Washington Wizards: 3 matchups to watch vs. Orlando Magic

3. Dwight Howard vs. Nikola Vucevic

The battle of the big men is always exciting to watch. Nikola Vucevic is leading the way for the Magic by averaging 17.5 points per game and 10.4 rebounds. Numbers Wizards fans hope that Dwight Howard can replicate.

The game starts with these two men. Both are old-school back to the basket centers that like to play physical. In my opinion, whomever wins the battle in the paint between these two, wins the game for their team. Howard wasn’t able to out duel Mavericks center, DeAndre Jordan, Tuesday night as Jordan won the defensive and rebounding war.

It’s going to be a work in progress with Howard until he get’s back to full strength, but he hasn’t performed well since his debut. On Howard’s behalf, Scott Brooks and the coaching staff need to make it a priority to get him more touches.

In the past two games, Howard hasn’t taken more than 9 shots. If the team wants to establish an interior presence then they need to feed Superman early. It will help spread the floor for the rest of the team.

Vucevic has always been a solid center and he’s on track to have one of the best seasons of his career. He’s shooting a career high 53.3% from the field. Howard will have his work cut out for him as Vucevic has been one of the few bright spots for the Magic.