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Washington Wizards: Wizards look to get back to winning ways against Celtics

By Andrew E. Johnson

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 25: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics defends John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards during the game at TD Garden on December 25, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 25: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics defends John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards during the game at TD Garden on December 25, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Wizards will look to get back on track on Wednesday night when they go back home against the Boston Celtics

Less than a week ago, the Washington Wizards (11-16) appeared to be righting the ship. They started off the month of December with three straight wins and were working towards a .500 record. But all of a sudden, the Wizards find themselves in the midst of a two-game losing streak to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers and the shorthanded Indiana Pacers to round out a four-game road trip.

The Wizards return to Capital One Arena on Wednesday night to take on the resurgent Boston Celtics (16-10). After struggling at the beginning of the season, the Celtics have found their footing as of late, winning six consecutive games and seven of their last eight, and emerging as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Just a couple years ago, this was one of the most fun, heated rivalries in the NBA. The teams hated one another and let it show. Fans will remember the Wizards dressing in black in what became dubbed the “Funeral Game,” players scuffling during games, and they met in the second round of the playoffs that went to a Game 7 following an epic John Wall game-winning three-pointer in Game 6 in front of the home crowd.

But that now seems like a lifetime ago. Both rosters have seen quite a bit of turnover since that time and seem to be headed in different directions. Let’s take a look at what Wednesday’s game looks like.

Game Info

Game: Washington Wizards vs. Boston Celtics

When: Wednesday, December 12

Where: Capital One Arena

TV: NBC Sports Washington, Fubo TV

Tip-Off Time: 7 pm Eastern Time

Injury Report

Wizards: Wall (Heel – Probable), Otto Porter (Right knee contusion – Day-to-day), Dwight Howard (Lumbar microdisectomy procedure-Out)

Celtics: Aron Baynes (Ankle – Questionable), Al Horford (Knee – Questionable), Gordon Hayward (Illness – Doubtful), Guerschon Yabusele (Ankle – Out)

Projected Starting Lineup

Wizards: G-Wall, G-Bradley Beal, F-Tomas Satoransky, F-Kelly Oubre Jr., C-Thomas Bryant

Celtics: G-Kyrie Irving, G-Marcus Smart, F-Jayson Tatum, F-Marcus Morris, C-Daniel Theis

Prediction

The Wizards are hoping to welcome back a healthy Wall on Wednesday night after his no-show performance on Saturday in Cleveland and sitting out Monday’s game in Indiana. They’re going to need as much offensive firepower as they can get against a well-coached Celtics team that is among the league leaders in defense; they currently rank second in Defensive Rating (103.3).

Three-point shooting is also going to be key in this game. The Celtics are 7th in three-point percentage while the Wizards are 27th. To make matters worse, the Wizards are second-to-last in opponent three-point shooting and the Celtics are 1st, which does not bode well for Washington.

With Baynes and Horford looking like they’ll miss the game, the Celtics will be thin down low, meaning the Wizards should look to get to the rim as much as possible. Without much rim protection, the Wizards should capitalize, especially since they’re one of the top teams in field-goal percentage from 0 to 10 feet from the basket (12th from 0-3 feet; 6th from 3-10 feet).

The Wizards starting backcourt of Wall and Beal also has to try to exploit whoever Smart isn’t guarding. Although the Celtics play solid team defense, Smart is among the best perimeter defenders and will surely limit whoever he sets his sights on, so going at Irving early and often should reap rewards.

Washington will also need to withstand Boston’s depth. Even with a handful of injuries, the Celtics still have Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier coming off of the bench, both of whom were starters on a team that was a few minutes from making the NBA Finals last year.

Former Wizards players we want to see in DC again. light. Read

All in all, this will be quite the test for the Wizards, and the trends don’t seem to be in their favor. The Wizards have the talent to compete with the Celtics, but it remains to be seem if they have the discipline and focus to do so. Expect a Boston win.

Final Score – BOS – 116, WSH – 106

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