Washington Wizards: 3 things to watch vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Forcing and Scoring Off of Turnovers

Despite having arguably the headiest player in NBA history on their roster, the Lakers are pretty turnover prone. They commit the seventh-most turnovers per game at 15.3 per game. With such a young roster (and Lance Stephenson), there’s bound to be some poor judgment on the court at times.

This bodes well for the Wizards, who are fifth in opponent turnovers per game. Their defense may leave a lot to be desired, and they don’t necessarily rack up a lot of steals, but the Wizards have done an impressive job at forcing their opponents to throw the ball away.

The Wizards have also been able to translate those turnovers into points at a productive rate as well. They rank eighth in points off turnovers per game at 18.5. Meanwhile, the Lakers are ninth in opponent points off turnovers per game at 17.8, so this is an area where the trend favors Washington.

Unfortunately, the Wizards will presumably be without one of their top instigator on defense in Oubre, who is among the league leaders in deflections thanks to his length. Regardless, the Wizards will need to maximize their opportunities to score when the Lakers turn the ball over to win the game.