Washington Wizards: 3 things to watch vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Winning the Rebounding Battle
Neither the Wizards nor the Lakers are a particularly strong rebounding team. Both rank in the bottom six of the league in opponent rebounds per game, and in the lower eight in defensive-rebound percentage (the Wizards are actually last at 72.2 percent).
The Wizards cannot allow a repeat of what happened Friday night against the Nets. The Nets out-rebounded the Wizards 56 to 37. Just to put it in perspective, the Nets’ offensive-rebound percentage was nearly 30 percent (meaning they grabbed one of our every three available offensive rebounds) to 9.5 percent from the Wizards; Ed Davis alone came in at just under 40 percent.
Although both teams struggle to crash the class, the Lakers don’t suffer from a lack of size like the Wizards do. The Lakers have two seven-footers in JaVale McGee and Tyson Chandler patrolling the middle, compared two zero on the roster for the Wizards. When the Wizards go small with Morris at center, this could spell trouble. They may need to see more from Thomas Bryant and even dust off Ian Mahinmi.
Next. Washington Wizards finally acquire Trevor Ariza from the Suns. dark
Otherwise, the Wizards risk what happened in Brooklyn when the Nets dominated the glass throughout the game. It’s no coincidence that Washington is third-worst in opponent second-chance points per game.