bradley Beal will mesh.
• Well, that escalated quickly. Apparently, Bradley Beal’s agent has confirmed that the player will not be moved in any sort of trade. (THANK GOD!)
• I’d imagine that Jordan Crawford would be involved in the trade talks. Rumor has it that the Grizzlies want cash, a small forward, and a draft pick.
• Not much else going on in Wizards land, besides the Beal trade talk. Sorry.

Prediction

John Wall is back, and so is the optimism. It sucks that the Wizards season opener came in January, but that’s what we’re going to have to live with.

Orlando has lost 9 of their last 10 games. Needless to say, they’re talent depleted. Granted, their only win comes against a top team, the LA Clippers, the Orlando Magic will find themselves in the lottery for the first time in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, the Wizards lack talent as well, but I can’t think of a team that has as many “Who’s that?” guys on their roster as the Orlando Magic.

Their lone bight spot comes from Nikola Vucevic (who?), who they received from Philadelphia in the deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Vucevic is averaging over 15 points and 14 rebounds during the past five games. He’s a candidate for the Most Improved Player award, and has shown a variety of skills in a Magic uniform. The Wizards are ranked sixth in the league in rebounds per game, with Nene and Emeka Okafor leading the big men down low. Vucevic isn’t the bulkiest player in the world, so I’d imagine that he’d have a tough time dealing with Emeka Okafor. Nene and Okafor seem to always get the best of the Orlando big men, and I won’t expect that to change tonight.

I can’t wait to tune into tonight’s game. Watching John Wall and Bradley Beal has been a treat.

I expect the Wizards to win their third straight game tonight, and by a pretty large margin.

On a side note, Wiz of Awes is looking for a few writers to add to the staff. If you may be interested, please message me on Twitter. (@BenAgent0)