Wizards’ new lineup is facing its toughest opponent yet in Milwaukee Bucks

In a rematch of their New Year’s Day matchup that saw the Washington Wizards blow out the Milwaukee Bucks 118-95, the two sides will meet again tonight at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. On Sunday, the Wizards took advantage of their short-handed opponents, who were missing three of their stars; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton. Now that Holiday and Antetokounmpo are expected to return, tonight’s game is about to be a tough test for the new-look Wizards.

Since inserting Daniel Gafford into the lineup against the Phoenix Suns on December 20th, the Washington Wizards are 6-1 and are currently on a 5-game winning streak, climbing up to the 10th place in the Eastern Conference with a 17-21 record.

Admittedly, some of these wins in the 5-game streak have come against short-handed teams like Devin Booker-less Suns, an Orlando Magic team riddled with suspensions, and the aforementioned Bucks. It is also important to note that the Wizards blitzed these teams, beating them by an average margin of 22. It is also notable that they were missing their star, Bradley Beal.

Beal has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury and is questionable for tonight’s game but his return seeming imminent is another positive sign for the red-hot Wizards.

The new lineups that feature Kristaps Porzingis as the power forward and either Taj Gibson or Daniel Gafford at the center are destroying teams. In the 304 possessions these lineups have played this season (all of them coming during the current 5-game winning streak) the Wizards have outscored their opponents by 25 points per 100 possessions, making it some of the best combinations in the whole league.

The key to success for the Washington Wizards during this span has been dominating the paint and offensive rebounding. On Sunday against the Bucks, the Wiz scored a whopping 72 points on 65.4% shooting in the paint. This came against perhaps the best rim protector in the league this season, Brook Lopez. Now that Holiday is back to strengthen the Bucks’ perimeter defense and Antetokounmpo is providing additional interior defense, the Bucks will be a more challenging matchup.

The trio of Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, and Daniel Gafford on the court together has been crushing opponents with their size lately. However, the Milwaukee Bucks at close to full strength, with the likes of Antetokounmpo, Lopez, and Bobby Portis, is a tough team to physically overwhelm.

Rui Hachimura’s play will also be something to keep an eye on. The 25-yeard old forward is playing the best basketball of his career, even looking like some former greats, averaging 21.4 points per game on 60% field goal during this 5-game span. Whether he can continue this performance against the best defense the Wizards will have faced during this stretch will be fascinating to watch.

Milwaukee Bucks will come out strong. They certainly do not want to lose two home games in a row to the Washington Wizards. How the Wizards respond will demonstrate whether they have turned a corner with their season.