The Washington Wizards are set to travel on the road for a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
Not only will this be a prime opportunity for the Wizards to get their first win of the season, but it will be a showdown between the No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and the No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr.
In addition to the top overall picks battling, if Washington hopes to grab their first win of the season, there are a few other key matchups that they’ll need to win in order to grab the upset win on the road.
Alex Sarr vs. Zaccharie Risacher
The obvious matchup comes between the two top overall draft picks. While Sarr has found himself inserted early into the Wizards starting lineup, Risacher has only found himself in the starting lineup once through three games.
This matchup may not be the key to victories for either side, but with both players likely wanting to prove they were the top talents in this year’s NBA Draft, expect them to come out with a chip on their shoulders.
Wizards backcourt vs. Hawks backcourt
Atlanta made the offseason move to trade away Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. In turn, they landed a former lottery pick in Dyson Daniels who seems poised for a breakout in his new role alongside superstar Trae Young.
As for the Wizards, their backcourt duo of Jordan Poole and Bilal Coulibaly has shown flashes through two games of how good they could be. The French product has shown progress as both a scorer and facilitator in the first couple of matchups, while Poole has looked more efficient than last season.
The key to a win on Monday will almost certainly be decided by whichever backcourt outplays the other.
Kyle Kuzma vs. Jalen Johnson
Kyle Kuzma has struggled immensely to start the season. The scoring forward has opened the season in a shooting slump going 9 for 32 in field goal attempts through two games. Scorers continue to shoot, but if he can’t find the basket soon, it may begin to impact his confidence in a year the Wizards depended on the veteran with their young core.
Meanwhile, the Hawks fourth-year forward Jalen Johnson entered the season with high hopes to take a leap and develop into the second star next to Young. However, the Duke product too has struggled to start the season.
Through three games, Johnson is shooting 29% from the field (11/37 FG) while averaging four turnovers per game.
If one of these two forwards can find a way to turn things around, they could be a game-changer for their squad in the Eastern Conference battle to start the week.