Magic

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The regular season ends tonight with a lot on the line for Washington.

Amway Center | 8:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (43-38): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Oubre Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Magic (24-57): G - Augustin, G – Iwundu, F - Hezonja, F - Gordon, C - Vucevic

Magic: Evan Fournier (Knee - Out), Jonathan Isaac (Ankle - Out), Jonathon Simmons (Wrist - Out)

Tonight is the final night of the regular season and there is still a lot to be determined in terms of playoff seeding in the East.

The Wizards will begin the night as the  EIGHT  seed, but could finish anywhere between six and eight.  Here are the scenarios:

Bucks win AND Heat win = Eight Seed (Wizards vs. Raptors)

Bucks win AND Heat lose = Seven Seed (Wizards vs. Celtics)

Bucks lose AND Heat lose = Six Seed (Wizards vs. 76ers)

Bucks lose AND Heat win = Seven Seed (Wizards vs. Celtics)

Eight Seed no matter what (Wizards vs. Raptors)

The Wizards know they'll need to win their game tonight to avoid playing the top-seeded Raptors in the first round.   The Miami Heat will host the Raptors tonight in their final game of the season, while the Milwaukee Bucks play in Philadelphia to wrap up their slate.  All three games begin at 8 p.m. tonight and should end around the same time, which will set the stage for the 2018 playoffs.

The Wizards likely won't announce their starters until about 90 minutes prior to tonight's tip, but there's certainly a chance they'll have to win tonight's game without John Wall and Otto Porter Jr. in the lineup.  Wall has yet to play the second game of a back-to-back since returning from his knee injury at the end of March and Porter left last night's game with a leg injury.  Head coach Scott Brooks wouldn't rule either one out for tonight, but at this point it would seem unlikely either plays.  The Wizards do have something to play for and could avoid playing Toronto with a win, but they also want to make sure they are fully healthy heading into the postseason.   Tomas Satoransky and Kelly Oubre Jr. would be the most likely candidates to fill in the starting lineup.

The Magic will need to lose tonight in order to tie Dallas and Atlanta for the third worst record in the league.  If the three teams did finish with identical records, there would be a draw between the three to determine which team would be third, fourth, and fifth in the lottery in May.  If the Magic win tonight, they would be locked into the fifth spot with the fifth highest chance to win the #1 pick in this year's draft. While the organization would probably be better off losing, the players on the court will be trying to end the season on a high note with a win in front of their home crowd.

Up next, the Wizards will travel to play Game 1 of their first round playoff series in either Toronto, Boston, or Philadelphia.

regular-season-ends-tonight-in-orlando

Regular season ends tonight in Orlando

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The Wizards look to carry their momentum south as they begin their road trip tonight in Orlando.

Amway Center | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (29-22): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Magic (15-35): G - Payton, G - Fournier, F - Simmons, F - Speights, C - Biyombo

Wizards: John Wall (Knee - Out), Sheldon Mac (Achilles - Out)

Magic: Aaron Gordon (Hip - Questionable), Jonathan Isaac (Ankle - Out), Terrence Ross (Knee - Out), Nikola Vucevic (Hand - Out)

With a victory tonight, the Wizards can tie their longest winning streak of the season (four) as they begin another road trip against a divisional opponent.  Over the last week, the Wizards have played some of their best basketball of the season and they've done so with John Wall sidelined with a knee injury.  Without their All-Star point guard in the lineup, others have stepped up to help lead them to three straight wins, including consecutive home wins over the Thunder and the Raptors.  In Thursday's win over Toronto, the Wizards had eight players reach double figures and the team dished out 30 assists, their fourth straight game recording 25+ assists.  The Wizards have assisted on 72% of their baskets over the last four games, the highest mark in the league.

The Magic may have only won three games in January, but they are coming off their second-highest point total of the season as they blew out the Lakers, 127-106 on Wednesday night in Orlando. Marreese Speights had a season-high 21 points and seven Magic players finished in double figures in the win. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Orlando, but they still enter tonight just one game ahead of Atlanta for the worst record in the Eastern Conference.  They did beat the Celtics in Boston just two weeks ago and have enough talent to upset certain teams, so the Wizards will need to bring the same kind of energy they've played with all week to get another win tonight.

The Wizards have scored 125+ points in each of their previous two meetings with Orlando, with the most recent win coming about three weeks ago in D.C.  While the first meeting was a blowout home win for Washington, the Magic kept the second one close as the Wiz hung on for a 125-119 victory.  John Wall and Bradley Beal had 30 points apiece and Ian Mahinmi added a season-high 17 points off the bench.  The Wizards shot 57% from the field and scored a season-high 74 points in the paint.  Elfrid Payton scored 27 points to lead Orlando and he's averaging 28.5 points per game in the two games against Washington this season.  The Wiz have won 16 of the last 18 games in the series, dating back to 2013.

Up next, the Wizards head to Indiana to play the Pacers on Monday night. (7:00 p.m.)

wizards-head-to-orlando-to-begin-road-trip

Wizards head to Orlando to begin road trip

The Wizards welcome back the Orlando Magic to D.C. for a Friday night game at Capital One Arena.

Capital One Arena | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (23-18): G - Wall, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Magic (12-30): G - Payton, G - Fournier, F - Simmons, F - Gordon, C - Biyombo

Magic: Jonathan Isaac (Ankle - Out), Terrence Ross (Knee - Out), Nikola Vucevic (Hand - Out)

The Wizards will look to bounce back from Wednesday's home loss to Utah when they get another team near the bottom of the standings in the Orlando Magic tonight.  The Wiz have lost consecutive home games for the first time since November, but have three home games left on this homestand before their longest road trip of the season. Washington is 13-8 at home this season, while Orlando is 5-18 on the road and have lost nine in a row away from home.

The Magic have lost six straight and are just 1-15 over their last 16 games, which leaves them just a half game ahead of Atlanta for holding the worst record in the NBA.  They give up nearly 111 points per game and only Cleveland has a worse defensive rating in the Eastern Conference (108.7).  They have dealt with numerous injuries throughout the year and will be without Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, and Jonathan Isaac again tonight.   While they struggle defensively, they do have some offensive firepower and both Aaron Gordon (18.9 ppg) and Evan Fournier (17.8 ppg), who both missed the last Wiz - Magic game three weeks ago, rank in the top 20 in the East in scoring.

The Wizards scored a season-high 130 points, while shooting 55% from the field in a 130-103 beatdown of the Magic on December 23rd in D.C.  Seven Wizards scored in double figures, led by Mike Scott's 18, and the team shot 53% from 3-point range.  Elfrid Payton scored a carer-high 30 points for Orlando.

Up next, the Wizards host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. (7:00 p.m.)

wizards-and-magic-meet-again-in-d-c

Wizards and Magic meet again in D.C.

The Wizards head back to D.C. and look to bounce back against the Orlando Magic.

Capital One Arena | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW+ | 1500 AM

Wizards (17-15): G - Wall, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Magic (11-22): G - Payton, G - Augustin, F - Simmons, F - Speights, C - Vucevic

Magic: Terrence Ross (Knee - Out), Evan Fournier (Ankle - Questionable), Aaron Gordon (Calf - Questionable), Jonathan Isaac (Ankle - Questionable)

The Wizards suffered an embarrassing loss last night in Brooklyn, losing by 35 to a young Nets team that is likely to finish in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference.  The first half was competitive, but the Nets started to pull away early in the third quarter and then continued to extend their lead throughout the second half.  It was the second time this season the Wizards have suffered a real blowout loss, with the last one coming in Utah last month.  If there was anything good to come away from that one it was that the team responded by playing one of their better games of the season the next night in Portland, so hopefully they do the same tonight and bounce back with a convincing win against Orlando tonight.

John Wall played just 16 minutes last night, which was partially due to the score of the game, but also because the team is still being cautious with him as he just recently returned from his knee injury.  He played just eight minutes in the first half last night and would likely have played around 25 minutes in the game if the second half was competitive.  This set of games will be Wall's first back-to-back since returning from the injury and the team wants to play it safe. Wall said he felt good after Friday's game and Scott Brooks seemed to indicate that if all went well with this back-to-back that would hopefully be the end of any kind of restrictions.

The Magic were one of the teams to open the season hot as they got off to an 8-4 start and appeared as if they may be a serious threat in the East.  But, they then lost nine straight and fell back down to the bottom of the conference, which is where they sit entering tonight's game.  They are currently in the middle of a seven-game losing streak and are dealing with a number of injuries to their key players, including Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, and Terrence Ross.

While they are banged up, they still have a handful of players who can do damage, including their biggest offseason acquisition Jonathan Simmons.  He's averaging over 15 points per game and has scored at least 20 points in three of his last five games.  It doesn't need to be repeated, but the Wizards know they can't take these sub .500 teams for granted, so they'll look to respond from last night's rout and get back in the win column tonight.

Up next, the Wizards head to Boston to take on the Celtics on Christmas Day. (5:30 p.m.)

Magic

Regular season ends tonight in Orlando

Wizards head to Orlando to begin road trip

Wizards and Magic meet again in D.C.

Wizards look to bounce back with Magic in town