Wizards look to bounce back against a baffled Nets team

The Washington Wizards embarrassed themselves Friday night as they blew a huge lead against the Portland Trailblazers despite the heroic play of their big three. They will definitely be looking for a win as they travel to Brookly to face the Nets on the second night of a back-to-back.

The player looking to bounce back the most is Deni Avdija who failed to make a single field goal following the best performance of his career. After the big streak where he looked like a fringe All-Star at times and then one of the worst performances of his career, he will be looking to have a great game against the Nets.

Something that is leaning heavily in the Wizards favor for their Friday night matchup is the recent news that Kyrie Irving has requested a trade. Some unexpected news that is sure to leave the Nets baffled as they head into the game.

With Kevin Durant already ruled out and Ben Simmons possibly missing the game, the Wizards are the far healthier team, giving them yet another advantage in this key matchup. The only player out for the Wiz is Anthony Gill who is currently in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

The Wizards will be looking to dominate this game for a variety of reasons as they could be a dark horse candidate in both the Kyrie Irving and the Kevin Durant sweepstakes assuming that the Nets decide to move both All-Stars.

The biggest matchup of the game will be the defensive dominance of both teams’ centers. Daniel Gafford and Nic Claxton are both great defensive big men and are capable of controlling a game through their rim protection.

If the Wizards are able to win this game, it will improve their record to 25-27 on the season and get them to only half a game behind the eight seeded Atlanta Hawks. However, if they lose this game, they will fall to 24-28 and right out of the Play-In Tournament.

The Washington Wizards definitely see this game as a must win matchup as a loss would destroy all momentum from the Turbo streak and put them back into the Victor Wembanyama conversation.