Pistons

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addByline("Jeremy Hyman", "WashingtonWizards.com", "jeremyhyman");

The Wizards look to clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Pistons tonight.

Little Caesars Arena | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Wizards (41-33): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Pistons (34-40): G - Jackson, G – Bullock, F - Johnson, F - Griffin, C - Drummond

The Wizards' magic number is down to one and they'll have a chance to punch their playoff ticket with a win in Detroit tonight.  The Pistons currently sit in the ninth spot in the East and are five games behind Milwaukee for the final playoff spot.  Washington will still be fighting for seeding down the stretch, but they'll hope to at least secure a spot in the postseason after tonight's game, something that was not a given two months ago when John Wall had his knee procedure.  This would be the Wizards fourth trip to the postseason in the last five years.

The Wizards enter the night in sixth place in the East, 2.5 games behind Indiana for fifth and 3.5 games behind Cleveland, who are currently in third and as it stands would be the Wizards first round opponent.  Philadelphia is only a half game behind the Cavs and a lot can change in these final two weeks, so it will be worth watching each night until April 11th comes.  The Wiz are 1.5 games ahead of Miami for the division lead and the sixth seed.

After being sidelined for over two months, John Wall is nearing a return.  He's returned to full contact practice and has traveled with the team to Detroit.  After Wednesday's practice, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said Wall would participate in the team's shootaround in Detroit and would be questionable for tonight's game.  There still could be one or two more final tests to pass for Wall to be cleared to return to a game, but it sounds as if it will be very soon.  If it's not tonight's game, it certainly seems that a return Saturday would be inevitable.  How many minutes Wall plays will be another thing to watch once he does come back, but the team will certainly get a boost just seeing him back in uniform.

There will likely be an update on Wall's status around 5:30 p.m. tonight when Scott Brooks addressed the media.

When the Pistons acquired Blake Griffin just ahead of the trade deadline, they hoped it would propel them into the playoffs.  But, with two weeks left in the regular season, they'll need a lot of help to have any chance at the postseason.  They are five games back of the Bucks and they'll probably need to win the rest of their games to even have a chance at the playoffs.  They should be playing like a desperate team tonight and they are healthy again, with Reggie Jackson back in the lineup at point guard.  This will be the first time the Wizards play the Pistons with Griffin and Andre Drummond together and they can be a dominant pairing in the paint.  The Pistons have won two straight and four of their last five, with their only loss an overtime loss in Houston.  Detroit has been playing better over the last two weeks and this will be a tough road test for the Wizards as they look to build off their big win over the Spurs on Tuesday.

Up next, the Wizards go back home to host the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday afternoon (3:00 p.m.).

wizards-look-to-clinch-playoff-berth-in-detroit

Wizards look to clinch playoff berth in Detroit

addByline("Jeremy Hyman", "WashingtonWizards.com", "JeremyHyman");

The road trip moves to the Motor City tonight as the Wizards look to bounce back against the Pistons.

Little Caesars Arena | 8:00 p.m. | NBCSW+/ESPN | 1500 AM

Wizards (25-20): G - Wall, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Pistons (22-21): G - Smith, G - Bradley, F - Bullock, F - Harris, C - Drummond

Pistons: Reggie Jackson (Ankle - Out), Jon Leuer (Ankle - Out), Avery Bradley (Adductor Strain - Questionable), Stanley Johnson (Hip - Questionable), Luke Kennard (Thumb - Questionable)

After giving up 133 points in Wednesday's loss in Charlotte, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said afterwards that he needed to find guys that would compete and that changes could be coming if this trend continued.  This doesn't necessarily mean there will be a different starting lineup or a different rotation tonight, but the message was sent and if the team continues to struggle, there may be changes coming soon.  The Wizards gave up 77 points in the first half on Wednesday, a season-high and a franchise high for Charlotte.  The 133 points given up were also a season-high for points allowed and it was the 16th straight game the Wiz have allowed a team to score over 100 points.  Following a four-game win streak around the new year, the Wiz have lost four out of six, but will look to turn things around when they get a struggling Pistons team tonight in Detroit.

Tonight will be the Wizards first time ever in Detroit's new Little Caesars Arena, located in downtown Detroit.  The Pistons had previously played at The Palace of Auburn Hills, which is about 30 miles north of Detroit.  The Pistons are 13-6 at home this season and tonight is the first game of a four-game homestand.

The Pistons will be without one of their best offensive talents in Reggie Jackson as he continues to miss time with an ankle injury.  They could also be without their other starting guard, Avery Bradley, as he's questionable for tonight's game with an adductor strain.  With Luke Kennard also questionable, they could be very thin in the backcourt and rely heavily on Ish Smith and Langston Galloway.  Detroit does have two All-Star caliber players in the frontcourt in Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris, so look for the two of them to be even more aggressive tonight with the team banged up.

The Wizards have already beaten the Pistons twice this season, both of them coming in D.C.  After a close win early in the season, the last time they played the Wiz blew them out, 109-91 back on December 1st.  Keef Morris led the team with 23 points and Tomas Satoransky added a career-high 17 off the bench as the Wizards used a 35-15 third quarter to help blow past the Pistons.    The Wiz are 9-3 against Detroit over the last four years and have won a game in Detroit in three of the last four seasons. The two teams will play for the fourth and final time on March 29th in Detroit.

Up next, the Wizards head to Dallas to play the Mavs on Monday night. (8:30 p.m.)

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Wizards head to Motor City to battle Pistons

The Wizards make a quick pit stop back at home to host the red-hot Pistons tonight in D.C.

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

Wizards (11-10): G - Frazier, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat 

Pistons (14-6): G - Jackson, G - Bradley, F - Johnson, F - Harris, C - Drummond

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

The Wizards have fallen behind early in each of their past two games and have been forced to fight their way back, which they did successfully on Tuesday in Minnesota, but came up short the next night in Philadelphia.  They talked afterwards about wanting more energy out of the gate to avoid falling in an early hole, something that will be important against a very good Pistons team tonight.

The Wizards bench has outscored the starters in consecutive games for the first time since December of 2012 and Wednesday's game saw three different reserves reach double figures (Oubre, Meeks, Satoransky).  The bench nearly led the Wizards to a massive comeback on Wednesday, but they came up just a few possessions short and eventually lost by five.  While the bench play has been encouraging, the Wizards know they need their starting unit to play at a high level to win consistently.

Through the first quarter of the season, the Pistons hold the second best record in the Eastern Conference at 14-6 and have been the biggest surprise in the East after they failed to make the postseason last year.  They have gone 7-1 against the Western Conference and enter tonight's game winners of four of their last five, including road victories in Boston, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota.  They have been winning games by sharing the ball, as they've recorded at least 20 assists in 14 straight games, their longest streak of 20+ assists in 12 years.  They also have seven comeback wins in which they've overcome a deficit of at least 10 points, the most in the NBA.

Their sixth-year center Andre Drummond has been playing at an All-Star level, averaging 14.3 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.  He's also averaged 6.5 assists over the team's last two wins, including a career-high seven assists in Wednesday's win over the Suns.   The Wizards have faced some tough centers this week in Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid, so look for Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi to share minutes again tonight trying to slow down the Pistons' big man.

Otto Porter Jr. led the team with 28 points and tied a season-high with 11 made field goals to help the Wizards take down the Pistons, 115-111 back on October 20th at Capital One Arena.  The Pistons had a seven point lead at the half, but the Wizards outscored Detroit 33-16 in the third quarter and then held off the Pistons late run to secure their second win of the season.   It was the second game of the year for both teams and the Pistons first loss of the year. The Wizards are 7-1 at home against the Pistons over the last five seasons and have now won six straight in D.C.

Up next, the Wizards head west for a five-game road trip beginning in Salt Lake City on Monday night. (9:00 p.m.)

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